Pass on the wooden picnic tables, plastic chairs, paper plates and oilcloth backed with flannel. Outdoor living spaces these days look more well-to- do than make-do. Consider these colorful and clever options:
Fabric
“This summer, the color palette has become brighter, and the designs have branched out,” says Lucille Grippo, spokeswoman for fabric powerhouse Waverly. “A few years ago, you could find floral or botanical prints, but you were pretty boxed in with the way they looked. For this year, we’ve compiled several designs, including geometric patterns, stripes and novelty prints, as well as botanicals.”
Grippo describes the colors for 2005 as not neon, but “happy” – vivid yellow, lovely blues, rain-forest greens and “pinks, ranging from a pale pink with some life to it to almost fuchsia.”
Grippo points to three new fabric collections as having the ability to breathe new life into old spaces. The Metropolitan collection features geometric patterns for those seeking a more sophisticated look. The new Sun N’ Shade collection is much bolder with bright florals and many sizes of stripes in fabrics that are both weather resistant and stain resistant, which makes them great for outside and for high-traffic areas inside, like kids’ rooms and playrooms.
For those who would rather blend their outdoor look more seamlessly to Colorado’s casual and natural style, Grippo recommends fabrics from the Woodland Retreat line, which should hit stores in early June.
Of course, designers and do-it-yourselfers alike use these fabrics to make chair cushions, awnings, umbrellas, hammocks and table linens. But Grippo says you can also create a sense of cohesive space on porches, patios and decks with slipcovers for functional but not-too-attractive outdoor storage items or paneled screens, which can provide more privacy in densely populated areas. Even shower-curtain-like panels (rectangle with a simple hem on all sides) can help enclose outdoor spaces when hung from a clothesline. Just be sure to weight or secure the bottom edge if any candles burn nearby.
Décor
Robert McElroy, vice president of Lands’ End Home, says the outdoor living market started for the company in earnest three years ago. “It has grown exponentially for us,” he says, “particularly with the explosion of teak, the only weatherproof wood in the world.”
Because area rugs are another simple way to define a space, Lands’ End now sells rugs made from polypropylene that can stand up to all kinds of weather, while protecting bare feet from outdoor hazards.
The company also offers outdoor bean bag floor pillows, which provide additional seating for kids and grown-ups alike. If a more formal setup is needed, the company just introduced Seaside, a resin wicker furniture set built on double-walled, powder-coated aluminum frames. With sofas, chairs and ottomans, you can create a living room outside.
In addition to fabric, rugs and furniture, plants – silk, if you can believe it – make great outdoor space borders. Plain or prelit with white lights, silk trees and topiaries provide a low-maintenance perimeter. Look at craft stores like Michaels for a bevy of silk plant or flower options.
Vision
Laura Medicus, an interior designer with O Interior Design Inc. in Denver agrees that the goal decorating outdoor living spaces is “to get that indoor look outdoors,” but often she believes people go crazy outside in ways they never would inside. Lots of color is fine, if you don’t mind your patio, porch or deck looking like a theme park.
Instead, she suggests picking just one or two of the hot colors or styles for 2005 and sticking with it. “Instead of going wild with color,” she says, “you can be really strict with yourself and do maybe all white with just green, or monochrome: Go all fuchsia.”
White base cushions with green throw pillows or bolsters look elegant. “Stripes are very big this year, but don’t go overboard. The stricter you can be with your colors, the more pulled together your look will be,” Medicus says.
Watch your forms as well as function too. Medicus points to more structured, boxy, tailored shapes as giving that indoor out look to an exterior space. When it comes to extra cushions, more allows for overflow seating on planter ledges, stairs or even the ground.
“If the party gets bigger than you expect, and a good party should,” she says, “if you have extra cushions, it’s not a problem.”
Medicus offers one last warning about lighting your outdoor living space. “I hate too much outdoor lighting. It looks like Disneyland,” she says. Instead keep walkway lights on the walkway and use candles for ambience.
In the end, Medicus adds, too much color, too much light “seems too contrived. You want it to look effortless, even if it wasn’t.”
Accessories
No fun outdoor space would be complete without at least one home accessory.
Keep the summer grub outside. Outdoor shower styles available online from Target range from the conventional to the artful, including copper shower heads shaped like butterflies or stars.
Think unbreakable. Shatterproof melamine or acrylic place settings come in bold solids with kitschy florals in coordinating colors this year. Twelve-piece sets sell for about $30 at retailers like Target, JC Penney and Wal-Mart.
Keep it cool. The indoor-outdoor party fridge by Soleus at Linens ‘n Things easily cruises from room to room on casters.
Sip with style. Steady Sticks wine holder at Linens ‘n Things pokes into the ground and keeps one wine bottle and four glasses safe.
