Creating an Outside Room
Creating an Outside Room
A beautiful living space outdoors will enrich your summer and with clever design ideas, your garden will be the go to place for solitude, relaxation and entertainment. It’s time to get creative and bring the inside out to make your own beautiful outside living room. Norah Casey has some ideas to share.
Whatever space you have, a garden, patio, terrace or balcony, it is going to be all important this summer. Creating a sense of home outside can be difficult with the Irish weather but with a little design inspiration you can carve out nooks for meditation and quiet reading and weatherproof areas for sipping a glass of wine or entertaining family and friends. I have an urban house with a small internal courtyard and terrace. I invested early on in an awning for the terrace and a large umbrella for the courtyard so that the rain didn’t derail outdoor plans. I also put in wall heaters in both areas so that even on the chilliest of nights it feels toasty (especially with extra blankets for guests). An outside rug really helps that feeling of homeliness and you can stamp your own personality and design flair with lots of cushions and throws. I have a small Webber BBQ I bought at Bloom and we use it daily once the weather turns warm. Colourful outdoor glasses, plates and bowls can help enhance that summer feeling. I enjoy gardening and planting and have overflowing baskets and lots of flowers and aromatic herbs which are so beautiful to see and smell. I love lots of lights so my outside space is twinkling as the light goes down. There are solar bulbs hidden in the jasmine and honeysuckle and lots of spiked ones hidden in the planting among the fuchsia and the lavender. A pair of very old lanterns that I faithfully paint and restore every year stay close to me as I sip a lovely glass of rose and read my book at the end of a busy day. I went on a search to find some things that I would love to have in my garden (chief among them that stunning Orla Kiely outdoor run). I hope you like them.
Interior’s expert Emma Coppola shares her own outside space inspiration
Over a year into the pandemic where we have been forced to give up some of our regular luxuries, I started thinking of ways to treat myself while staying safe at home. Like most, I have realised that my home should be my haven. With that and our impending Summer in mind, I decided to invest in making my garden more alluring. If I can’t go abroad, I might as well bring the essence of a sun holiday to me. The beauty of this latest home improvement project is that it can be done without a particularly hefty budget. Like with most rooms in my house, I firmly believe in splurging on a handful of quality items to create a decadent look while saving on the smaller stuff.
One of the pricier items is a beautiful linen parasol from Interiors Atelier (interiorsatelier.ie) on Francis Street, an item that I know I’ll have for many years & don’t need to feel guilty about because I’m buying Irish.
To bring the opulence of the indoors to the garden, I’ve added an outdoor rug from Oriana B (orianab.com) interiors to create a vintage Moroccan look. This can be placed under an outdoor furniture set to create a relaxing scene but for practicality, it can be pulled out onto the grass when my grandkids come over for a good old fashioned picnic, everyone’s a winner!
One of the bargains I came across were individual solar hanging bulbs from Woodies (woodies.ie) at just €5 each. They give that fairy tale feel as the sun sets and creates the perfect atmosphere if you’re enjoying a glass of wine in the evening. Rather than hanging them in uniform, I’ve scattered them throughout all the nooks and crannies of the garden for a twilight glow.
To complement this look, Meadows & Byrne (meadowsandbyrne.com) have a fantastic selection of large lanterns that I’ve placed around my seating area. I went with their large and small French nickel lanterns with black handles. Whether hidden in between bushes or adorning the paving stones, they make a real impact.
Again with the grandchildren in mind, I opted against a fire pit and instead I went for a woven basket from The White Company (thewhitecompany.com) which I filled with rolled up throws from Dunnes Stores (dunnesstores.com) to keep the chill at bay as the sun goes down. It’s a great way to achieve that designer look while staying functional.
The cushions on my outdoor furniture are all plain cream so I discovered Estillo Design (estillodesign.ie) on Instagram where I can get extra outdoor cushions that are so elegant they can be used indoors once summer is over. If these are slightly out of your price range, get yourself to your nearest Home Sense (homesense.ie) outlet as soon as retail reopens. They are my one stop shop for all things quirky at great prices including cushions of every shape and colour.
My final indulgence will be a trip to Newlands Garden Centre (newlands.ie) to buy a tree fern. These ferns are perfect for the Irish climate as they originate in the rainforest. They need nothing more than semi shade & plenty of water. So even if the summer is a wash out when I look out the kitchen window these trees give the illusion of a warmer, more exotic location.
You may not get that summer break away this year but with these styling tips, you’ll get the next best thing.
The Morgana Lounge Dining Set €3,998, visit meadowsandbyrne.ie
Meadows & Byrne French Lantern (small) €49, visit meadowandbyrne.com
Paris Lounge Armchair Ice/White €458.81, visit bridgman.co.uk
Chalk Pink Linen Cushion Cover €26.45 - visit chalkpinklinencompany.co.uk
Wandering Folk Native Wildflower/Emerald Folk Picnic Rug €159.84, visit antipodream.co.uk
NODO Suspension Chair (blue) Made to Order, visit circu.net
Soft Green Plant Stands (set of 2) €33.35, visit fiveanddime-interiors.com
Oslo Eucalyptus Wood Drinks Trolley €333.47, visit ie-ellajames.glopalstore.com
Gold Metal And Glass Hurricane Lantern €47.32, visit ie-ellajames.glopalstore.com
Black Bamboo Garden Lantern €34.49, visit lights4fun.co.uk
Summer Garden Pergola featuring 30 Party Fairy Lights € 91.99 and Set of 4 Solar Lanterns € 49.99, visit lights4fun.co.uk
Tall Planter €14.99, visit aldi.ie
Welsh Meadow Cream Water Resistant Garden Cube Pouffe € 91.98, visit celinadigby.co.uk
Garden Spirals €40.25, visit jerpointglass.com
Orla Kiely Outdoor Rug, Giant Linear Stem Seagrass, €229, visit traumteppich.com
Pina Colada Chartreuse Outdoor Cushion €90.84, visit penelopehope.com
GÅRÖ FREDÖN Hammock with stand, €115, visit ikea.ie
SÖTHOLMEN Cushion Cover, €15, visit ikea.ie
Fiori Boston Fern With Cement Pot €46, visit simplybe.ie
Outdoor Recycled Borra Tufted Geo Cushion €23, visit next.ie
Helsinki Corner Dining Set €1269, visit next.ie
Orlanda Outdoor mirror €150, visit next.ie
FlorabestHanging Basket Chair €219.99, visit Lidl.ie
Barlooon Lampion (Pink) €145, visit barlooon.com
Alcora Lantern Antique Gold Small €30 Large €40, visit harveynorman.ie
Secret Garden Picnic Blanket €18, Secret Garden Tablecloth €10, visit harveynorman.ie
Victoria & Albert Museum Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser Collection, Blue Tortoise Glass Set €52.13, Blue Tortoise Jug €30.12,visit vam.ac.uk
Pink Floral Bucket Planter €8.99, visit homesense.ie
Floral Blue Cushion €54.99, visit homesense.ie
Artificial Cheese Plant in Pot €52.50, visit oxendales.ie
Cook King Bali Fire Bowl €133.18, visit cuckooland.com
Border Stripe Push-up Parasol 2m, €57.99, visit littlewoodsireland.ie
Lois Chairs (set of 2) €230.46, marksandspencer.com
Habitat Wooden Director Chair €46.32, visit habitat.co.uk
Three umbrellas included
Business & Pleasure Co Holiday Beach Umbrella - Vintage Gold/Pink Crew Stripe/Lemons €208, visit amara.com