INTERIORS
STEPPING INTO SUMMER:
DESIGNING YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE As the weather warms up and evenings get longer, our attention turns to gardens and outdoor spaces. Steve Hird, Director and Co-Founder of show home interior design specialist Edward Thomas Interiors, shares how to maximise your space and the summer trends to watch...
Of course, not all first time buyer properties have a garden, so if you’ve opted for an apartment, how do you maximise any outdoor space? With balconies and terraces, there are plenty of inventive and stylish options. The key is making it somewhere you want to spend time, so start by identifying what the primary purpose of the space should be. Entertaining area? Reading nook? Herb garden? Styling can then follow suit, and don’t limit this to just furniture. Add wall art, outdoor mirrors, rugs, throws, hanging lights and you’ll soon have developed another room! Other creative solutions we’ve seen are making doorstep gardens with plenty of hanging and potted plants. Or thinking vertically and adding window box storage you can use for vegetable and herb growing. For gardens or balconies, remember the splurge/save split. Splurge on the best quality furniture you can afford – not only will this be more comfortable but it will withstand the changing UK weather! Then save on your accessories. High street,
In the past few years, there has been a significant shift in how homeowners view gardens; they’ve become an extension of our home. Since the dark days of lockdown(s), we’ve all embraced more outdoor living and the boundaries between inside and outside have well and truly blurred. But just as our homes are now multi- functional spaces, so too are our gardens. Add cosy corner furniture with a fire pit and they’re a dining room; a sand pit or mud garden and they’re a child’s playroom; a built-in pizza oven or barbecue and they’re a kitchen; a vegetable patch or greenhouse and they’re a hobby space. Yet how does this work without appearing chaotic? If you’re not afraid of hard work, consider how your garden could be zoned by adding physical differences such as split levels or gabion walls. For more budget-friendly alternatives, there are some excellent temporary options such as bamboo screens, reed fencing, wood slatting, even outdoor wall paints can all aid differentiation.
online and supermarket retailers often bring out a great, affordable selection of outdoor accessories, particularly rugs, cushions and lanterns. Not forgetting the upcycling trend that’s evolved into outdoors now too. Think wheelbarrows as bar carts, wine or spirit bottles as candle holders, old trellising to hang lights from, and pallets as pot plant holders. Having planned your design for a garden or outside space, you can then think about trends you want to replicate. So, what’s popular this summer for outdoors (and indoors)? TOP TREND #1 – STRIPES One of the most versatile patterns, stripes offer an excellent way to inject personality. They can be bold and bright or sweet and subtle, and we expect to see these a lot this summer on outdoor rugs, cushions, upholstery and other fabrics. Not least
36 First Time Buyer June/July 2024
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