My Urban Garden Deco Guide

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photo: Vondom PR

The irony of outdoor spaces is that when it gets too hot they are almost worse than indoors! Getting a little fresh air becomes impossible. However, over the past few years clever designs have made the hunt for shade easier. We have seen the rise of new options: the individual parasol, creative shade furniture, amazing sun sails, etc...

This year, designers seem to have taken on the challenge of hydration and cool drinks. 

The cooler/table

Quite naturally as we get used to multi-tasking furniture, an increasing number of low tables either include a rack for drinks and bottles or actually incorporate an ice bucket or cooler 'slot'. Designed by Domani, the always chic Belgian brand, the Cool Table is just what its name suggests! In zinc, the oval shaped low table has a 'slot' to keep your drinks fresh. Perfect for pool parties!

Now Vondom, the Spanish creative leaders, have also included in their super edgy new Faz collection a low table (pictured) with such a feature. I am pretty certain this is about to be a standard feature!

The over-sized ice bucket

I think it is fair to say that Belgian brand Extremis was the first to bring one of these to the market. The very successful  IceCube works as an oversized ice bucket for parties but can be used the rest of the time as a seat or a space divider.

This year at the Milan furniture fair, Serralunga followed in their footsteps with the new LLUNA Ice. Again, it seems this will soon be a must have for all ranges!

Given that it has just been announced that June was the hottest month ever, I hope it will encourage more designers to help us beat the heatwave!

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photo: Extremis PR

Because outdoor spaces are attracting designers from more eclectic backgrounds (architects, hotel designers, artists...), the options available in the outdoor furniture sector are becoming more varied.

Here are just a few of the many amazing innovations out there.

Many new ideas are spurred by a form of eco-consciousness in its broadest sense and encourage us to imagine new solutions rather than just 'shop until we drop'!.

Licences to build your favorite designs 

At the Milan Furniture Fair this April, the Belgian brand Extremis showed up with a very unexpected product. It was not a new design. It was a kit. Or more exactly a box in which one found the right to re-create a single version of ones favorite Extremis product. Each official license in the box contains the necessary drawings and specifications to have the design made. Though the concept was not presented as an eco-friendly idea, it most certainly is: it saves transporting designs, encourages the use of locally sourced materials and provides work to valued local craftsmen.

Dirk Wynants, the creative head of Extremis and innovative mind behind this very controversial idea, explains that the value of an Extremis product encompasses not only a production process but also the intellectual property.
As a reflection of the importance of this 'intangible' part of the final product, the pack costs 20 percent of the price for an actual product.
 

Zero carbon designs 

Obviously very in demand at the moment are designs using locally sourced materials. Design lovers will be happy to see this can also lead to very creative designs!. The bench seen here is from an art shop in Holland [vividvormgeving]  and is actually sold at quite a hefty price, but the idea of simply adding backrests to a fallen tree trunk is superb and I am sure can lead to other variations, both virtually carbon neutral and high in design value.

Co-creations between designers and nature

Finally, in the design world we are seeing more and more of what I call co-creations between designers and nature. Rather than just placing a man made design in an outdoor space, designers are inventing designs that need to be completed by nature to reach their final form. I love the ' table cloth' series by French designers '5.5'. They use grass or tree trunks and add tiles to create tables or stools in parks or gardens.

I hope these few examples inspire you for your future projects!

Anne

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photo: Kettal PR

I am  sorry to say the list of things to consider when shopping for outdoor designs just got longer ! The explosion of options available for outdoors had already made buying pieces quite tricky. As anyone who goes for a first buy suddenly realises,  looks are not the only thing to consider. A huge amount of questions need answering. How will the design age? What precisely does the term 'suitable for outdoors' actually cover? What about if it snows? How do the cushions stay out? Can they stay out ...out as in whatever the weather ? etc, etc, etc ... And now, we need to add a new consideration: interchangeability. New designs are so stylish people are buying outdoor furniture for indoors!. But again looks are not the whole story and as many questions need to be considered.  I would love to offer a magical tip providing a silver bullet solution. Fact is homework and research are necessary. Here are a few pointers to help you draw up a wish list when looking for pieces with 'interchangeability' potential.

Textures, finishes and colors

I started really realizing the potential new designs have to look and 'feel' great indoors when I visited a new  Kettal store. I discovered the Manhattan range (picture) covered in a lovely amazingly soft fabric. The base of the seat is in a soft polyurethane material. This means that even the parts not covered by cushions such as the armrest are easy on your arms and pleasant to rest on. If you think you will perhaps bring pieces indoors at some point, then perhaps all teak designs or hard plastics are not for you. Choosing textures also directs choice of colors if the intention is to maximise interchangeability. Let me illustrate the point:

Polypropylene furniture : take the new design by Callegaris, the Area 51 available in white or color. Experience has shown me white polypropylene tends not to age well. It becomes rather grayish. So if you go for a polypropylene piece, opt for the colored version.

Table tops: some table top materials are perhaps too 'hard' and you would not want to use them indoors. The lovely new wafer thin ceramic tops for example fall in that camp. On the contrary a table like the new Serralunga Banquété seen at the Milan Furniture fair, made from composite wood, offers a very soft and gentle touch ensuring its 'interchangeability'.

Floor lamps: new designs totally replicate indoor designs. Looking at advertising images you may not see the difference of textures and imagine how they would look if you had them indoors. I love online shopping but if shopping with interchangeability in mind be sure you have seen the model or similar designs in real life. I was shopping around for an outdoor light when I realised this. I saw the Viteo's dual energy ZOE light   in opal acrylic glass which looks very crisp and glossy ( not too glossy !). The finish makes it look very suitable for a chic indoor set up. Right next to it was an outdoor lamp in regular plastic looking really sad in an indoor context because one could see the ' welded' junctions and those parts very slightly frayed. That often is the case with pieces in polypropylene or plastic and really looks strange indoors.

Equally important is the choice of finish. An large amount of the most modern designs in polypropylene for example, roto moulded or not, are now offered in lacquered versions. Far more expensive than the base product in ranges, they do tend to age really well. Depending on your style, they might work well indoors thus justifying the initial extra cost.

Shape and size

Again many outdoor furniture designs have come to resemble indoor designs shapes and proportions completely. As a rule of thumb choosing the right size and proportions means imagining if your newly acquired ottoman would happily live indoors alongside your current furniture or how a possible outdoor dining set could easily become the feature of your dining room.

Modules are obviously widely available now allowing sofa to be huge or tiny by adding or withdrawing  some parts. They are clearly the way to go as they can adapt to changing spaces.

Upholstering options

Fellow Garden Design blogger Gina Wicker wrote a great piece on outdoor fabrics and how they have come so incredibly close to those traditionally used indoors.Check it out here. Beyond choosing the fabric, you need to consider how they work. Separable or removable covers obviously make it easier to make a quick change and use textiles you want to more specifically fit your indoor decor. Also consider things like sofa covers. The Manhattan design shown in the picture for example uses a material and has a shape that allows you to have it bare. Some designs may benefit from a cover to really make them fit indoors.

These are just a few pointers, love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Happy shopping!