Reveal: The Moregeous Terrace

Slowly, slowly we’re getting to the reveal bits at Moregeous HQ. Well, I say that, but those of you who’ve been here on our walking workshops know exactly which bits you’re looking at. Still changing though isn’t it, as Mr M and I work through the parts which weren’t completed when you came? With me so far? Oh good.

It’s terrace time!! Perfectly timed for the hottest summer since ’76, we’ve nailed the patio and  I bloody love it. Shall we, a la Rockster & Builder Cat, have a gander?Boy, have we (all) waited a long time for this.  For months and months, in fact, for two years we’ve been stepping out of the bi-folds onto unlevel, puddle strewn concrete and though concrete can be pretty cool in some applications (I’m thinking about you worktops), on what’s supposed to be a stylish terrace, not so much. Incidentally we in Manchester have now forgotten what rain feels like, which is too weird for words.I needed a surface easy to maintain and highly durable, so porcelain tiles fitted the bill perfectly. If you’re deliberating the same, I’ve a How and Why To coming up on Friday but for now it’s just pretty pictures rather than my usual practical explanations. Are you ready for them…….Lol, there’s a pretty picture eh? Dave the Brave, who in 30* heat was renamed Sheikh Dave. Sensible men, those sheikhs. That tea towel worked a treat. Laying porcelain in large format planks takes absolute SKILLZ, so before anyone sees any gorgeous shots, it’s a quick round of applause for him. Lesser men saw the job and ran away, seriously. Didn’t pick up the phone again. Dave nailed it and in extreme temperatures too. We love Dave. If you need his number, message me.

No more teasing you now, are ya ready? Here they are!!Oh I ADORE them. All of a sudden stepping out of the bi-folds is a pleasure, even  barefoot. Smooth but slightly textured, they feel warm in the sun but lovely and cool in the shade. And it’s flat – I finally own a flat terrace!!The idea was always to pick up the dappled shading of the roof slates, mixed reclaimed local slates in different hues of grey. Slate roofs are very traditional, especially with the decorative fishtail pattern we’ve hand-cut in-between the rectangular ones. I wanted to contrast the period detail with very crisp contemporary porcelain planks, but in shading which complemented the roof. Do other people consider looking up when they specify terrace flooring? I have no idea, but for me it’s essential to take in all the surrounding materials when deciding on a palette for a scheme. It took ages to find them, absolutely ages, so even though we knew we wouldn’t be laying them for a while, we bought and stored them.
Big garden decisions shouldn’t be faddy, they shouldn’t be trend led because next year everyone will have moved onto a new trend and you’ll be left with a very expensive installation which might not even be your style, but you chose to fit a fashion. Grey is on trend, it’s true, but grey slate roofs? Of course they’ve been around forever. Choosing a material to complement a longstanding and integral part of an exterior will ensure your investment works for a very long time. For the first time since it was built, the brick display wall looks pretty enough to actually display things in – at last! I’d always imagined it filled with plants and artwork but never bothered cause the floor looked so ugly. And now it doesn’t. And I can 🙂

The textured anthracite finish of the bi-folds works really well with the planks too. Initially I thought dark grey flooring would be best but then saw these tiles and preferred the variations in colour. Does it work for you, right decision? Dark grey would have been to samey, I reckon.We still need to sort out that leaky box gutter and fix a new frontage instead of the daft plywood decision which has warped badly in just a couple of years, but the overall effect can be seen above. I quite fancy some lighting under the box gutter and am busy noting down links to cool external lighting every time I see any online. Hit me up if you see something you think I’d like!
The Redbrick Mill team at Made kindly loaned us this set of amazing outdoor furniture for a press shoot, so I took the opportunity to get these shots of the terrace once that was done. I’m thinking that whatever our ‘forever’ furniture is, the bar’s been set pretty high! Not only a brilliant colour match but also super versatile. So tempted.
We have literally never opened the two smaller bifolds until last week. It felt like a birthday present 🙂 All of a sudden this part of the terrace feels like an outside room so I played about with the furniture to create two armchairs under the oriel window (the cill of which I still need to sort out btw, so it’s grey not white).

Or do you prefer it with the sofa??!All in all, over the moon! The best things in life are worth waiting for, they say, and we’ve sure waited long enough for this. This incredible weather we’re having is clearly all aimed directly at the Moregeous terrace, a reward for our patience, I like to think. Tonight it’ll either be hosting patriotic dances of joy or we’ll be mopping up tears of despair. Luckily, it’s now easily mopped.

Right, next job, getting a new lawn down and sorting the gutters. Right after I finish painting the bargain dining table I picked up this week. Enjoy the match everyone, and pop back later in the week for some terrace tiling tips, Moregeous style x