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Before and after · fire pit area · modern coastal

Fire pit area ideas: a brown lawn redesigned as a paved garden with built in seating, slabs floating in pebbles and architectural planting

A lawn gone brown between a white boarded wall and a grey fence, with a strip of paving, a potted shrub and a bistro table at the far end. From one photo, it was redesigned as an outdoor room: large grey slabs laid at an angle with dark pebbles between them take the place of the lawn, curved beds edged in metal hold New Zealand flax, agave, yucca, salvias and geum, the fences are stained charcoal with star jasmine on the right one, and at the far end a teak bench is built round a gas fire pit, with an olive tree in a planter beside it.

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After: a design drawn from the owner’s photo, with large grey slabs laid at an angle with dark pebbles between them, curved beds edged in metal holding New Zealand flax, agave, yucca, purple salvias, orange geum, white gaura and Mexican daisies, the fences stained charcoal with star jasmine on the right one, an L of teak seating built round a gas fire pit in the back corner, an olive tree in a tall planter beside it, the boarded wall and the potted shrub where they were, and the neighbours’ brick houses and roofs beyond.
Before: the owner’s photo. After: the design drawn from it.
How it works

One photo of your garden, redrawn with a finished design

Shown with another design from the gallery. This modern coastal garden works the same way.

  1. A deep prairie border in a walled garden: purple salvia, orange geum, foxgloves, echinacea and lime green alchemilla spilling over a brick edge onto a lawn.The ideal design

    The garden you want

    A finished design from the gallery, with its planting and its materials.

  2. A different garden before any work: a plain rectangle of lawn between slatted timber fences, with a bench against a shed at the far end and two bare trees.Your garden

    Add your garden photo

    One picture of your garden that shows the whole plot.

  3. The same garden with that planting in it: a stone path winding to the same bench, echinacea, rudbeckia, liatris and grasses either side, the same fences, shed and trees kept.The result

    Your dream garden

    The same style of planting and the same materials, drawn around what was already there.

Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch

This makeover at a glance

Style
Modern coastal garden
Shape
Wide and shallow, 12 by 6 metres, with the boarded wall down the left
Light
Not recorded
Started as
A patchy lawn, a strip of paving and a bistro table

Kept

  • The white boarded wall
  • The fence lines, stained charcoal in the design
  • The potted shrub at the far end of the wall
  • The wooden planter by the wall

Changed

  • Built in seating, a fire pit
  • Slabs floating in pebbles
  • Curved beds, metal edged
  • Charcoal fences, jasmine, an olive
In the design

Fire pit area ideas and a paved garden: four from this makeover

  1. Built in seating, a fire pit, close up in the design
    A bistro table by the fence, the same spot beforeBefore

    A bistro table by the fence Built in seating, a fire pit

    Teak seating built round a gas fire pit at the far end, as the room to sit in

    Where the bistro table stood, the design builds an L of teak seating into the back corner, round a gas fire pit in a concrete surround, with an olive tree in a tall planter on one side and box balls in a planter on the other. The built in bench faces the fire pit and leaves the middle of the garden open, and a fire pit at the far end gives the whole plot somewhere to go on a cold evening, in view of the house.

  2. Slabs floating in pebbles, close up in the design
    A patchy lawn, the same spot beforeBefore

    A patchy lawn Slabs floating in pebbles

    Large grey slabs laid at an angle, with dark pebbles between them, in place of the lawn

    Large grey concrete slabs take the place of the lawn, laid at an angle to the house with wide joints of dark grey pebbles, so each slab reads as if it floats. Laying the slabs on the diagonal takes the eye across the plot to the fire pit rather than straight to the back fence, and the pebbles give each slab a clear outline.

  3. Curved beds, metal edged, close up in the design
    Lawn beside the paved strip, the same spot beforeBefore

    Lawn beside the paved strip Curved beds, metal edged

    Curved beds with metal edging: New Zealand flax, agave and yucca, with salvias and geum for colour

    The beds are drawn as curves against the straight slabs, held by a thin line of metal edging, and planted for shape first: New Zealand flax, agave and yucca hold the picture in winter, with purple salvias and orange geum through the middle and white gaura and Mexican daisies spilling over the edge at the front. A few bold shapes against plain grey are what make a modern garden read from the house, and the low flowers along the edge soften the lines.

  4. Charcoal fences, jasmine, an olive, close up in the design
    A grey fence, a bistro table, the same spot beforeBefore

    A grey fence, a bistro table Charcoal fences, jasmine, an olive

    Charcoal fences, star jasmine on the right one and an olive tree in a planter

    The fences stay and are stained charcoal in the design, with star jasmine trained up the right one and an olive tree in a tall grey planter in the back corner. A dark fence makes the greens and the striped leaves in front of it show, the jasmine puts scent and evergreen cover on the right fence, and an olive in a planter gives the seating corner its tree.

Before: a back garden seen from the house end, a lawn gone brown in patches across the middle, a white boarded wall down the left with a brick corner at its near end, a grey close board fence across the back and down the right, a strip of paving along the back with a potted shrub, a wooden planter and a small black bistro table, and trees beyond the back fence.
Before: the owner’s photo.
Before

A lawn gone brown, a white boarded wall and a strip of paving at the far end

Grass gone brown in patches across the middle, a white boarded wall down the left with a brick corner at its near end, a grey close board fence across the back and down the right, a strip of paving along the back with a potted shrub, a wooden planter and a small black bistro table, and trees beyond the back fence.

The design keeps the boarded wall, the fence lines, the potted shrub and the wooden planter where they were, and takes out the lawn and the bistro table.

In the beds

Architectural plants, star jasmine and an olive tree: the planting

Flax, agave and yucca give the beds their shape, with salvias, geum and gaura for the flowers.

  1. New Zealand flaxStriped sword leaves, the shape in the beds
  2. AgaveStriped rosettes, through the middle
  3. YuccaStriped spikes, through the middle and back
  4. SalviasPurple spires through the middle
  5. GeumOrange, at the front
  6. GauraWhite and airy, through the middle
  7. Mexican daisiesSmall white daisies spilling over the edge at the front
  8. BoxClipped balls in the planter by the seating
  9. Olive treeIn a tall planter in the back corner
  10. Star jasmineOn the right fence, evergreen and scented

With Pro, every design you make names every plant in it, how big each one grows, where it goes and when it flowers, so you know what to look for at the garden centre.

What you get

What comes back from one photo of your garden

  • Redesigned around your fences and trees. About two minutes after you add your photo, in the same style and materials as this garden.
  • Planting matched to your light and soil. Add your light and soil if you know them, and the planting follows them.
  • Every plant named, with Pro or Max. Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once. Every one names its plants, how big each grows, where it goes and when it flowers.
  • Built by a professional gardener. Real plants that grow in UK gardens.
Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch
Questions

Questions about this fire pit garden design

Where should a fire pit go in a garden?

In this design, at the far end in view of the house, in front of the teak seating, framed by the olive tree and the planters. Check the fire pit’s own instructions for how far it must sit from fences, seating and trees.

What can a fire pit sit on?

In this design, a gas fire pit sits in a concrete surround on the slabs, with pebbles round it and the seating a step back. Check the chosen fire pit’s own instructions for what it can stand on and how much room it needs.

How much does a garden makeover design like this cost?

Your first 3 garden designs are free, no card required. After that, Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once, every plant named in every one, and clean pictures to keep.

Is the after picture a real garden?

The before is the owner’s own photo. The after is the design Garden Design App drew from it, using real plants you can buy in the UK.

Keep reading

More before and after garden makeovers

After: the same strip as a planted courtyard, with a paved path through deep borders of lavender, purple salvias, coneflowers and grasses to a small table and chairs
Part sun · narrow plot

Wildlife garden makeover

A narrow strip of lawn, redesigned as a paved path between deep borders of lavender and salvias.

After: the same plot with a brick and stone path curving to the shed between deep borders of roses, delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves and peonies, with terracotta urns at the top of the path
Full sun · fenced plot

Cottage garden makeover

A bare, straw coloured lawn and a deck crowded with pots, redesigned as deep borders of roses, delphiniums and lupins.

After: the same garden as a Mediterranean gravel garden, with pale gravel, flagstone stepping stones, clipped olive trees in terracotta pots, drifts of lavender and a timber arch
Full sun · acid soil

Mediterranean garden makeover

A rectangle of lawn, redesigned as pale gravel, olive trees and drifts of lavender.

After: the same garden with an irregular stone path winding through grasses, white anemones, foxgloves and peonies to the chairs at the far end
Shade · town garden

Small town garden makeover

Long grass and a hosepipe in a shaded town garden, redesigned as a winding path through grasses and shade planting.

After: the same passage with a stone flag path running through deep shade planting of ferns, hostas, foxgloves, periwinkle and a Japanese maple against the fence
Deep shade · narrow run

Shady side passage makeover

The bit down the side where the bins live, redesigned as a shaded path of ferns, hostas and foxgloves.

After: the same yard with pale limestone paving, a curved lawn edged in brick and deep borders of catmint, salvias, coneflowers and climbing roses
Full sun · clay soil

Modern garden makeover

Slabs, bare soil and a blank brick gable, redesigned as curved lawn and deep planted borders.

After: the same plot as a meadow garden, with a stepping stone path through deep borders of purple salvias, crimson scabious, pink coneflowers and grasses, wisteria and clematis on the fence beneath the gable, and the deck edged with lavender
Part sun · clay

New build garden makeover

A rectangle of new turf beside a blank gable, redesigned as a meadow of salvias and scabious, with climbers on the fence and the shed.

After: the same plot as a white gravel garden, with one straight path of large grey slabs to a small patio under a white pergola, deep borders of white rock roses, lamb’s ears and white foxgloves along sage green fences, and agaves in terracotta pots
Full sun · clay

Long garden makeover

A long plot of grey gravel and slabs, redesigned as a white gravel garden with one slab path to a pergola at the far end.

After: the same plot as a cottage garden, the lawn replaced by beds of delphiniums, foxgloves and roses either side of a stepping stone path to a metal bench, climbing roses on the side fences, catmint at the foot of the wall, a terracotta pot on the step and thyme in the joints of the patio
Part sun

Tiered garden makeover

A slab patio, a step and a raised lawn, redesigned as a cottage garden with roses on the fences for privacy and a bench at the top.

After: the same plot as a cottage garden, an oak framed gazebo with a slate roof where the summerhouse was, a teak table and chairs under it, a gravel path through lavender and catmint, borders of pink roses, blue delphiniums and silver lamb’s ears on both sides, clematis and roses on the black fence either side of the gazebo
Full sun · dry

Gazebo garden makeover

A lawn gone brown and dry and an old summerhouse, redesigned as a cottage garden with an oak gazebo and a gravel path through lavender.

After: the same view with the pergola in full wisteria flower over the deck, a lawn with curved edges and deep borders of foxgloves, mullein, geum, catmint and black eyed Susans, a path of sandstone slabs through gravel to a small sandstone patio with a bistro table and two chairs to the right of the lawn, and the brick walls and back shrubs where they were
Full sun

Wisteria pergola garden makeover

A patchy lawn under a wisteria pergola, redesigned as a curved lawn with deep borders for bees and a sandstone patio to the right of the lawn.

After: the same view with a path of grey and buff stone laid in herringbone curving down the middle to the foot of the spiral staircase, borders of Mexican feather grass, Japanese forest grass, blue fescue and heuchera on both sides with blue delphiniums and purple top verbena rising through them, lavender beside the path, lilac clematis and pale climbing roses on the fences, and the staircase, the brick house and the shrub where they were
Part sun · clay

Urban garden makeover

A narrow strip of artificial grass under a spiral staircase, redesigned as a curved herringbone path through borders of grasses and perennials.

After: the same view with paths of pale gravel winding out from the patio between drifts of purple salvias, lavender, pink coneflowers and yellow black eyed Susans, a small pond with a pebble edge and a stepping stone on the right, an untreated oak bench against the back fence, the fences stained a warm brown behind blue Californian lilac and orange firethorn, and the tree, the conifer and the patio where they were
Full sun · clay

Wildlife pond garden makeover

A wide lawn scorched brown, redesigned as a gravel garden with a small pebble edged pond, drifts for bees and an oak bench at the far end.

After: the design drawn from the patio edge, with a winding path of buff gravel held by low stone edging, deep borders on both sides of pink and white roses, astrantia, catmint, white foxgloves, blue delphiniums, sea holly, white brunnera and lady’s mantle, a white clematis over the trellis on the left, the yew where it was, the fences stained a warm brown and a weathered teak bench under the trees at the far end.
Full sun · acid

Winding path garden makeover

A lawn beside a patio, redesigned as a winding gravel path with low stone edging through deep borders of roses and catmint, to a bench under the trees.

After: the same garden drawn as a cottage garden, a flagstone path down the left, a circular lawn in the middle, deep borders of blue delphiniums, pink and white foxgloves, purple hardy geraniums, pink and peach roses, catmint and box balls, espalier fruit trees on the wall at the back, a timber arch, oak table and chairs on pea gravel at the far end, and roses and lilac clematis on the warm stained fence.
Full sun (the design’s notes) · soil not recorded

Cottage garden plan makeover

A lawn beside a concrete path, redesigned as an English cottage garden: a circular lawn in deep borders, a flagstone path, espaliers on the wall and oak seating on gravel at the end.

Transform My Garden like this