01 May 2011
The recent sunshine has made us think about enjoying a Summer in Ireland again…!
We’ve been busy tweaking our house and outdoor spaces to make the most of the sun and the possibilities of outdoor living.
My main aim for the past few Summers has been to track down a suitable table for our first floor, south facing terrace. And at last I found it! It’s the Vino table, €139 from Ikea: solid acacia slats on a light steel frame, fold-able for storage in Winter. It fits well with our aluminium bistro chairs and seats 6, measuring 170 x 90cm.
You can’t beat awnings for providing outdoor shade and for blurring the edges between indoor and outdoors. A simple triangular awning we bought many years ago in Habitat – similar to the dyning canopies from Ikea – shades the front courtyard and creates a nice sense of “outdoor room”.
Retractable awnings are brilliant but outward opening doors meant we had to go the “bespoke” route for the canopy to our first floor terrace. It was made by Downer International from sailcloth and covers the entire terrace, again creating a real sense of a room outdoors.
Outdoors canopies produce a beautiful effect indoors too, of mottled shade and soft light.
Our other big Summer Undertaking has been to completely re-organise our first floor rooms, including moving our TV Room from the smaller to the larger of the two rooms overlooking the terrace. This gives more room for the Wii as well as better access to the terrace for eating at our new table…
Our large 3m dining table will soon be on the move again also, from the kitchen to the middle area. This will enhance the sense of space and light in the kitchen, overlooking the garden and its carpet of astroturf from Sanctuary Synthetics, the best thing we ever did! Grass was never happy in this woodland garden so now we enjoy maintenance-free, luscious green lawn all year round.
To try these ideas at home…
- Track down any pieces of outdoor furniture you made need now, our best months do tend to be May and June, of late!
- Bear in mind where you are going to store the furniture in Winter or how you plan to protect it if leaving it outdoors.
- We also have some aluminium Bistro style furniture which we leave out all year…a table and chair makes an outside place occupied and welcoming. And coloured cushions on fine days can add a further sense of vibrancy and fun.
- Sad, patchy grass that sulks all year round? Consider grass-effect Astroturf for an evergreen outdoor carpet.
- Consider whether your sunny walls might enjoy an awning or canopy and increase the potential for outdoor living.
- And how about a stripey canvas cover for your front door – to protect it from the sun and to lend all Summer cheer to your street?
- To improve Summer SPACE…assess your furniture layouts, keeping furniture away from windows generally and large pieces away from the light.
- Assess how each room is being used…is each room working as hard as possible? Could an upstairs room be put to better use?
- To improve Summer LIGHT…again review your furniture arrangements, also your colour schemes. Light, unified tones will maximise the feeling of light. Remember to include all surfaces, all finishes and all accessories! Even a white cushion on a dark couch in a dark corner will light up that space.
- And speaking of cushions, what better – and cheaper – way to celebrate the changing seasons in your home? I’m hoping for some striped ones to welcome summer into our “new” TV Room…
