The way we use our gardens has changed dramatically. No longer just a patch of lawn and a few flower beds, the modern garden is an outdoor room — a place for cooking, dining, entertaining, and relaxing throughout the year. At PMD, we combine hard and soft landscaping to create outdoor spaces that genuinely extend your living area.
Connecting Indoors and Outdoors
The most successful outdoor living spaces feel like a natural extension of the home. This starts with the transition point — typically bi-fold or sliding doors that open the rear of the house onto a patio or terrace. When the flooring level inside matches the patio level outside (with appropriate drainage), the boundary between indoors and outdoors virtually disappears.
Many of our projects include full-width rear glazing specifically designed to maximise this indoor-outdoor connection.
Choosing the Right Hard Landscaping
The materials you choose for your patio, paths, and boundaries set the tone for the entire outdoor space. Popular options include natural stone (sandstone, limestone, or slate) for a timeless look, porcelain paving for a contemporary, low-maintenance finish, block paving for driveways and formal areas, and composite decking for raised seating areas.
PMD works with all of these materials and can advise on what suits your property and budget. We always recommend investing in proper sub-base preparation and drainage — corners cut here will cause problems down the line.
Outdoor Kitchens and Dining
Outdoor kitchens have become increasingly popular in Essex. A built-in barbecue or pizza oven, prep counter, and storage can turn your patio into a genuine cooking and entertaining space. Combined with a covered dining area — whether a pergola, a glass canopy, or a more permanent garden room structure — you can use the space comfortably for eight months of the year or more.
Lighting and Heating
Good lighting transforms a garden after dark. Low-level path lighting, uplighters on trees or architectural features, and festoon lights over dining areas all create atmosphere. For warmth, infrared heaters mounted under a pergola or canopy are more effective than freestanding patio heaters.
Planting and Privacy
Soft landscaping brings life and colour to the space. Raised planters, border planting, and specimen trees can provide screening from neighbours while creating a lush, green backdrop. Low-maintenance planting schemes using evergreen shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials ensure the garden looks good year-round without demanding hours of upkeep.
Swimming Pools and Garden Rooms
For larger budgets, a swimming pool or standalone garden room can take an outdoor space to the next level. PMD has experience building both — including the pool house and indoor pool at our Fryerning project. Garden rooms can serve as home offices, gyms, studios, or simply a quiet retreat at the bottom of the garden.
Getting Started
If you're looking to create an outdoor living space that you'll use all year round, PMD can help. We handle everything from design and groundwork to planting and finishing. Call us on 01277 849664 or browse our portfolio for inspiration.