My Urban Garden Deco Guide

At Maison et Objet 2009 I was surprised to find Roche Bobois venturing out into the exterior design world [with retro-ish loungers] ...... and delighted to see they were doing so with textiles by Missoni!

At every Maison et Objet trade fair, Viteo, the now famous the Austrian brand of outdoor furniture/designs , comes up with a new design rather than 20.

That design is very often my preferred novelty of the show and  is always  super sleek . So here it is: last week Viteo presented Cementum line. The  range includes  with a low bench, low table . What I loved  is the slot inserted at the end of the low table allowing for a grill or a fire pit.  www.Viteo.at

I love the  term 'Architects of shade'...and feel it suits  Atelier Oi , creators of this shade tent, very well !

Fellow blogger Rochelle Greayer  has spotted THE ultra cool solar design

' The SunShade has taken the generally poorly executed concept of solar lights for the landscape and revolutionized it. It is a shade by day and a light source at night. Automatically responding to light conditions to make the transformation, these solar powered lights are excellent for a hotel pool area or outdoor restaurant.
Creator, Lianne Genugten describes the design on her website:

The flexible solar cells in the cover of the parasol collect energy from the sun. As the sun goes down the shade transforms into a lampshade and brings light during the night. By means of sensors, the SunShade opens and closes automatically.

Like a mechanical flower, it reacts to day and night.

I wish I could figure out how to upload the little video of the change from garden shade by day to funky landscape lamp by night but I am struggling… so you must visit her site to see the video of the change .'
 

Designed  by Wiebke Braasch this day bed from IKEA' s veranda collection is inspired by Swedish outdoor living.

 Add colorful cushions or even grey ones to be in scandivanian mode ...a glass of glogg and SKOL!

Jean Pierre Galeyn is the founder of  Trade Winds- a small, design-led company specializing in the production and marketing of outdoor and garden equipment. Before bringing a new product to market, they  go to enormous trouble to analyze exactly what "real people want". . Their designs are always made  brilliantly [ he works with  high spec craftsmen who also build musical instruments, violins etc...!] . He is not only the most upbeat and passionate character, he also is 100 % focused on new ideas . So when he mentioned to me that friends of his had developed the most fabulous Adirondack  formulated from recycled milk jugs ...I had to go check it out !

I found the company Built to Last  and  a great story a la Yahoo [ two guys in a garage...] ...

Read the whole saga of how a brand was born here.

Read the whole list of product specs on  their site : the description starts with

'furniture is handcrafted using dimensional plastic lumber made of HDPE (high density polyethylene).

> It is a dense material formulated from recycled milk jugs and cartons. Because of its dense nature it is heavier than wood.

> UV protection is mixed in.

> HDPE should not be confused with resin and other plastics that oxidize and become impossible to keep clean. Instead, an occasional cleaning will keep the furniture looking new well into the future.

Nothing sticks to or stains HDPE, including red wine. If dirt is allowed to accumulate rinsing with water usually does the trick, but if necesarry it can be cleaned with any household cleanser, and will even withstand bleach. The furniture can be pressure washed but care should be taken to not apply too much pressure as this may "feather" the surface..............>>>> more here