Slot Drain Creates Seamless Flow From Kitchen To Garden

Creating a seamless Indoor Outdoor spatial flow is ideal for extending our living space. But it needs consideration. This is exactly what artist and interior designer Laura Gompertz gave to her kitchen and a tired outdoor area that was in desperate need of renovation.

View through open bifold doors, over stainless steel slot drain, to small garden totally paved with Jura Beige Limestone. — Laura’s given her finished garden, which using Jura Beige Limestone and a stainless steel slot drain, a verdant, Mediterranean feel by leaving an established wisteria in place and adding palms and an olive tree. Picture Credit: www.lauragompertz.com.

“Basically, the decking was washing away,” she says, “and I wanted the effect of the inside and outside looking similar.” Laura specialises in kitchens, but has on more than one occasion found it natural to extend her designs into the garden. “It’s sort of like the same space,” she says.

The importance of slot drains in Indoor Outdoor spaces

Although the fall in the paving runs away from the back of the house, a belt-and-braces approach is vital where, like this, the floor inside and paving outside are on exactly the same level.

Laura chose our stainless steel slot drains. “They’re nice and discreet, making it look like one room. Although we’ve had some very heavy rain since we installed the stone, it’s never washed in.”

With the inspection unit tucked tidily into the corner near the outside tap, the patio slot drain shows only as a neat, thin line, parallel with the door runners, creating virtually no interference as the eye travels to the far end of the garden.

Close-up of stainless steel slot drain set into Jura Beige limestone paving. — The slot drain takes up very little space, meaning that joints appear only slightly wider here than between the 10mm joints used with the rest of the paving. Picture credit: www.lauragompertz.com.

To aid drainage further, Laura also included an unpaved 3-4 inch perimeter around the edge of the garden, neatly finished off with black and white pebbles for weed suppression.

View from above of single slab of Jura Beige Limestone showing markings and embedded shells — Jura Beige limestone is renowned for the shells and fossils embedded in it. Picture credit: www.lauragompertz.com

Paving Choices

Indoors, the kitchen had been tiled with filled travertine. “I chose Jura Beige for the outside. It’s beautiful with the fossils in it, so I made the most of the opportunity to use it.” The soft beige colouring tones with the Travertine, while both offer an interesting surface texture, the shapes of the fossils in the Jura limestone add dramatic character to the paving area.

Small rundown back garden with old decking, blue trellis panels. — The space was originally run down and in sore need of renovation. Picture credit: www.lauragompertz.com.

Pre-sealed stone for easier maintenance

Laura had the limestone pre-sealed by London Stone – something that she found crucial. “That’s a real plus for London Stone. There are very few suppliers that will seal stone before it arrives. And you have to ask; when are you ever going to get round to sealing it yourself? Now, it needs the odd brush and wash down - I just hose down gently to clean.”

As you can see in the picture, eighteen months on from completion, it’s certainly continuing to look smart!

Watch our video on how to lay a slot or channel drain.