Stunning combination of white spotlights in blue-flowered setting

How to use optical illusion to enlarge any sized garden

With increasing number of new homes, the sizes of outdoor spaces are being compromised. This especially applies to urban areas.

 

Often, size of the gardens seems too small to create your own paradise. Wouldn’t it be nice to look out of window and see the large garden you wanted?

 

So how can you maximize your outdoor space?

 

We can’t promise you to enlarge the actual size of the area, but instead we will share a few tips to enlarge your outdoor space visually by creating optical illusions. Let’s get straight to the point.

 

How to use to your advantage:

  • Fences
  • Patios and paths
  • Trees and their hight.
  • Colour scheme
  • Garden lights

Fences

Nowadays fences are cheaper alternative to garden brick walls mostly built for privacy purposes. If you opt for wooden or plastic fence, consider this:

 

When erecting the fence choose panels with horizontally rather than vertically laid pickets.

 

Without realizing, human eyes tend to follow edges of pickets or the grooves between them. Vertical pickets will make the fence panels appear taller and horizontal ones create an impression of a longer layout.

 

Running bond of brick wall will achieve similar result whereas plastered finish provides neutral feeling, if your choice is the wall.

 

If you already have a wall and looking for a change, you could consider wooden cladding.

Fence panels with horizontal pickets create impression of longer appearance
Fence panels with horizontal pickets create impression of longer appearance

Patios and paths

Similarly, layout of patios and garden paths produces the desired result and creates sense of direction. 

 

 Jack on jack and Running bond pattern act as lengthener or widener, depending on its direction. 

 

Herringbone, Basket weave and Diagonal herringbone result in neutral impression. 

 

Alternatively, you can easily combine different styles with path edges. Brick edges laid lengthwise will optically lengthen the path. Edges laid crossway will widen the path by illusion. 

 

Another option is to incorporate different material, such as concrete pavers. They can define the edges from outside or inside, or you can just lay a few stripes running across. 

 

Again, depending on their direction, you can either lengthen or widen the path optically.  

Herringbone brick pattern with edging running crossway
Herringbone brick pattern with edging running crossway
Running bond of bricks with defined edge visually lengthens the path
Running bond of bricks with defined edge visually lengthens the path

Trees and their hight

Understandably, in small gardens there is not enough space to accommodate a large tree. In this case we recommend selecting a narrow, fastigiated shape of a tree, ideally planted further from the house. 

 

Narrow shape will ensure that a spectator’s eyes will wonder up towards the pointy top. This creates an illusion of the tree being taller than it is in reality. 

 

This optical trick balances the hight in your garden with the hight of your house.  

Conifers are always a good choice to consider due to their fullness of foliage. One example to name: Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’, selected for its fresh green colour. 

 

You don’t need to plant the trees in both far corners to achieve this, you can plant a tree in one corner and balance it out with larger shrub or a small shed on the other side.

Narrow trees appear to be taller than they are in reality
Narrow trees appear to be taller than they are in reality

Colour scheme

This usually applies to both, hardscape and landscape.

  

Accordingly, to psychology of colours, colour such as red, yellow or orange represent warmth and appear to be closer to us. 

 

Cooler colour such as blue, subtle purple or violet suggest distance, therefore they appear to recede from the viewer. 

 

Our suggestion? If you are keen on warmer colours, use them closer to the house and save the cooler colour for further away.  

 

Again, this illusion can drastically enlarge any outdoor space visually.

Cooler colours in the distance recede form viewer
Cooler colours in the distance recede form viewer

Garden lights

This is our last tip and it’s also optional, depending on an individual and quite frankly the budget. 

 

However, if you choose to include a lighting scheme, ensure to opt for neutral colour such as white, or cooler light blue especially around the garden borders. 

 

You can even alternate the colour throughout the season. White colour represents the summer moonlight and subtle blue reflection of moonlight in the snow during the winter. Light and flower combination can be spectacular at times.

Stunning combination of white spotlights in blue-flowered setting
Stunning combination of white spotlights in blue-flowered setting

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