Designing on a Grid

A garden design relates to the house by using the house's proportions.  Designers (usually) play with a grid based on the proportions. This contributes to unity, which is key to the feeling of ease you want in a garden.

This private garden in Herne Hill, south London, shows the principle. Here the brick frame in the paving is offset from the house, and you can see the edge of the pond is offset from the back door.

Brick edge sets out other areas in the garden.  Planting softens the edges and provides a range of textures. The square terracotta tiles are used in a grid pattern elsewhere, but in the sun lounger area they are placed to give a false perspective, so it seems longer.  
                                          
Using brick provides unity of detail, as it is the same colour and size as the house brick;  the terracotta colour connects with the lintels.  Just using two hard landscaping materials keeps the design simple and harmonious, a good structure for the riot of plant textures.

This garden was one in a London-wide trail of designed private gardens not otherwise open.  This particular garden was designed by Acres Wild. The trail is becoming a May Day Bank Holiday fixture, http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/html/features/gardentrail2010/gardentrail.html.  See one of the very early postings on this blog about a Clapham garden last year.