The Garden Room Studio
A journey in landscape design and interior style: in conversation with Matt and Elle Evans, founders of The Garden Room Studio.
Can you give us an introduction to The Garden Room Studio?
The Garden Room Studio is a design lead team with landscape design and interior style at the heart of what we do. We also handle all of our own planting install and a specialist aftercare service to ensure our client's investment in their gardens is realised.
We’d love to know your journey. How did it all begin?
We were in Indonesia at the time, both fed up with our jobs back at home and had a ‘life’s too short’ moment. With Elle’s years of photographic styling experience in both fashion and interiors and Matt’s passion for horticulture, we decided to join forces in both our life and work. After a few years of re-training and juggling another job, Matt managed to go full time on the business and the rest is history.
Why did you choose Bournemouth to be the home for your business?
Good question as we’re not from Dorset originally. We both moved here to live by the sea after finishing university. Matt was teaching windsurfing and driving boats and Elle was working for a creative agency on the South Coast. Dorset is a great place to be creative, with its beautiful countryside and coastline. Devon and Cornwall are just a short drive away, and you can get to London for a meeting in a day and back- what’s not to love?
What is it you love most about landscapes and interiors?
The two compliment each other so well. We’re often asked to collaborate on linking the interior scheme with the garden and these are the best projects. There’s nothing better than helping someone pull together curated collections to dress a room or compliment a view out of a window into the garden.
Landscape wise, a massive proportion of the country’s green space is made up of residential gardens and we see it as our responsibility to make sure they don’t all get astro-turfed over. Helping clients with considered design in both hard and soft landscaping is such an exciting job. We get to plant trees, have our hands in the soil and grow things, but also draw, plan and create architectural spaces. Once we’ve planned things we then get to collaborate with local makers to pull our ideas together. There’s nothing better than seeing an idea come to life.
What are your top tips for budding gardeners as we roll into summer?
Experiment. Gardens are about trying things. Grow veg, paint that old wall you’ve been looking at for three years, get down to Chestnut/ Cherrytree nursery and invest in a few nice plants and support a good cause. There’s something constant about a garden when life is so often fast-paced and uncertain. It’s great exercise, and helps you relax- watching things grow, creating spaces all while giving a little bit back to the planet. Look at our Instagram and at Pinterest for ideas. If you’ve got something you need a hand with- let us know!
What’s next for TGR?
Well the rest of 2023 is looking exceptionally busy. We have a project book running right through into next year, and site work to take us into the winter. As our portfolio continues to grow, so will our team. We also have an exciting community project we’re trying to get off the ground, but we can't say much more than that at the moment. We’re shooting our feature work to date in early summer which will be a great chance to take stock and look back at what we’ve achieved over the last 4 years- something we’re super proud of.
Website → thegardenroomstudio.com
Instagram → @the_garden__room__studio
