Covered Deck with Stone Outdoor Kitchen

Design notes

English cottage design is abundance with a plan. Look for brick, flagstone or gravel paths that give the eye a route, borders packed with roses, foxgloves, lavender, catmint and delphiniums, and a little structure from clipped box, a picket fence or an arbour. Materials are aged — reclaimed brick, painted timber, weathered stone — and there is always somewhere to sit: a bench under a tree, a bistro table by the door.

What to look for

• Board direction and how it changes the apparent size
• Edges: built-in benches and planters instead of rail where allowed
• Stairs wide enough to double as seating