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How to make a small garden look bigger with mirrors
We've taken on all manner of projects in the past, but recently we took on two very different ones. One is large and traditional whilst the other is a fraction of the size at only 5m x 5m at its widest point. This got me thinking about what clever tricks we could use to make this small town garden feel much bigger.
As much as I am a lover of outdoor sofas for their comfort and style, sometimes there just isn’t room to fit their bulkiness so I think in this case we're going to try and save space by using some built in seating. I have one little issue with built in benches though….on their own they’re not very comfy. But luckily cushions can come to the rescue and, as with most things, advances in technology has led to a much wide range of materials being available for us garden designers to use. A built in bench will SAVE some space, but how do we make the space FEEL larger than it really is? Mirrors. We have only used mirrors once before in a courtyard garden and it was for a different reason, but I think a couple of discreet mirrors in this small garden could work really well and add a depth that is going to be hard to achieve otherwise.
There’s a few things to remember when using mirrors:
1) Position – If you live in a terraced house and have neighbouring houses that look over into your garden then it’s wise not to place a mirror facing back into your house or your neighbours may suddenly be able to see what you get up to when you’re indoors!
2) Sunshine – Although the idea of bouncing sunlight sounds nice, if your mirror is in direct sunlight then it may help focus light (and therefore heat) on to a particular plant or object causing the plant to burn or the object to discolour.
3) Mounting – Mirror is just glass and therefore, depending on the size, can be heavy and fragile. Make sure that whatever means you use to attach the mirror to the wall, fence etc. is suitable and strong enough to keep the mirror in place.
4) Place them somewhere that people won't accidentally walk into them.
Remember these few points and you’ll not go too far wrong!
By clicking through Google for five minutes you can see how many styles of gardens mirrors there are. Some people go for ornate and showy, others try to make them look like windows, but the ones I prefer, and the one’s I think we’ll use in this tiny town garden are the subtle, semi-hidden ones that you don’t notice because, after all, the idea behind this garden is to make it feel bigger naturally.
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