Designer Tony Murrell understood and interpreted the clients’ brief as a request for ‘grand designs’ on a not-so-grand scale. At the first meeting the clients apologized for their desolate 70 square metres of garden space to which he responded: “Ah a blank canvas on which I can paint". That put them at ease and this became an exercise in maximum space utilization. Their brief also included practicalities which were very important to each of them. For her, somewhere to hang the washing out and for him, easy access to a salad greens garden combined with ease of maintenance. They both wanted an entertaining area and contemplative space that could be admired and used year-round and this inspired Tony to design the outdoor dining room and grand garden room.