How to create inviting outdoor living spaces

After being cooped up indoors for more than a year, it’s not surprising that the trend towards outdoor living is on the increase.

“Households are willing to spend more time, effort, and money on outdoor spaces – adding a touch of luxury where possible, perhaps with a nod to exotic holiday regions they weren’t allowed to visit,” says interior designer, Storme Conradie, director of Signature Made.

She offers some tips for creating inviting outdoor living spaces:

• Create a cosy lounge space with comfortable seats and cushions in hardy outdoor fabric. Make sure the covers are removable so that you can easily wash them. Choose lightweight side tables that you can easily move around to suit any occasion.
• Create an inviting outdoor dining spot. A simple outdoor table and chairs can be dressed up with custom seat cushions that encourage guests to linger. Add candle lanterns, overhead fairy lights, and simple greenery as table decor. And don’t be afraid to bring your quality crockery outdoors.
• Keep base colours neutral – for outdoor seating, cushions, and umbrellas – and add a pop of brighter colour with accent cushions, cut flowers, or container plants.
• Consider adding a pergola over a section you’d like to make a bit more intimate. This provides a structure for adding drop-down blinds for bright or rainy days.
• Darker wall colours will highlight planted or potted greenery in your garden. Dark emerald, deep teal hues, and warm charcoals are wonderful backdrops to greenery.
• Lighting can bring your outdoor living space to life. Flickering candles create a romantic mood, warm rope lighting is ideal to wash up walls behind foliage and task lighting will highlight dining and cooking areas.
• The sound of flowing water can help reduce unwanted exterior noise that may disrupt your enjoyment of your outdoor space. If a water feature is beyond budget, bring a portable speaker outside because sound plays an important role in relaxation.
• Climate control is important, even for outdoor spaces. Outdoor space heating options include gas heaters, electric ceiling heaters, and solar pool heating. For cooling on hot days, ceiling fans or mist-sprayers work well.
• Outdoor rugs are a great inexpensive way to break up spaces in an outdoor area.
• Potted plants, shrubs, and trees positioned close to seating areas add interesting layers and texture.
• An outdoor fireplace or a dual-purpose fire pit provides the ultimate sense of luxury and will extend your outdoor entertainment season.

The tips listed above, if well implemented, will assist you in transforming your outdoor living and relaxation space.