Outdoor Design Issue#35 2017

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner, so it’s time to start thinking about our gardens and alfresco living spaces in preparation for the outdoor entertaining season. Do garden beds and pots need replanting? Does the deck need to be restained or oiled — maybe even extended? Would a screen by the patio or swimming pool make the space more private? What about garden lighting — do you have enough and is it in the right places? And how about the outdoor furniture — is it time for a new dining setting or lounge suite? There’s a lot that goes into creating outdoor living spaces that look good and function well, and we cover some of the key elements in this edition. Firstly, we take a peek…

Increasingly, people are choosing to entertain at home and, for many, that means entertaining outdoors. The result is that the average Australian homeowner is spending significantly more time, energy and money to ensure their outdoor living spaces — or, in many instances, indoor-outdoor entertaining spaces — are as sophisticated, versatile and comfortable as possible. While there was a time when most people’s idea of outdoor furniture was a plastic table, a few director’s chairs and perhaps a market umbrella to top things off, that time has long gone. As the line between indoors and outdoors is now truly blurred and the concept of the outdoor room firmly entrenched, alfresco spaces are being furnished with all the luxury and panache we once reserved for interior living spaces — and that means…

In decades past, outdoor fabrics came in virtually only two patterns —stripes or checks — and they were invariably in only one of two colour combinations: green and white or blue and white. Not only that, the fabrics themselves were awful — plasticky materials that would stick to things when it was hot. Mercifully, outdoor fabrics have really evolved, both in the feel of the materials themselves and in the enormous variety of patterns and colours now readily available. Today, they’re just as stylish — and soft — as their interior cousins. PLAYING DRESS-UP Dressing up your deck or patio with soft furnishings made from beautiful fabrics can make all the difference to the look and feel of your outdoor space. In fact, it’s the perfect way to give it…

Rugging up outdoors couldn’t be simpler, considering the vast array of decorative rugs we now have at our disposal. A beautiful outdoor rug can liven up a space by adding a splash of colour, or it can soften the look and feel of a deck or patio. From a practical standpoint, outdoor rugs protect surfaces from furniture that may scratch them, and they hide unsightly cracks and stains. DEFINE YOUR SPACES Designer Nyria King from John Croft Design says outdoor rugs offer far more than beauty and practicality, though. “Outdoor rugs can anchor all the floating elements onto one consistent surface, so they ground furniture to a space,” she says. “And when there is an absence of walls outdoors, a well-positioned outdoor rug can create the feel of an outdoor…

T he timeless beauty and grace of natural stone has been celebrated around the world for centuries. Natural stone is inimitable. As it’s crafted by Mother Nature, every piece is distinctive with unique markings and colourings. The beauty of natural stone is that once pieces are placed together, they form an artistic tapestry of colours, shapes, textures and forms. It’s easy to maintain and durable and, as decades pass, it gains a richness of depth in colour and tone. ACCORDING TO TYPE The most popular types of natural stone include granite, bluestone, sandstone, travertine and limestone. According to Chris Gill from Lifestyle Landscape Design & Construction, all varieties of natural stone have different qualities and limitations — some will be better for the job you have in mind than others.…

Swimming pool areas really have come a very long way in recent years, now serving as key features of the architecture of a home and a rallying point for social gatherings. Pools themselves have developed, too, with features such as negative edges, acrylic windows and in-floor cleaning, but it is the design of the entire outdoor space that really makes the project, setting the right ambience and tying all the elements together. Having worked in the landscaping industry for many years, it has always seemed odd to me that, too often, the pool contractor is first to meet with the client. I have arrived on-site many times to see a pool with all the bells and whistles but the client has a limited budget remaining for landscape works, due to…