Tag: Garden

Yesterday we were beyond excited to have a feature of a gorgeous al fresco party styled by Roisin & the KLD team featured in The Gloss.

The stunning photos for this shoot were taken by the uber talented Nathalie Marquez Courtney and turned out just beautiful.

We were equally delighted to work with the lovely Suzanne of Cove Cake Design. Suzanne has been running the cake business for over four years and has a real eye when it comes to styling and perfecting her creations. The cake she made for us featured beautiful fresh flowers and coconut ruffling detail. Suzanne also hand crafts her own sugar flowers and run classes where you can learn how to do the same. Suzanne’s Instagram account @covecakedesign is full of stunning bakes and inspirational ideas.

As well as show stopping cakes we were also given some show stopping fashion statements from the gorgeous Donnybrook boutique Havana and beautiful jewels from the lovely Loulerie ladies. The statement necklace seen on Roisin in the piece is a Lulu Frost design. Roisin even had the chance to meet the Designer for Lulu frost at a recent Loulerie event launching this beautiful collection.

Finally we need to say a massive thanks to Woodies who let us borrow a garden full of plants to bring loads of colour and magic to the garden. We also brought lots of colour into the space with the help of some cuprinol paints.

Photoshoots are one of the ultimate collaborative effort and this stylish shoot was made possible thanks to a lot of people. It’s fantastic to see so many products and features come together to create something really magical though.

And if you are planning an alfresco garden party ahead of the bank holiday weekend in this glorious weather, we have four words for you: plants, flowers, lights & cake!

Create a Water Feature

This doesn’t have to be an elaborate expensive piece. You can even get creative and make your own with garden items such as pots, watering cans, even tea pots work a treat as you may have seen on the Super Garden series!

Pondering a Pond?

If you’re going for a brand new garden design consider including a pond. Ask you garden for advice on something low maintenance that looks good. The presence of water, whether it be the trickle of water from a simple water feature or the glittering, reflective surface of a small pond, creates a wonderfully tranquil and serene feeling a garden space.

Think Tiles

I’m guessing this one doesn’t surprise you?! We love our tiles at KLD. They just add such wonderful pattern and interest to a space. These floor tiles are a fantastic pattern and the simple colour scheme allows the vibrant greens and pinks of the vegetation stand out against the beautifully tiled backdrop.

Statement Seating

Whether it be a hammock or an egg chair, statement seats will create a stand out feature that’s just dreamy to chill and unwind in on a breezy summers day. Opt for something really unique and adorn it with colourful cushions for added impact.

Garden Furniture

You dont have to necessarily fork out a small fortune on garden furniture. If its feasible you could even temporarily move your dining table out doors. Just make sure you have somewhere to store it or covers to put over it once the night dew sets in. This wooden table and bench with scattered cushions and throws has such a lovely, feel to it.

Wisteria Histeria

Lately we are obsessed with the powerful effect of wisteria. The bright mauve tone and the chilled out draping plant is the perfect statement plant for any garden. We love how it teams with the pastel blue-green window frames in this image. We’d team it with some lovely Seagrass, Fresh Rosemay or Morning Breeze from the Cuprinol range.

Fruit, fruit, fruit

Why not plant some pretty fruit trees for a picturesque garden that also allows you to become that little bit more self-sufficient. We’ve found apple, plum and pear trees all grow really well in Ireland.

Add Art

Bring vibrant colour to your garden space by incorporating some paintings or art pieces. Again, this theme has featured quite heavily on the latest series of Super Garden. You could even create a whole gallery wall in your outdoor space.

Magic Mirrors

Mirrors work wonderfully in a garden space. They reflect the colour around the space and can also make the space appear bigger. We have five of these mirrors in our Ranelagh garden. The mirror is n IKEA one which we changed up with a coat of paint. Check out our how to post here to see what we did.

Get a Green House

Budget allowing, a green house is obviously a great space to cultivate your own plants, fruit and vegetables. But it can also double up as a dining space. Being surrounded by plants and greenery means there is already a stunning backdrop full of colour and detail making this a unique and gorgeous space to entertain guests or just enjoy a semi-alfresco meal yourself.

Add some reflective surfaces for depth and light within your garden…..

If your feeling like spending the weekend outdoors we have some great garden DIY inspiration for the sunny weekend ahead.

Mirrors are a fantastic way to brighten up any garden space. Adding large or small mirrors to your garden creates extra dimension to the space.

Adding mirrors to your garden not only creates extra dimension to the space but it also increases the light in the space as the sun moves throughout the day. It also reflects the planting that you have within the garden, making the garden feel much fuller and giving the garden more depth. This idea works particularly well with small gardens making the garden feel twice the size.

We here at KLD did some of our own garden mirror DIY during the week, and here is how it is done.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Mirror with decorative feature or frame
2. Paint – We prefer to use bright fun colours to brighten up your garden space.
3. Paintbrush
4. Metal Wire

HOW TO:

1. Select a mirror in which you would like to revive. This can be an existing old mirror which you have in your house which you no longer use or a new one. We chose the ‘UNG DRILL’ mirror from IKEA.
2. Take the paint colour that you wish to use on your mirror. We chose the colour ‘Secret Lagoon’ from the Cuprinol ‘HAMMERITE’ range.
3. Paint your mirror and wait for it to dry, it may need two coats if the mirror was a dark colour to begin with.
4. Use the metal wire to hang your mirror on your garden fence or wall.

OUR FAVOURITES:

1. CUPRINOL do a great range of garden paints for all your garden DIY.
2. IKEA have a great selection of affordable mirrors if you don’t have one at home.

We are feeling very inspired from this seasons RTÉ Super Garden series. There has been a great use of colour and clever design so far. Tonight’s episode sees Suzie transform a plain garden into a Permaculture inspired space, using all available materials and products as much as possible to avoid wasting anything. Suzie up-cycles many everyday items in a very creative way. You don’t need to buy new pieces in order to have a beautiful garden. Take inspiration from the images below and get your green fingers ready! Make sure to pick up some cuprinol garden shades to make the most of your up-cycled transformation!

Follow Kingston Lafferty Design’s board Upcycled Garden Furniture on Pinterest.

I was delighted to be featured in the Irish Times last Saturday in the Interiors section. A big thank you to all involved including Alanna Gallagher and Anthony Woods. It was my birthday and everything! Thanks to all at Kingston Lafferty Design who helped with the photo shoot set up… who would have thought there would be so much involved in making a garden look pretty!