08/06/2026
There is something rather special about a garden detail that makes people stop, look twice and ask how it came to be there.
This was one of those moments.
The clients did not want the norm. They needed a safe edge to the outside of their decking platform, and because of the height, a balustrade was required. But instead of accepting a standard solution, they wanted something different. Something more considered. Something that belonged to the garden rather than simply being fixed to it.
Not every terrace needs a standard balustrade.
Sometimes the requirement is functional.
Sometimes the opportunity is architectural.
On this project, I designed a series of weathering steel fins to act as a protective barrier, visual screen and sculptural garden feature.
Each blade stands at 1.8 metres, creating far more presence than a conventional balustrade. The fins introduce rhythm, privacy, shadow and movement. They catch the light through the day and change as the sun moves across the garden.
The steel has been left to weather naturally, developing a rich, warm patina that sits beautifully with the Limed Oak decking and the surrounding planting. Against the blue sky and soft purple flowers, the effect is strong but not harsh. Confident, but not loud.
This is where decking design becomes more than a platform.
It becomes part of the architecture of the garden.
A terrace should never feel like an afterthought. It can be a place to sit, entertain, move through and look back at with genuine pleasure. It can frame a view, define a level change, create privacy and become a design statement in its own right.
You rarely see this type of treatment in a private garden, and that is exactly the point.
The best gardens are not built from standard answers. They come from understanding the client, the setting, the regulations, the materials and the opportunity to do something exceptional.
For clients who want more than the norm, this is the kind of design thinking that turns a decking platform into something completely unique.
Designed by Karl Harrison Landscapes.
For considered, creative terrace and decking design.
