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4 Ways to Cozy Up Your Outdoor Space
Friday, November 20, 2020
Even the outdoor spaces of a modern urban home can be transformed into private retreats with the consideration of this handful of factors.
Design by: SQFT Space Design Management
When the sun takes on a more enjoyable temperament in the evenings - or has yet to get fierce at the start of the day, there is perhaps nothing as enriching or rejuvenating for the soul as a meditative stroll in the sanctuary of one’s own garden. But perhaps your home came with a hardscape instead of a lawn, or your initial reaction to a blank slate devoid of grass cover was to lay your choice of architectural finishes over it instead - either way, you may have a potentially cold expanse of stone to contend with. To help imbue your gardens and balconies with some semblance of intimacy, we took a look at our favourite outdoor spaces and described the ingredients that make for restful retreats here.
Warm Lighting
Design by: Metrics Global
The subtle effects of light on our behavioural patterns are only just being uncovered presently, with the most recent findings implying that our natural rhythms leading to sleep are interrupted by artificial sources of blue light - which modern urban life seems to be saturated in, due to the prevalence of black mirrors and fluorescent lighting fixtures. One of the easiest ways to go about turning an emotionless outdoor space into one that is more hospitable is to exchange light bulbs of the “cool white” variety with the paradoxically lower temperature “warm white” bulbs. As with stars in the sky, bulbs burning at lower temperatures appear more red than blue - emitting a light that is similar to the quality of sunlight at the start and end of each day, when our natural rhythms are at their most restive.
Image Credit: Nedgis Lighting
Inviting Furniture
Image Credit: Isofu
Even with a stone patio adequately appointed with warm yellow lighting and vibrant swathes of flora, without some form of seating available, there is not much to do other than to take in the scenery while standing. Adding a single chair provides a platform for a few solitary activities - but adding a table, and a few more chairs, provides opportunities for a gathering of intimate acquaintances in close proximity.
Design by: Nu Infinity
Design by: Nu Infinity
Facilitated Fun
Design by: Nu Infinity
If you want to provide more than just a place for friends and family to converse while taking in the ambiance, consider incorporating additional features as conversation multipliers to ease restless personalities and fill uncomfortable silences. Talking points spontaneously arise around features such as an intriguing ornament, a potted plant, a rock garden, an artful water feature, or a fish pond; and the merriment of an outdoor soiree can be extended with the addition of a barbeque grill, a beverage bar, or if space permits: a decadent body of water such as a foot bath, a Jacuzzi, or a pool.
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="57808,57810"]Characteristic Style
Tip: To anchor a strong sense of style in your outdoor space, go for statement-making furniture. This beautiful piece from Les Asia's Skyline range is the perfect example with its sophisticated design and weather-friendly features. Image Credit: Les Asia
The style of décor that is most appropriate for the creation of an intimate outdoor space is largely dependant on personal preferences and where one feels most at home on the continuum of order and chaos. Generally, a home with a large outdoor space would benefit from a strong focal point achieved using a stylish outdoor furniture piece.
4 Ways to Cozy Up Your Outdoor Space
Friday, November 20, 2020
Even the outdoor spaces of a modern urban home can be transformed into private retreats with the consideration of this handful of factors.
Design by: SQFT Space Design Management
When the sun takes on a more enjoyable temperament in the evenings - or has yet to get fierce at the start of the day, there is perhaps nothing as enriching or rejuvenating for the soul as a meditative stroll in the sanctuary of one’s own garden. But perhaps your home came with a hardscape instead of a lawn, or your initial reaction to a blank slate devoid of grass cover was to lay your choice of architectural finishes over it instead - either way, you may have a potentially cold expanse of stone to contend with. To help imbue your gardens and balconies with some semblance of intimacy, we took a look at our favourite outdoor spaces and described the ingredients that make for restful retreats here.
Warm Lighting
Design by: Metrics Global
The subtle effects of light on our behavioural patterns are only just being uncovered presently, with the most recent findings implying that our natural rhythms leading to sleep are interrupted by artificial sources of blue light - which modern urban life seems to be saturated in, due to the prevalence of black mirrors and fluorescent lighting fixtures. One of the easiest ways to go about turning an emotionless outdoor space into one that is more hospitable is to exchange light bulbs of the “cool white” variety with the paradoxically lower temperature “warm white” bulbs. As with stars in the sky, bulbs burning at lower temperatures appear more red than blue - emitting a light that is similar to the quality of sunlight at the start and end of each day, when our natural rhythms are at their most restive.
Image Credit: Nedgis Lighting
Inviting Furniture
Image Credit: Isofu
Even with a stone patio adequately appointed with warm yellow lighting and vibrant swathes of flora, without some form of seating available, there is not much to do other than to take in the scenery while standing. Adding a single chair provides a platform for a few solitary activities - but adding a table, and a few more chairs, provides opportunities for a gathering of intimate acquaintances in close proximity.
Design by: Nu Infinity
Design by: Nu Infinity
Facilitated Fun
Design by: Nu Infinity
If you want to provide more than just a place for friends and family to converse while taking in the ambiance, consider incorporating additional features as conversation multipliers to ease restless personalities and fill uncomfortable silences. Talking points spontaneously arise around features such as an intriguing ornament, a potted plant, a rock garden, an artful water feature, or a fish pond; and the merriment of an outdoor soiree can be extended with the addition of a barbeque grill, a beverage bar, or if space permits: a decadent body of water such as a foot bath, a Jacuzzi, or a pool.
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="57808,57810"]Characteristic Style
Tip: To anchor a strong sense of style in your outdoor space, go for statement-making furniture. This beautiful piece from Les Asia's Skyline range is the perfect example with its sophisticated design and weather-friendly features. Image Credit: Les Asia
The style of décor that is most appropriate for the creation of an intimate outdoor space is largely dependant on personal preferences and where one feels most at home on the continuum of order and chaos. Generally, a home with a large outdoor space would benefit from a strong focal point achieved using a stylish outdoor furniture piece.
Styling Your Outdoor Spaces With Colourful Accessories
Friday, November 20, 2020
Elevate your outdoor space from a mere extension of the living room to a spot of magical potential with colourful add-ons.
Even when subjected to unpredictable weather conditions and wilful sprawls of greenery, the outdoors is just as viable a canvas for creative expression as the interior – and a home would be profoundly incomplete without an inviting yard or patio to extend living areas. If you have the outdoor space to spare, you may be thinking of providing an alternative to lounging indoors by setting aside a patch of grass or floor and adding furniture to it. Appointing your lawn with furnishings in white may be the strongest initial compulsion, but if you want to imbue your outdoor hangout with some semblance of colour, we have some ideas on how to make that happen.
Bright Nights
Image Credit: Lights4Fun
A standard seating arrangement is a sufficiently practical consideration for providing a place to relax, but a certain measure of magic is necessary to make an outdoor space captivating. To dress a space as though it was transported from the realm of fantasy, consider pairing a boldly coloured rug with fairy lights strung over tree branches to mimic the stars of the night sky.
Image Credit: Lights4Fun
Through both the mystical quality of floating illumination and the striking contrast of bold colours against a natural backdrop, the result is that even the most temporary of lounge spaces are elevated to enigmatic heights.
Bold Fun
Image Credit: Carpetright
Other than surrealist landscapes born of imagination, few visual compositions are as striking as a product of human hands throwing boldly saturated colours against the verdant green of Mother Nature’s work. The contrast is perhaps as much thematic as it is about colour or shade – the same effect can be achieved with everything from a decorative sculpture to a practical arrangement of furniture.
Image Credit: Carpetright
With a background of green grass, the stage is set for a stunning contrast to be made with brightly coloured furniture, decorations, or accessories to facilitate entertainment in your outdoor space.
Image Credit: Carpetright
Tip: Put against the background of a lawn, nearly any manufactured object is instantly made worthy of attention – thanks to the subtle difference in natural or artificial colours and the obvious disparity in theme.
Image Credit: Carpetright
Pastel Pretty
Image Credit : Annie Sloan
There is an undeniably distinct relationship between pastel shades and rural settings, perhaps due to the prevalent sight of sun-bleached colours in provincial landscapes. Despite the fact that most people now live in urban areas, the association between pastel colours and the serenity of the countryside has moved from a feature of some people’s memories to a cultural trope that is recognisable even to those born and raised exclusively in cities. Selecting architectural finishes, furniture, or decorations in pastel shades, reinforces a rural theme in the yard and immediately transports anyone who rests there to a simpler time and place.
Image Credit : Annie Sloan
Tip: A rural theme consists of more than just pastel shades – consider mimicking the weathering effects of the elements, then embellish the space with greenery and pale fabrics.
Natural Hues
Image Credit: Annabel James
Bright splashes of colour do not necessarily need to come from products injected with dyes or coated in pigments – after all, Mother Nature is the single most prolific artist around. As can be observed in any place where foliage is given free reign, Nature tends to utilise all the visible colours of the light spectrum, and every definable shade in between, in the formation of flower petals.
Image Credit: Annabel James
While entailing a greater degree of care and maintenance than a manufactured piece of furniture or decoration, there are few sources of colour as powerful or authentic as a bed of vibrant flowers.
Image Credit: Annabel James
Styling Your Outdoor Spaces With Colourful Accessories
Friday, November 20, 2020
Elevate your outdoor space from a mere extension of the living room to a spot of magical potential with colourful add-ons.
Even when subjected to unpredictable weather conditions and wilful sprawls of greenery, the outdoors is just as viable a canvas for creative expression as the interior – and a home would be profoundly incomplete without an inviting yard or patio to extend living areas. If you have the outdoor space to spare, you may be thinking of providing an alternative to lounging indoors by setting aside a patch of grass or floor and adding furniture to it. Appointing your lawn with furnishings in white may be the strongest initial compulsion, but if you want to imbue your outdoor hangout with some semblance of colour, we have some ideas on how to make that happen.
Bright Nights
Image Credit: Lights4Fun
A standard seating arrangement is a sufficiently practical consideration for providing a place to relax, but a certain measure of magic is necessary to make an outdoor space captivating. To dress a space as though it was transported from the realm of fantasy, consider pairing a boldly coloured rug with fairy lights strung over tree branches to mimic the stars of the night sky.
Image Credit: Lights4Fun
Through both the mystical quality of floating illumination and the striking contrast of bold colours against a natural backdrop, the result is that even the most temporary of lounge spaces are elevated to enigmatic heights.
Bold Fun
Image Credit: Carpetright
Other than surrealist landscapes born of imagination, few visual compositions are as striking as a product of human hands throwing boldly saturated colours against the verdant green of Mother Nature’s work. The contrast is perhaps as much thematic as it is about colour or shade – the same effect can be achieved with everything from a decorative sculpture to a practical arrangement of furniture.
Image Credit: Carpetright
With a background of green grass, the stage is set for a stunning contrast to be made with brightly coloured furniture, decorations, or accessories to facilitate entertainment in your outdoor space.
Image Credit: Carpetright
Tip: Put against the background of a lawn, nearly any manufactured object is instantly made worthy of attention – thanks to the subtle difference in natural or artificial colours and the obvious disparity in theme.
Image Credit: Carpetright
Pastel Pretty
Image Credit : Annie Sloan
There is an undeniably distinct relationship between pastel shades and rural settings, perhaps due to the prevalent sight of sun-bleached colours in provincial landscapes. Despite the fact that most people now live in urban areas, the association between pastel colours and the serenity of the countryside has moved from a feature of some people’s memories to a cultural trope that is recognisable even to those born and raised exclusively in cities. Selecting architectural finishes, furniture, or decorations in pastel shades, reinforces a rural theme in the yard and immediately transports anyone who rests there to a simpler time and place.
Image Credit : Annie Sloan
Tip: A rural theme consists of more than just pastel shades – consider mimicking the weathering effects of the elements, then embellish the space with greenery and pale fabrics.
Natural Hues
Image Credit: Annabel James
Bright splashes of colour do not necessarily need to come from products injected with dyes or coated in pigments – after all, Mother Nature is the single most prolific artist around. As can be observed in any place where foliage is given free reign, Nature tends to utilise all the visible colours of the light spectrum, and every definable shade in between, in the formation of flower petals.
Image Credit: Annabel James
While entailing a greater degree of care and maintenance than a manufactured piece of furniture or decoration, there are few sources of colour as powerful or authentic as a bed of vibrant flowers.
Image Credit: Annabel James