The days are getting longer, and temperatures are rising, so now is the perfect time to start thinking about how to make the most out of summer.
It’s okay if you don’t have a gigantic backyard, there are some simple but easy tricks to turn your outdoor areas into an entertainer’s delight.
Top Furniture Tips
Choosing furniture that serves multiple purposes looks good and adds flexibility when entertaining. A stool or ottoman, for example, can be used as both a side table or another chair when you have extra guests. While terrazzo is on-trend, interiors designers are reporting furniture made with man-made rope finishes as the new go-to. It has some transparency, which by letting the light through works well for smaller spaces such as terraces or home courtyards.
Decorate Your Walls
Courtyard and balcony walls are perfect for you to get creative without taking up extra space. Accentuating the vertical space can make the area feel bigger, with options such as wall sculptures, wall hangings and green walls. Take into consideration the material your sculpture or hanging is made out of, hardwood, metal or UV plastic are absolutely waterproof, hence a longer shelf life. In terms of colours, exteriors echo the interior trend for native Australian landscape tones. Colours like rust and olive are trending at the moment, and they work well in an outdoor space as they tie in nicely to the natural landscape.
Light It Up
Lighting is a great mood-setter, especially at night. By lighting up your nation and beyond, it extends the living space all the ways to the confines of the courtyard or boundary. Examples include low-level lighting, bollard lighting and festoon decorative lighting, which are great for creating atmosphere and enabling easy entertaining in the evenings.
Show Me The Greenery
Plants are the best, both indoor and outdoor. They are a source of outdoor decoration. Whether you choose a pot for your fiddle leaf fig or a herb garden on your balcony, the options are endless to create an affordable, green look. They’re also a fantastic way to bring nature back into an urban environment. The trick is to buy the right proportions for your area. For a sub-tropical feel, big leaf hardy species – like birds of paradise or heliconias. Then, it’s about how you place them, keeping in mind to add depth and detail. Place larger variety are the back and smaller in the front. Pots on the patio with some trailing plants on top, a small shrub, or little groups of plantings do just that and help you live a greener life too.
