Reflection: a guiding concept

The concept of reflection helped guide the design of a small garden we recently finished in Randwick.

The house is a quintessential Sydney federation home which had just undergone a major renovation with clean-lined, modern new interiors. We needed to create a beautiful, classic garden that honoured the old architecture and gave the house an appropriate and harmonious setting, yet had a clarity and simplicity that spoke of the new incarnation.  

‘Reflection’ was the guiding concept – a mirroring of the detail of the formal, federation architecture, a strong, reflective symmetry across the garden as each side reflected the other and gave the front area strength and balance, the clarity of line in the design reflected the new era of the home and modern interiors.  The design of the garden was also a reflection of the owner’s preferences and wishes.

Reflection also guided other details in the garden, such as the lighting, materials we chose and how the plants and materials affected the light coming into the house. Different materials and plants have all sort of different reflective properties to consider when designing with them.