I can’t think of a solution to my extension issue (WITH DIAGRAM!)

[Elleee]

Currently thinking about extending out to the rear of our house to give us a bigger kitchen/living space.

Blue line is the back of our house.
Purple line is where we’d like to extend.
Pink line is neighbors garage - their garage wall forms part of our boundary.
Brown line is our garden fence.
Red line is where our issue lies!

The red line would measure approx 3m x 3.5m - I’m envisioning it being a really tight, horrible area that is just such an eye sore. Who wants to sit on the patio there and be boxed in by 3 wall of brick (well one of the walls has a window in). I think it would get really hot in the summer and would also be a horrible view out of the window.

Any ideas on what we could do? We don’t really want to extend the full width as it’s too close to the neighbors boundary.

You need to check planning regs. Your diagram has your extension going pretty much to the boundary on the other side but in many parts of the UK this is not allowed. Most areas insist that extensions are at least 1m from the boundary with a neighbour.

On the square area, I would put a fountain there and make a feature of it with some nice plants.

I tried to get it to raise the height of the back wall but it wasn't playing ball, but you get the gist. I don't know how big your window is, but this looks ok.

Sure, if you hate your neighbours!

I’d take the extension further across unless you haven’t any other outside seating area. We’ve got a similar space, but shady, which is handy for the bbq and I’ve filled with plants, acers mostly, in huge pots, that bring colour into the kitchen. We never sit there. But it’s a bit not one thing or the other as not big enough to sit in ….but a great view from the sink.

Was going to suggest this.

If you put the door to the garden entering into this area then it will naturally get used more.

Tbh op. It's a pretty large area and I don't think it will feel as cramped as you think. Lots of people have living rooms of a similar size.

There are lots of ways to soften/push back the brick walls. One trick is to hide the horizontal lines of the walls particularly at the floor level. You can built narrow ground beds or trough planters on some of the boundary. It's most effective to use a variety of heights and textures so build or purchase a bench/sofa that will face the garden. Leave a 400-600mm gap behind it so you can grow tall plants against the wall. Then you can scatter pots down the walls either side. The key is to use high volume planting with plenty of height.

Ornamental bamboo, grasses, vertical trending planted like salvia, climbing plants etc.

There is lovely decorative climbing wires you can install yourself that is more subtle and inexpensive then trellis for climbers.

In the gaps you could install lovely metal wall art pieces for interest.

Put steel posts in next to your neighbours boundary. Extend the roof of your extension only to these steel posts creating a covered patio area. You can put bifolds of sliding doors out to it and have heaters wired in the ceiling. Meaning you can sit out in summer and winter. We have done this on a few properties now and it really works and opens up the inside outside space.

The size of your extension looks about the same size as your problem garden area on the diagram- is it not worth thinking about just making the extension wider to give you usable space?

How much boundary are you required to have between the edges of yours and neighbours property?

You could then fill the red line area with plants so the view from the window is attractive.

We do have a similar area in our garden as a result of our extension and planning rules. Ours is north facing, so I’ve made it into a quiet shady garden. Because it’s more or less finished, I sit in there when feeling overwhelmed while working on the rest of the garden !

We don’t really want to extend the full width as it’s too close to the neighbors boundary.

It's not clear why you don't want to extend full width. Looks like you're building up to the boundary on one side, so why not the other?

We have a full width extension across the back of our house and I love it. We did this for the very reason you're describing - we didn't want to create a closed in corner. We have a seating area on one side which means we can see the whole garden.