IT’S immediately apparent that there are a number of extraordinary things about this courtyard garden in west London. First, how big it feels, despite the modest 30ft by 20ft footprint, and, second, the bold use of colour. It’s also striking that, although this feels like a retreat from the city in the way the design cleverly connects the inside with the outside and the garden with the sky, the overall feel is one of expansiveness, rather than enclosure.
The sky has long influenced the garden’s owner, Martha Krempel, who grew up under the wide open skies of Yorkshire. After studying sculpture, she worked in a variety of disciplines, including styling men’s period clothing for film, making lighting and as an interior designer before turning her hand to gardens. Thus, when she and her family moved house in 2015, she was in a perfect position to redesign both house and garden.
It was Martha’s daughter who came up with the idea of creating a building to link the house to the garage at the end of the property (now Martha’s studio). The house wraps around the courtyard on three sides, with the brick boundary wall forming the fourth side. Sitting in the glass-sided extension, there’s not a building in sight, only sky. ‘It feels as if you could be anywhere,’ says Martha.
This story is from the October 9, 2019 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 9, 2019 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake
Flying between extremes
Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith
Satan on six legs
The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton
Sometimes, less is more
FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.
Dropping down to Derwentwater
The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life
A Georgian legacy
Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners
Processions, proclamations and punishment
The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction
A sparkling collection
Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu
Hampering after summer
Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true
Life's a picnic
With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success