Steal This Look: A Simple Backyard Dining Pavillion in London

For an object lesson on how to create a charming first garden on a tight budget, we take you to a small backyard in London’s Crofton Park neighborhood. There food writer Mina Holland and musician Freddie Denham-Webb have created an oasis in the city—complete with an American-style Big Green Egg grill.

What prompted the American barbecue invasion? “We’re on a street of what I figure were quite experimental Victorian houses. Ours is a purpose-built maisonette, and opposite there are cleverly laid-out cottages. It feels like it was a bit of a testing ground for small-space living,” Holland recently told The Modern House.

Here’s everything you need to steal the look:

See more of the house’s interiors on Remodelista.

Exterior & Facade

Dulux has a collection of exterior paints resistant to UV rays and tailored to the surface you plan to paint. For brick, see the range of rainproof Dulux Paint Mixing Weathershield Smooth Masonry Paints.

Farrow & Ball’s exterior paints are available in both eggshell and gloss finishes.

Lighting

Garden Shed

Paint the shed to match the house, as Mina Holland did, to give the garden a cohesive look.

Fence

For more stylish fence panels, see 10 Easy Pieces: Privacy Fence Panels.

Furnishings

The table seats sits comfortably. Says Holland: “We have a lot of friends over, but we tend not to invite more than four at a time, so there’s six of us. That might change in summer because the garden feels like we have an extra room.”

Plants

In addition to a kitchen garden with herbs and strawberries, the courtyard has ornamental flowering plants, including lupines, daisies, and jasmine vines. In pots are olive tree topiaries (an olive tree is a good container plant, as it can withtand dry or windy conditions).

For growing tips, see Olive Trees: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design.

To create a meadow effect, scatter wildflower seeds in tilled earth.

Are you furnishing an outdoor space? See:

• Steal This Look: The Ultimate Summery Outdoor Kitchen
• Steal This Look: A Summery Bellport, NY, Porch, by Elizabeth Roberts
• Two for One: A Courtyard Connects Old and New in a San Francisco Home by Architect Ryan Leidner

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