Make A Small Garden Look Bigger - 5 Steps

You may be fantasising over a large, luscious garden with a lounging area, dining space, and dedicated barbeque zone, completed with beautiful rows of flowers, an edged lawn and pretty lighting. Perhaps you even dream of owning a pool for the summer months, or enjoying a water feature in the centre of your outdoor space. But the reality is, most of us live in urban areas and just don’t have enough outside square footage to create the garden we wish for.

Fortunately, though, there are many things you can do to make your small garden look and feel bigger. With a few simple design ideas and little DIY, even the smallest of garden can be made to seem more spacious.

In this article, we share our list of small garden ideas to help make your outdoor space appear bigger.

1. Make use of vertical space

Small gardens typically lack in floor space, so looking upwards and making use of vertical space is often a good idea. Use your garden walls to add greenery, and plant trees at the edges that grow upwards instead of outwards.

Filling the edges of your garden with climbers (plants that grow vertically) or even installing a living wall, means you’ll have more space at ground level to do as you please.

2. Use mirrors to make a small garden look bigger

This tip is extremely effective, simple to do and great if you’re on a budget. Adding mirrors to your outdoor space will instantly make it feel bigger, just like it does inside your home too. Try adding a long row or mirrors on the wall or fence at the end of your garden. This will create the illusion that your garden is ‘doubled’ in length.

Alternatively, for a more English country garden look, pick an oversized antique mirror and allows climbers to grow around it. It’ll become part of the garden while making the space feel bigger.

3. Create zones

Rather than use your whole outdoor space as one, try dividing it up into zones or ‘rooms’. This could include a dedicated area for lounging distinguished by a patio or decking, or even a short hedge to separate the lawn from the front section of the garden. Either way, using partitions to create zones will help add interest to your garden, plus an illusion of more space.

4. Paint your fence with a light shade

Believe it or not, fencing has the biggest impact on how your outdoor space looks. It takes up the greatest surface area over anything else and is typically 5-6ft high. So why not tackle your small garden problem with a little paint.

Both naturally dark wood tones and dark paints can make your garden feel more enclosed. But switching to a lighter paint can do the opposite.

Generally, lighter colours are more reflective, bringing more natural light to your outside space for a more spacious feeling. Try painting your fence light grey or cream for a neutral look. Perhaps even sky blue or soft pink for a contemporary feel to your garden.

5. Think about your garden lighting

Often overlooked, outdoor lighting plays a significant role in the appearance of your garden. When placed and used correctly, lighting creates a sense of depth, highlights architectural features, and even provides extra safety during darker hours.

By strategically setting your outdoor lights, you can create the illusion of additional space in your garden. This involves the use of ‘layered’ lighting to create a sense of rhythm as your eyes ‘flow’ across the landscape.

In order to achieve this, try ‘up-lighting’ rows of plants and bushes in a way that focuses on the features furthest away. If you have a tree towards the back, focus your lighting scheme on this with a spotlight. You can even use strip lighting around your boundary to enhance the impression of depth.

But when it comes to lighting your outdoor space, which products should you use?

The Ellumiere range of 12v garden lighting is the easiest to use system on the market. Featuring deck lights, spotlights and bollards, to transformers, connectors and sensors, Ellumiere lighting can be set up in just three simple steps – and requires no electrician to install!

For any questions or more information on the Ellumiere lighting range from Birkdale, contact our expert team today. We’d love to let you know how Ellumiere can get your garden glowing, and we’re always happy to give help and advice on the position of your lights.