Outdoor Living Space Ideas

Keep it Pretty as Well as Practical

As British summers can be short and sweet, it’s important to think about how your garden might look when you’re not using it, too. Seek pieces that can bridge the gap between function and form, to ensure your chosen designs always speak to your style. Henry is the proud owner of our Callanish Indoor/Outdoor Dining Table, and he has big plans to make it a focal feature of his garden for al fresco dining and beyond. “We’ll use it mainly for entertaining, but when we’re not, it will be a decorative feature in the garden, much like you’d have a central table in a hallway,” Henry says. “I’ll decorate it with terracotta pots when we’re not using it, and it will be a structural focal point in an area that’s otherwise quite soft.”

Zone Your Garden

If you have the space to spread out, you can create outdoor area zones to give your garden different ‘rooms’, as you would have in your home. Grouping seating together, with garden coffee tables, side tables and indoor/outdoor rugs, will help to create the illusion of an outdoor living room and make it feel separate from your dining area, even if those furniture pieces are in fact quite close together. “If you’re lucky enough to have the space, you should embrace it,” says Henry. “For example, it could be as simple as having a separate chair or bench under your tree that you only ever use in the morning when you’re having your cup of coffee, and it can become a special place just for that.”

Layer Your Textures

Just because you’re outside doesn’t mean you can’t rely on the same techniques you’d use to style your interiors – and layering your textures is one such example. In a home, it’s the blending of those tactile materials that really make a space feel inviting, and it’s no different when it comes to the great outdoors. “In a garden, layering textures is even easier because you have trees, hedges, plants and flowers creating an interesting background, just as you might have a patterned wallpaper in a room,” Henry says. “You can mix that in with a stone table and wicker chairs, layering it much like you would an interior.” Adding accessories, such as outdoor cushions, an indoor/outdoor rug or terracotta plant pots will also help you to achieve that layered effect.

Let it Glow with Atmospheric Lighting

Nothing makes a home feel quite as cosy and inviting as good lighting, and the same rules apply to the garden; as the sun sets, it’s those little glowing pockets of light that will make the space come alive. “The dream is to sit outside on a summer’s evening and have it beautifully lit, whether that’s with candlelight or, if people are lucky enough, electric lights that are built in as part of a planned scheme,” Henry says. Our range of wireless LED lamps  is also a great go-to for casting an inviting glow; add them to tabletops, side tables or coffee tables as the sun sets. Candles, too, can create a warm and dramatic effect. “I’m always a big fan of glass hurricane lamps and I’ve used OKA’s a number of times,” the designer adds. “They’re so lovely because they’re indoor/outdoor; a glass hurricane lamp that you might have sitting on a table indoors can also go outside and sit on the floor among some plants.”

Add Personality with Accessories

Whether your style is classic or contemporary, both traditional and modern outdoor living spaces can benefit from a few characterful additions. Even if you favour a more minimalist approach, it’s those little details that make all the difference, and will really help to ensure your garden feels like an extension of your home. This could include the perfect set of outdoor cushions to bring pattern and colour to garden sofas; a vase full of blooms placed in the centre of your outdoor coffee table; or planters in decorative finishes to add depth to your florals and foliage. When it comes to outdoor dining tables, accessories come into their own. “The joy of outside entertaining is that you can theme it; just by adding a tablecloth, which might have some coloured embroidery or a pattern, you can create a completely different look,” says Henry. “On a sunny day, you can pretend you’re in the Mediterranean, and dress it in a completely different way than you would if it was a slightly colder, early summer’s day.”

Choose an Alternative Style

Making your garden an extension of your home doesn’t mean you have to match your interiors exactly; the beauty of an outside space is that, unlike an interior, it’s much less easy to control, and so naturally lends itself to a more carefree approach. Just because you’ve chosen one colour palette in your sitting room, for example, doesn’t mean you have to echo it outside – in fact, it’s an opportunity for you to try a completely different style. “I very much like the haphazardness of creating a garden room,” Henry agrees. “That’s the joy of creating those indoor/outdoor spaces; if you’ve got your dining area outside your kitchen, you can relate the areas, or you can create a complete contrast, which is always rather nice because you’re creating a completely different room really.”

Though you may want to bring the creature comforts of indoors outside, and indeed borrow design rules from interiors, there’s no reason your end result should have to mirror your house. In fact, all the better if it doesn’t. “I always have a million ideas for a room, so I don’t have a theme throughout a house; I want every room to feel a bit jewel-like and different, and that’s what I think with the garden as well,” says Henry. “I want to escape and get away from the world, and that’s the joy of an outdoor space.”

To find out more about Henry’s world, visit his website.