A sunken garden in Hale
A contemporary family garden carved out of a sloping site, with a sunken fire terrace, louvred veranda and outdoor kitchen.
The brief was simple: somewhere the family could eat, cook and sit outside from April to October without retreating indoors every time the weather turned. The existing garden sloped away from the house and was lost to the eye by mid-afternoon.
We lowered the terrace by 600mm to bring the horizon level with the kitchen floor, then wrapped the drop with corten-faced retaining walls. The outdoor kitchen sits under a bioclimatic louvred roof with integrated heating and lighting — it's used year-round, not just in summer.
Porcelain pavers run from the bifold threshold to the retaining wall without a break — a single surface read that makes the garden feel like another room. Oak benching, Egg barbecue and an indoor-spec tap complete the cooking line.
“We use the outdoor kitchen far more than we ever expected. The louvred roof is the cleverest thing in the garden — sun when we want it, shelter when we don't.”