RENTING? HERE’S HOW TO GET A BRIDGERTON INSPIRED BACKYARD THAT DOESN’T RUIN YOUR DEPOSIT
The Bridgerton craze continues with the release of part two of season three. Award winning landscape designer, Kath Meier, from Virtual Landscape Designs Australia shares her tips to transform your outdoor space into your own regencycore estate, even if you’re renting.
“There’s a reason we’ve fallen back in love with the regency-inspired look. The striking beauty of symmetrical lines, overflowing vines and soft coloured flowers make the space feel luxurious. The key to creating a modern regencycore look is to strike a balance between structure and romance.”
Create structure by separating the outdoor space into key areas
A key feature of Bridgerton gardens are the structured areas. Depending on the size of your outdoor space, plan to create set areas for what you’ll use it for. Love reading? Create a reading nook that gets all day sun! Love entertaining? Allocate a space big enough for a table that seats 12. Mark out each functional space and section off with hedges. Spark interest with features such as large urns with colourful planting or a water feature.
Choose decorative features that mix materials
Bridgerton loves to pair steel or cast iron with softer materials of timber and cloth. When choosing features, look for a balance between the masculine and romantic styles. A floral or delicate design in cast iron is a perfect way to complete the look.
For seating, pair a timber table with cast iron chairs, and add colourful cushions on top to draw the eye. Using trellis with a climbing vine is iconically Bridgerton. Pair an iron trellis or stone wall with climbing Wisteria or climbing Rose.
Plant everything in pots!
Bridgerton gardens are abundant with greenery and flowers - just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you can’t have the same.
For hedging, use long and narrow planter boxes. Japanese Buxus is a great option as they create the aesthetic of hedge without needing to break ground and mark out new paths. Or to create curved paths, use smaller individual pots.
For topiary, choose stone pots of variaring heights to change the formality and vibe. Pots of beige, white, cream are best to make the greenery pop.
For flowers, choose a selection based on style and colours. Choosing several different varieties are great to add a range of colour and an interesting visual. I personally love pastel roses, lavender, Foxglove, Shasta Daisy, and Mauve Cuphea together, as they collectively display soft colour, creating that romantic feel - plus their varying heights adds texture and interest. I also love potted hydrangeas in a protected courtyard. They are romance in a flower! Go for stone pots to create a harsh and soft balance.
For roses, choose varieties that suit being grown in pots like miniature rose varieties, carpet roses or old english style roses like Roald Dahl. Or you can plant climbing roses in a pot and add a small arbour to climb over or even just add some wire attached to the building. Soft pastels are key to bringing the Bridgerton aesthetic to life, adding the touch of romance. Use a rustic porous pot, opposed to a gloss or glazed pot to add to the old English romantic feel.
Working with a smaller space? Use mirrors!
Mirrors create the illusion of a bigger space, so if you have a smaller courtyard hang a large mirror or a collection of mirrors. For the biggest impact, choose the wall on a narrow side. Mirrors are a great way to make the space feel larger, but creates a beautiful feature. For the regencycore look, go for a mirror that uses cast iron, or has a shabby chic look using aged timber and steel.
Add a portable water feature
It’s not a regencycore garden without a water feature. Choose a portable style, like a water bowl with a bubbler, to ensure it’s not fixed in place. They’re a fantastic choice for those wanting temporary feature and for small gardens as they’re usually more compact.
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