Yahoo Finance ‘I spent £16k making my garden look like a room without a ceiling – did it work?’
A neglected backyard surrounded by a high brick wall was Val Moretti’s view from the kitchen of his south London home. Eventually he had enough – and embarked on a dramatic kitchen and garden renovation inspired by his favourite Ibizan restaurant.
Now, when he throws open the doors from his kitchen to entertain friends they can walk into a relaxing sanctuary complete with bamboo, dark wood decking, a fire pit and the sound of flowing water – an oasis from the busy London streets outside.
Once the Great British summer finally arrives he moves his dining table and chairs outside so his guests can soak up the holiday-like atmosphere as they eat alfresco.
“The restaurant Bambuddha in Ibiza was my main inspiration for the garden,” says Val, an actor. “The first time I went there I thought it was an incredible experience eating outside among all the bamboo.
“I love that whole vibe; the dark wood decking, bamboo and white walls. I wanted something tropical that would remind me of being on holiday or back home in Trinidad.”
Telegraph Money asked Julia Kendell, interior designer from Kendell and Co, speaker at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show and expert on the BBC’s DIY SOS to give her opinion of Val’s home transformation.
Val bought the Victorian end-of-terrace property 13 years ago and still enjoys renovating the property today. Originally a four-bedroom house, two rooms are now used as a walk-in wardrobe and an office.
He records his makeover journey and DIY tips on his Instagram account @no5_thehouse to more than 35,000 renovation enthusiasts.
Although lots of the rooms in the house were not to his taste when he bought it, he waits until things break before he replaces them. But when he does start a room makeover, his ethos is to choose only top-quality fixtures and fittings built to last that will not date.
Val, who has trained as an interior designer since buying his home, favours a classic contemporary style but does not like to follow the latest trends.
“If everyone else is doing it then it’s a trend I stay away from it,” he says. “I have things in my home that still look brand new but were bought 13 years ago.”
The garden
Before Val made over the garden, it was a forgotten space with plain brick walls, trellis fencing and bad decking. His goal was to transform the uninspiring yard into a clean, minimal and modern garden that would not look out of place in warmer climes.
The major design consideration was to merge the inside and outside of his house by closely matching the decking to the flooring in the kitchen. His original choice of Balau decking proved to be too high maintenance.
“They use it all over Ibiza but it didn’t do well in this country because of the extremes of our weather. Every year I had to spend money on getting it restored, fixed or replaced. Year after year, the costs were adding up; it was a waste of money.”
He replaced it with Millboard composite decking which has a frame that allows for contraction and expansion, which set him back £6,000.
The planks are designed to mimic the real variances in grains of wood.
“A bit of Fairy Liquid and water is all the maintenance it takes,” he added.
A bioethanol fire pit and water feature bring interest to the garden. The sound of flowing water, which can be turned up or down, drowns out any street noises or noise from planes.
The Ibiza theme is pulled together with a Lutron lighting system that was retrofitted to his home. Val has customised two settings for the garden – “party mode” and “relaxed mode”. Each includes a combination of mood lighting and music and the ability to turn the water feature on to a pre-programmed flow – all controlled through an app which can be pre-set to come on before you arrive home.
Julia says: “This is a hugely successful garden renovation beautifully linking the indoor and outdoor spaces.
“Val has cleverly continued the colour palette throughout and a continuity of materials, particularly the floor colouring, creates a seamless transition between the two spaces. A bold but rather brilliant decision was rendering and painting the outside walls in the same colour and to the same height as the internal walls creating an illusion of a ‘room without a ceiling’ outside. This creates a magical effect.”
Julia cautions against taking the holiday theme too far, however. It can be a good starting point for the design but not every aesthetic translates well from sunny climes to the drizzly UK, she adds.
“Bright colours that look stunning in equatorial regions, for example, do not tend to travel well,” says Julia. “Tropical garden planting is on trend but care will need to be taken to protect many of the not-so-hardy plants over our harsh winter. Using tall stem bamboo and standard trees ensure the garden looks verdant and lush without crowding the lower scape. These are a great choice for providing privacy and will remain in leaf year-round.”
Julia says the success of the garden renovation, as a small space, is largely due to the layered lighting which draws the eye to the extents of the garden highlighting planting and architectural features. “The overall effect is cosy and inviting,” she says.
“The water feature is a clever solution to counter noise pollution.
“Another idea is to play a forest soundtrack through outdoor speakers which could be of rustling leaves and the like, to add to the tropical ambience,” she says. “I’d probably stop at squawking parrots and macaques though.”
When the bifold doors are closed in winter the effect of the lighting outside and the matching floors blurs the distinction between inside and out. Val made up the large fake plants arrangements himself which are positioned in front of the doors, hiding the glass.
After sticking with his existing leaky skylights for many years he recently decided to replace them for much bigger ones from specialist firm EOS Rooflights. One of the roof lights has been lined up with the bifold doors so that glass flows from ceiling to floor.
The kitchen
The Nobilia kitchen was one of the first changes that Val made to the home when he bought it 13 years ago. He chose a classic design of quartz worktops with brushed steel and chrome fittings with hidden handles confident that it would not date. A “waterfall” island, which has a countertop on one side that continues down to the floor, separates the kitchen from the dining area.
He’s kept the colour palette in the kitchen and dining room light to match the garden, but has used a warmer shade of white inside.
A further effort to draw nature in from outside is the artwork on the dining room wall; a 2.5-metre-long canvas depicting the reflection of the sky and water and flamingos.
“To blur the lines of indoor and outdoor further,” says Julia, “it’s possible to buy real sofas and chairs that are for external use and will last a lifetime, which would suit Val’s ethos.” Julia recommends furniture company Coco Wolf.
She added: “With a small garden to cover, Val might consider a retractable sail awning to extend use of the garden on rainy days and beyond the summer months.”
Julia says the unexpected red viral trend for this year is perfectly illustrated in Val’s kitchen with pockets of saturated colour in two paintings that draw the eye to the end and side walls.
“This pop of colour adds interest and life to an otherwise neutral, calm scheme. Val was certainly ahead of his time in his choice of cabinets and veined quartz surfaces. I applaud how he has created balance in the design by not making a feature of every element, for example, choosing radiators that disappear into the wall rather than a metallic or strong colour.”
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The bathroom
There are plenty of luxurious choices in Val’s home. One standout feature that deserves to be among them is his decision to upgrade his guest bathroom, converting the shower cubicle into a steam room at the same time.
“I never liked the bathroom, but I finally decided to update it when the toilet, shower and sink all started leaking,” says Val.
The gadget responsible for the steam, a Tylohelo steam generator, is located near the floor underneath the floating bench. The shower area has been tanked, which involves making the entire room waterproof using a waterproof membrane to ensure there are no leaks.
Lights placed under the bench and floating vanity unit along with niche lighting, spot and pendant lights create different moods and give the illusion of space.
Julia says: “The steam room is a triumph. It functions extremely well and the choice of materials and highly developed lighting scheme ensures the most has been achieved from a small space.
“I like the addition of the steam generator. As a guest bathroom it will likely not be used often so having another purpose is a great idea. Val has paid great attention to detail by ensuring there is no metal trim to hold the shower glass to the floor and the porcelain has been cut perfectly to produce a bespoke effect.”
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