Well, summer is officially here and we should be in the middle of some smokin' hot weather. I love the SUMMER for many reasons...not the least of which is: the living space of my home increases dramatically...because I bring the inside OUT.
Creating an outdoor living space is a great way to enjoy the summer and to increase your living area. Just like planning an interior space, creating an outdoor living area takes time, patience and, most of all, planning. How about a few pointers on creating that perfect space and avoiding costly mistakes and design disasters!
The first thing to do is to decide how the space will be used. This is identifying the function of the space. Are you hoping to create a space for dining, relaxing, recreation or a combination of activities?
Since your outdoor space needs to be identified and outlined, you must thoroughly review your existing site conditions. What elements or hard-scapes are you already working with? Are you working with a deck, patio, slab of concrete, or combination? If you don't necessary have any of these elements, you can still create an outlined space through furnishings groupings, outdoor rugs, flower pots, and landscape lighting. So, once you have identified the general space and existing site conditions, you can move onto the next phase of the plan: Space Planning.
The easiest way to begin is to take overall measurements and draw them out onto 1/4" graph paper. You don't have to be an artist or a mathematician! Typically the masterpiece will be for your eyes only:) and is to be used as a guideline to help you make plans for furniture and accessory placement and avoid unnecessary purchases or costly mistakes. Usually I just rough out on the graph paper the overall dimensions of the room and then as I'm reviewing which items will be positioned in the space, I can confirm that all pieces will actually fit comfortably into the space.
Remember that BALANCE is one of the primary principals of Interior Design. Balance is extremely important to a well designed room be it inside or outside. Keeping this in mind, the creation or enhancement of a focal point during the space planning phase is vital. Interior design’s biggest enemy is boredom. A well-designed room always has, depending on the size of it, one or more focal points. A focal point must be dominant to draw attention and interesting enough to encourage the viewer to look further. A focal point needs to have a lasting impression but must also be an integral part of the decoration linked through scale, style, color or theme. For the outdoor living area, this can be a cooking station or fireplace or pit or a water feature or even a beautiful green area for sitting/relaxing.
OK! Now we're moving closer and closer to the really fun stuff! So, you've determined what type of space you will be creating, you've determined what the existing conditions are and what you have to work with. You've also now determined what furnishings and/or grills, tables, loungers will be placed into the space and you've verified that they are all going to fit nicely. Further, you've decided on your focal point(s) in relation to the well placed items in your STUNNING space. WELL DONE.
The next thing to keep in mind is that it is necessary to think of the house and the exterior living area as a totality; a series of spaces linked together. So, it's therefore appropriate that a common style and theme runs throughout. This is not to say that all interior design elements should be the same but they should work together and complement each other to strengthen the whole composition. A way to create this theme or storyline is with the well considered use of color. Color schemes in general are a great way to unify a collection of spaces.
In creating the perfect outdoor living space that clearly ties into the rest of your home it's VITAL that you remember the number one rule with color is to maintain continuity. Try and match the indoor color scheme with the exterior color scheme...but maybe think about mixing it up just a bit. Perhaps you could focus on one of your secondary or accessory colors and bring it to the forefront. One nifty idea is to make the color of your outdoor plants match a feature wall from inside. When choosing the textiles on your seating or tableware, consider what you already have going on inside and play with it. Another super easy way is to bring a throw pillow outside made of the same fabric as some of your indoor elements. You can repeat a pattern, color, texture, line, or any other element, or even more than one element. It just don't get any easier than that:)!
If you have a green thumb, accessorizing can be very easy with flowering pots and containers as a welcome addition. Group your containers together for maximum impact and easier watering. Make sure the containers vary in height and size with one or two pieces breaking up the terra-cotta pot look. Choose flowers that do well in this area because they will be under close inspection by people on the patio. No plant is better than a dead plant. Use spheres, baskets, smaller pots, and sculptures to fill in a container and add interest.
Dress up your table with totally "green" linens. Having fun and beautiful table linens is a must plus it saves trees! There are so many great options for plates/dishes, outdoor stemware, silverware and the like. Have fun and make your guest feel like the special people that they are! HAPPY SUMMER and as always, remember: Better Living by Design:).
