The Stables

A garden design in Outwood, Surrey, transforming former stables into a series of intimate courtyard and garden spaces for modern living.

Outwood Garden Design – A Former Stable Yard Reimagined for Modern Living

In Outwood, Surrey, this garden forms part of a complete transformation of a former stables and coach house, purchased in 2014. The original layout of both house and garden was dated and poorly suited to modern family life, prompting a comprehensive rethink of how the buildings and landscape could work together.

The remodelling began with the house itself. The internal layout was reversed and reconfigured, with the former front door becoming the new kitchen entrance and a new main front door created in place of an old kitchen window. These changes fundamentally altered how the house connected to the garden and set the direction for the landscape design.

The former stable yard and driveway were transformed into a sun-drenched courtyard garden, now a welcoming and highly sociable space used for entertaining. Meanwhile, the tired kitchen garden was repurposed to create a brick-paved parking area and new main entrance, improving both arrival and flow through the site.

Beyond these functional changes, the redesigned garden is a carefully curated sequence of intimate spaces, each offering a different mood and experience. Movement through the garden is playful and engaging, with views unfolding gradually to create a sense of delight and discovery.

Rich perennial and shrub planting provides year-round interest, set against the dramatic backdrop of the house façade, painted in Farrow & Ball ‘Railings’ (No. 31). This deep colour intensifies the planting palette and gives the garden a confident, contemporary edge.

The garden also features a number of elements developed through Chelsea Flower Show collaborations with David Harber, adding sculptural interest and depth. Now open regularly for group tours and through the National Garden Scheme, the garden continues to evolve as a living showcase of planting-led design.