Many uses in minimum space

"What is that?", people would exclaim as they approached the exhibit. Then they would start to notice the details: comfortable places to sit, a chess table, pleasant water noises, a fireplace for when it gets chilly outside... The next thing they knew, they would find themselves sitting in the outdoor sofa, talking to perfect strangers.

The Designers, Mike and Annette Heacox of Luciole Design inc, created the garden for this exact reason: to get people talking about garden design and what can be done in an outdoor space.

It started as a "Garden in the house, house in the garden" idea. It's an interesting idea, really. You can enjoy autumn leaves dripping in the season's first rains seen out a window from the comfort and warmth of your living room, or cook a four course meal at the back of your patio. All these things are equivalent to in-house activities - cooking next to a patio is like cooking next to a dining room, only transposed outdoors. Sitting by a fire in an outdoor room is pretty much like sitting by a fire indoors, except a bit breezier.

But what about taking advantage of being outdoors to create new juxtapositions? How about a fireplace near the spa, visible from inside the house. its fire reflecting in the water of the swimming pool? Most people don't put a spa in their living room, but this combination of fire and warm water works perfectly well outdoors.

How about an outdoor theater? All you would need is a cable jack, an outdoor electrical plug and a flat screen TV that you could move outside when the weather was nice. It could even have outdoor speakers for decent sound. For the luxury treatment, imagine a fireplace and spa tucked into a corner, and maybe a refrigerator for cold drinks.

Bathrooms are probably low on the list of spaces people consider for outdoor rooms. Yet properly screened and plumbed to a sewer line, an outdoor bath or shower can be a great feature. Imagine stepping through French doors onto a private courtyard, surrounded by lush plants and vibrant flowers, slipping into a warm bath while soft music plays in the background. Outdoor showers make a lot of sense around swimming pools, too.

Outdoor rooms are a great idea, but landscapes can also be purely visual. Imagine a finely lit sculpture standing tall in the garden. Correctly placed, it will be visible from a main room of the house and invite closer examination in the garden. Although it's outside, it makes an interior space a lot more interesting. The reverse situation could be a well lit painting inside the house that's visible from an outdoor patio, bringing the interior of the house outdoors.

This is the concept statement for the garden

Indoors. Outdoors. Garden in the house, house in the garden. It's an interesting idea, really. You can enjoy autumn leaves dripping in the season's first rains seen out a window from the comfort and warmth of your living room, or cook a four course meal at the back of your patio. All these things are equivalent to in-house activities - cooking next to a patio is like cooking next to a dining room, only transposed outdoors. Sitting by a fire in an outdoor room is pretty much like sitting by a fire indoors, except a bit breezier.

But what about taking advantage of being outdoors to create new juxtapositions? How about a fireplace near the spa, visible from inside the house. its fire reflecting in the water of the swimming pool? Most people don't put a spa in their living room, but this combination of fire and warm water works perfectly well outdoors.

How about an outdoor theater? All you would need is a cable jack, an outdoor electrical plug and a flat screen TV that you could move outside when the weather was nice. It could even have outdoor speakers for decent sound. For the luxury treatment, imagine a fireplace and spa tucked into a corner, and maybe a refrigerator for cold drinks.

Bathrooms are probably low on the list of spaces people consider for outdoor rooms. Yet properly screened and plumbed to a sewer line, an outdoor bath or shower can be a great feature. Imagine stepping through French doors onto a private courtyard, surrounded by lush plants and vibrant flowers, slipping into a warm bath while soft music plays in the background. Outdoor showers make a lot of sense around swimming pools, too.

Outdoor rooms are a great idea, but landscapes can also be purely visual. Imagine a finely lit sculpture standing tall in the garden. Correctly placed, it will be visible from a main room of the house and invite closer examination in the garden. Although it's outside, it makes an interior space a lot more interesting. The reverse situation could be a well lit painting inside the house that's visible from an outdoor patio, bringing the interior of the house outdoors.