How to make a small garden look bigger –10 ideas that are simple but effective
10. Focus on accessories
Adding eclectic accessories to a tiny outdoor space is a great way to exaggerate room and create more interest too. As per our earlier advice, make sure these are larger items if you can – as smaller accessories will just highlight the size of the area even more.
1. Introduce different levels to make a small garden feel bigger
'Use different levels; going down into a seating area makes you interact with the garden from a new perspective,' says Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Paul Hervey-Brookes. A simple change of level adds interest to any design, but introducing more vertical planes will also make a garden feel bigger. One step is relatively easy to introduce, especially with decking; however the riser (the vertical face) should never be taller than 20cm – 14cm to 16cm is ideal. If you’re planning for more than one step, the tread should be no smaller than 30cm, but ideally no deeper than 50cm. Different levels are easier to create in a sloped garden.
2. Cultivate a kitchen garden
You can still cultivate fruit and veg in a small kitchen garden, even in the most compact of spaces. ‘Mix them in with flowers in the beds, or plant in pots on a terrace,’ adds Hervey-Brookes. ‘Make the most of a small patch by cultivating crops you love.’ Runner beans and peas on upright frames can be incorporated with sweet peas for an abundant display, and make use of vertical space.
3. Think tall, too, in a small garden
Figuring out how to make a small garden look bigger is all about using the space to your advantage. Use neighbours' walls, the side of the garage, and fences topped with trellis to grow climbers. Hang baskets, fix window boxes full of trailing plants to the house wall and plant tall, and put narrow, trees or canopy trees on boundaries. Potted bamboo can be a good substitute if you're renting. All this will exaggerate your garden's size and pack it with greenery, too. You could even create a living wall for a little drama.
4. Include a mirror to make a small garden look bigger
Large mirrors on walls, perhaps covering one side completely, can visually double the size of an awkward or irregularly shaped space and is a fantastic tip for how to make a small garden look bigger. Importantly, make sure that the reflection doesn’t show the bin store or an unattractive collection of drainpipes. Instead, angle mirrors slightly away from the house or main viewing point by fixing a thicker timber batten down one side so that the mirror reflects more visually pleasing plants.
Always try to hide the mirror’s edges to further enhance the illusion. Close-knit trelliswork fixed tight to the wall around the outside of the mirror works well – for uniformity, perhaps cover the rest of the wall with it, too. Alternatively, train climbers up to do this job; but you will have to wait a while for them to grow to a suitable size. For safety, acrylic mirrors are preferable to glass.
5. Choose garden furniture you can leave out all year
Small gardens usually mean little or no outdoor storage – and likely not much space indoors either, so you'll want an outdoor set that will be fine outside throughout the winter. A hardwearing wood such as teak or eucalyptus will be your best bet – rattan is usually too delicate unless it's a weatherproof synthetic version, and metal will rust.
6. Plan garden lighting carefully to make a small garden look bigger
The best garden lighting ideas can do wonders for making a small garden look bigger – one of the best ways to do so with lights is by suspending a string of fairy lights or lanterns above your outdoor dining set. Instantly, you're encouraging people to look up rather than across, making the garden seem more spacious.
7. Inflate your seating options
Finding the biggest and best garden seating can still be done in a small space – and adding a little comfort factor is a surefire way to make a small garden feel bigger.
8. Bring the heat with a fire pit
Speaking of cosy, adding warmth via a fire pit or other lovely type of outdoor heater will elevate a small outside spot in an instant, and is one of our tricks for how to make a small garden look bigger. Go modern or rustic with your fire pit and see how quickly you can transform your garden.
9. Add an element of privacy with curtains
Trick the eye with curtains and create an outdoor living space which although tiny, looks larger than life. Plus, you'll enjoy a little more privacy too in your sacred small garden.
Want/need to know how to make a small garden look bigger? There's lots you can do to improve it. Follow our expert advice to make your tiny plot feel larger – and function better.