The Bristol landscape offers opportunities for truly arresting garden builds. Here, with a breath-taking view across the Avon Gorge, sleek modern architecture made one of our most popular porcelain paving colours a perfect fit for this multi-functional design.

Patio in Bristol of Florence Grey porcelain paving and clay pavers Artisan Landscapes
The finished project by Artisan Landscapes Bristol, using Florence Grey porcelain paving in combination with clay pavers.

A difficult site

A plot with a drop of 30m from the top of the drive to the bottom of the garden, on a steep-sided river gorge would make some landscapers think twice. Artisan Landscapes stepped up to the mark. "No machinery access and question marks over the existing construction were just two of the many hurdles," explains Will Cooke, founder and managing director. "But I trusted our design team to create something special and our experienced landscaper to deliver. And they did."

The brief

View across valley from long patio of decking and artificial grass
When the client moved in to this beautiful view of the Avon Gorge, the patio was just decking and artificial grass, with no safety railings.

The young couple who had moved in with their children knew how unsuitable their outdoor areas were. "The site was unusable," says Will. "They wanted a multi-functional space to cook outside, use as a family, to entertain other families and groups of friends and children, and enjoy themselves." Instead, they had a very sterile space of artificial grass and decking, with no plants at all and, frighteningly, a 7m drop from an unfenced edge.

Making it safe

Sub base being constructed outside modern house.
With no machinery access, everything had to be hand-dug and portered.

With no machinery possible on site, it was fortunate that the existing "garden", put in place by the developer, comprised only artificial grass and decking and was simple to remove. However, great care was needed over the construction, as the position obviously made it of the utmost importance that the base was rock-solid. Once everything was dug out by hand, behind the already-existing huge retaining wall, concrete was pumped in from a lorry at the top of the drive. A wire balustrade finally ensured the space was safe to use.

Why Florence Grey porcelain paving?

2 chaise longues on Florence Grey porcelain paving patio overlooking Avon Valley Gorge, Bristol. Landscape Artisan.
Florence Grey porcelain paving is a high-quality material that gives a luxury appearance to this modern build by Artisan Landscapes.

"We've used Florence Grey porcelain paving many times before," says Will. "We're very confident in it as a product." This confidence is a result of its lasting quality. "Porcelain has an applied finish," he adds, "so it's down to how well it's applied, as to how long the finish lasts. There's also the manufacturing quality—we can cut Florence without risk of chipping and it responds well to being worked."

On top of this, it was important to use a porcelain paving that matched the quality of the high-spec architecture and blended with the palette of the house. Which it does. Perfectly!

Clay paver steps rise past Florence Grey porcelain clad wall to patio.
Mitre-cut Florence Grey porcelain slabs double up as cladding on the wall that separates the seating area from the barbecue, where it makes an easy-to-clean, robust splashback.

It's also a great match for the clay pavers which Will chose to tone with the porcelain paving. Combining porcelain and clay pavers is becoming a classic design choice, as colours can be easily matched while creating an interesting contrast between the texture and finish of traditional and modern materials.

All our porcelain paving carries a 10-year Guarantee, so whatever you choose, you can rest assured of its quality.

The result

View across terrace of Florence Grey porcelain paving and clay pavers.
The different textures of clay pavers and porcelain paving add character to the patio.

Now the outdoor space has a coherence that makes it a truly family space. The different levels are connected with stainless steel steps, in keeping with the construction materials of the house, and at the bottom of the garden is a level lawn which gives space for children to play.

From the space being an ecological desert, there is now plenty of planting to encourage insects and soften the hard landscaping.

The heart of the design, though, is the patio. The level threshold from the house to patio creates an open-plan feel indoors and out with, as Will says, "no step disconnect."

Barbecue sits on counter with Florence Grey porcelain splashback.
A discreet cooking area is set behind the seating area, with Florence Grey porcelain used to clad the wall by Landscape Artisan.

Clever detailing is an important element in the luxury feel of this design. Florence Grey has the natural look of limestone and Artisan Landscapes used slabs as cladding to continue the colour flow across the space. Corners were mitred and grouted with matching resin to create the effect of a solid stone block. Elsewhere, planting pits were lined with the porcelain to minimise the visual impact of slight changes in level.

The next step

Artisan Landscapes have featured in our blog before, with their steep-sloped award-winning garden. Are all their gardens steeply sloped? "Welcome to Bristol!" laughs Will. For more information on what Will and his team can do for your garden, visit Artisan Landscapes.

Visit our Bristol landscaping materials showroom to find everything you want under one roof.

Will's main point of contact was Nick Rixton, one of our team of Landscape Consultants, based in our local showroom. "Nick is fantastic," said Will. "He always goes the extra mile, is very quick to deal with things and a huge help on the project."

For a comprehensive idea of the colours and materials that London Stone can supply for your garden project, why not pop along to our Bristol showroom, where you'll find helpful staff, (including Nick!) and free refreshments? We look forward to seeing you there!