Modern Country Garden Lavender And Topiary

As I shared in the last post, we're currently completely renovating our garden, so I'm all about outside spaces at the moment.  I thought we'd have a chat about favourite Modern Country Garden planting combos....

Let's start off with topiary and lavender.

Clockwise from top: this aged brick house is set off beautifully by dusky grey paint on the doors and frames, allowing the drainpipe and rendered base to fade into the overall scheme; box topiary in a zinc planter, box balls sit perfectly alongside a whole range of different architectural styles; Colours to try alongside this look include Dulux White, Farrow and Ball Cabbage White, Farrow and Ball Calluna, Little Greene French Grey, well thought-out details inside tie your interior and exterior together with aplomb..... 

Whether you prefer yew, or boxwood, or photinias or hollies.....topiary and lavender go together like clotted cream and jam in a freshly baked scone. Utter Modern Country Garden perfection!

Try Little Greene Juniper Ash, Zoffany Sung Mauve, Fired Earth Sea Lavender, Fired Earth Gentian Violet; a beautiful Modern Country planting scheme with four clipped box hedges enclosing swathes of lavender with box balls nestled within; you can never go wrong with lavender leading up to a front door; two standard topiary trees standing as sentinels either side of a door looks da bomb

My personal favourites for topiary are box balls, or low boxwood hedges...

....or standard lollipop trees (bay and privets work well)....

So how does this look tie in to Modern Country Garden perfection? 

Well, the lavender provides that perfect Country softness, while the topiary gives a perfect formal framework which gives a more contemporary feel.

I am absolutely loving planning our Modern Country garden - it gets me through the ridiculous amount of digging out that needs to be done. Who needs a gym when you have a garden reno?!

Consider a country-inspired feminine palette of Farrow and Ball Pelt, Dulux Linnet, Farrow and Ball Purbeck Stone, Farrow and Ball Cinder Rose; lavenders look gorgeous on paintwork alongside plenty of green planting, a circular pond wrapped with low box hedging is set off with a ribbon of lavender plants; topiary balls in old pots

Oh, and did I say I've just joined Instagram....come and follow me as I try to find my feet in this new Social MEdia playground.....

@modern_country_style

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahxx

Images via Belderbos, Fake IT Flowers, roden burgtuinen, Jinny Blom, Jinny Blom, , Landform, unknown, unknown, David Herbert, 

Small Garden With A Circular Lawn

I have a real thing in gardens about circle-shaped lawns. Will you just look at the shape of that lawn.... I hesitate to use the word sexy for what is basically a patch of grass but feast your eyes on those lush curves, baby....

{You want more loveliness like this? Yes! I've FINALLY joined Instagram! If you haven't come to say 

hello to me (I'm Modern_Country_Style) 

I'd LOVE to see you there!}

This circle-shape works especially well on grass in smaller town gardens, where there are very often the harsh straight lines of other nearby houses to content with. Drawing your eye with soft, flowing lines does so much for reducing the impact of the rat-race going on all around you.

Bring a slice of Country into Modern living?

Yup, that's Modern Country Gardens for you!!

;-)

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarahxx

Image via GAP

Amazing Modern Country Front Garden With Zero Space

Okay, so you've seen the look you love and adore: a long winding path lined with lavender, leading up to a perfect, muted front door....but you have the smallest front garden in the world?

Consider a country-inspired feminine palette of Farrow and Ball Pelt, Dulux Linnet, Farrow and Ball Purbeck Stone, Farrow and Ball Cinder Rose; lavenders look gorgeous on paintwork alongside plenty of green planting, a circular pond wrapped with low box hedging is set off with a ribbon of lavender plants; topiary balls in old pots

Now, front doors I can help you with but I can't, even using my most special Modern Country powers, magic up long winding paths if you have a tiny front garden or no front garden at all....

But, but, BUT what I can do is give you fantastic alternatives that will help give the impression of your dream look in a variety of guises. Let's take a leafy stroll through the Top Ten Ways To Get A Modern Country Front Garden With Zero Space....

1) The humble window box. You only have to walk down a trendy London street to see how far window boxes have come on the Modern Country front. Gone are the twee fussy arrangements and in are crisp topiary, contemporary finishes and gorgeous symmetrical style. On the other end of the spectrum, it's perfectly possible to bring in a gentle touch of lavender here as demonstrated in exquisite style in the image above. 

The contrast of the aged terracotta pots, with the gently swaying lavender flowers alongside the smart black, geometric frame of the window box and the shaped topiary-like planting combines to create a perfect Modern Country exterior.

2) Wreaths aren't only for Christmas, you know. They can look completely scrummy, and introduce that perfect shot of lavender, all year round...

3) Be flexible with the actual planting. Here eryngium (sea holly) and eucalyptus is used in a beautiful wreath to give the same hint of lavender... (and I'm LOVING the Jim Lawrence door knocker!)

4) Many houses have scope for pots by the walls and planting scaling their walls, even if they don't actually have official ownership of the space in front of their front door. Take a walk around many gorgeous streets in the Cotswolds to see this beautifully in action...

Simply pop in a couple of lavender-esque plants into pretty pots and place either side of your gorgeous front door for a quick and cheap way to get the look...

5) Now, the joy of lavender is that it can belong to all different kind of homes so when thinking about your pots, take care...as you can see from these images, the pots themselves creates a very definite feel, whether that's uber contemporary, super rustic or perfectly Modern Country: none of these looks are right or wrong but it's worth spending a little bit of time considering the overall direction that you want the front of your home to have and making sure all design touches are aiming the same way...

6) How's this for a beautiful idea: a little galvanised vase with a simple bouquet of lavender attached to your front door....just be careful if you're a door-slammer. ;-)

7) Of  course, many of you will be blessed with some outside space. Please don't be shy of making the very most of every square foot....

Small spaces, as has been said a million times here on Modern Country Style, can be absolutely the most satisfying to design. It's possible to pack a real punch, even with only a little plot so pick up your pencil and get planning!!

8) Lavender is a fantastic companion plant, one of the very best for Modern Country gardens. Have a play! Don't be afraid of combining lavender with super-sleek topiary...

9) ...or with country-loving roses:

10) And, last but not least, if green-fingered projects really aren't your thing, pick up your paintbrush and go lavender!

I hope, for those of you yearning for long paths lined with lavender, but without the square footage to match, that these ten ideas will fill you with enthusiasm and excitement for your space...and all its glorious potential!

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarahx

Images via here

Tip For Choosing Your Dream Kitchen

So, my sweets, we've begun The Big Build!!! 

Yes, we've been saving our pennies since moving to our Georgian home and the time has come!!! It's an amazing, rambling house and I feel very lucky to live here but it has needed a lot of work to turn it into the family home of my dreams.

I'll be sharing every step of the way with you... the ups and downs, the trials and the tribulations. How do you choose an amazing builder? How do you pick the perfect scheme? How do you afford your dream kitchen? How do you need to treat an old house?

Are you wanting answers to all these questions and more? You're in the right place, my poppets. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's research the be-jingles out of anything interiors-related!!

Let's take a lovely gentle route in and feast our eyes on some kitchen beauties, shall we?

I've saved these kitchen images over the years and here begins my first lesson for you.... If you know you've got a big project ahead then start filing away those precious inspiration pictures a looooong time before you need them. Why? Because it'll help you to see what dates over time.

You see, it's so easy to be wept along by the latest fancy trends but when it comes to kitchen designs in particular, you want to be choosing something pretty classic.

ON trend today most definitely equals OFF trend in five or so years time and a good kitchen should last sooooo much longer than that.

By all means bring in your current favourite looks with accessories - I'm most definitely not sniffing at passing fashions - and love them to bits while they make you happy but know, with smug satisfaction, that while those accessories may need to be packed away, your gorgeous, timeless kitchen will never look old and tired, if you choose with one eye on the long game.

Most of the kitchen twinkliness I share here on Modern Country Style falls into exactly that category. Gorgeous flagstones, Shaker style units, softly muted shades: these things NEVER get old.

And that's the kind of home I want to run home to. 

Each day. Every day.

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarah xx

Images via: so old I honestly can't remember. Please contact me if you'd like to be credited!

Swedish Country Style Dining Idea

On this lovely summer's day, can you imagine this being your al fresco-type dining space? Whiling away the hours, devouring delicious meals and being distracted by the driftwood grey of the ceiling; the sunlight streaming in makes it an easy journey in my imagination.

 In my mind, it's over-looking the most divine Modern Country garden, tumbling roses, and smartly clipped topiary. I'm having a moment for taupe-y grey gingham: small touches here and there make me smile.

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahx

Image via Susanne Kings

Perfect Painted Modern Country Exteriors

Last post covered some general rules for helping you find the finest paint colours for your Cotswold Stone house. Today, I'm focusing further, for those of you who are still in a quandary, on my absolute favorites: soft putties and gentle greens and blues.

Take the example of the painted front doors below. Two very different homes: one a classic Cotswold Country getaway, which, to be honest, would take a bin-bag to make it look bad....but the other? Well, imagine that house without the painted brickwork and perhaps with a thick, sticky coat of old orange wood varnish and you'll see what magical wonders a coat of paint can bring...

The paints shown in this post form a perfect blend of muted tones, inspired by nature, which call to mind the relaxed feeling of the Cotswolds, no matter where in the world you live.

These colours work just as well when combined with painted render, or, indeed, the smart mellow yellow of London-stock bricks.

Gentle greys, soft putties and cheerful blue-greens will give you, your families and your visitors the warmest of welcomes.

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahx

Images via here