Mark your calendars, design fans: 2015 may go down as the year that interior design really learned its way around the yard!
More than ever, we’re seeing a wonderful and welcome fluidity between a client’s full-time style and a designer’s ability to deliver an outdoor space – poolside patio, lakeside lounge or country kitchen; lawn, deck or terrace; that mirrors it beautifully. Not just mirrors it – extends it, the way the best outdoor rooms are extensions of the house itself, all part of the life and the flow.
Shown: Biscayne Round Dining Table and Chairs
So, what’s blurring these lines in backyard design? Let’s take a look:
GREAT STYLE ON DECK
You might say that outdoor design is finally getting its day in the sun. Taking cues from classic furniture styles – from Eames to Chippendale and back to mid-century mod – today’s designers are playing with form and materials for outdoor furniture in ways that are fresh, elegant and fun. Our own Millbrook collection, for example, handcrafted of natural plantation-grown teak, has the chiseled, curved, carved arms and turned spindle legs you’d expect to see on one of our indoor dining collections.
Shown: Millbrook Lounge Chair and End Table
STEPPING OUT
The rug really does tie the whole room together! And indoor/outdoor rug technology has made huge leaps. A new indoor/outdoor rug will resist stains, static, mildew and bacteria. They don’t absorb moisture, so spills are easy to handle. Pro tip: If you want a colorful, colorfast rug that’s environmentally friendly and wears like a dream, look for one that’s been solution dyed.
Shown, from left: Domain, Nikko II and Lancy Rugs
FEELING IS BELIEVING
Performance fabric. (Did you think of something scratchy? Something a little stiff without much personality?) When what it really means is…tough enough for the outdoors. Incredibly durable. In colors and patterns you’ll want to use inside (and you totally can!). And so, so soft! Today’s performance fabrics are overachievers in all the best ways, which means your outdoor room is somewhere very hang-worthy. Hungry for ways to serve up your outdoor eats in style? Click here.
Shown: Bicayne Settee in Hatcher/Oatmeal; Pillows from left: 21″ square in Kitts/Indigo, 19″ square in Martinique/Indigo, 21″ square in Arbor/Sand and 19″ square in Tobago/Indigo.
