When the sun paints the days with warmth and the evenings gracefully extend their stay, it’s the season that is perfect for outdoor entertaining. And with our outdoor areas being an extension of our interiors these summer months, here’s our designer guide to elevating your outdoor entertaining space.
Furniture
As you extend your living to the outdoors, treat it as a continuation of the overall style and colour palette of your home. Balance design, comfort and durability when selecting your outdoor furniture. Look beyond the usual greys and charcoals for outdoor upholstery – high performance fabrics, suitable for outdoor use and resistant to our harsh UV, come in a fabulous range of colours, textures and patterns.
Outdoor Rug
Super soft under foot, outdoor rugs are perfect for defining a seating area, adding texture and a little bit of luxe to your outdoor space. Generally these are made of recycled plastic, nylon or polyester, are water resistant and best of all are super easy to hose down for a quick clean. Available in a wide range of colours and patterns, I think these are the most underrated accessory for any outdoor space.
Cushions
Not just for our interiors, cushions are key to dressing an outdoor space, adding a load of style and personality. Consider fun contrasting patterns and textures. There’s even outdoor velvets which are beautifully plush and glam. Opt for larger sized cushions to elevate your look – we prefer to mix 55x55cm cushions with 60×40 ones. And always ensure the cushions are made from high performing fabrics with the best quality quick dry inners.
Outdoor Lighting
Create a glow with beautifully designed outdoor lamps. Our favourite is the rechargeable Balad by Fermob – a portable lamp with an optional stand to light softly illuminate outdoor dining or entertaining.
Bar Cart
A bar trolley on wheels is the best outdoor companion – allowing you to stylishly transport your dining or cocktail essentials to your outdoor soiree.
Outdoor Fireplace
An outdoor fireplace is a fabulous centrepiece for your outdoor space. They create warmth and ambience – and even help keep the mosquitoes away. We love the simplicity of an ethanol fire and our tip is to make sure you select one that has a ledge for perching your cocktail glass!
Planting
Combine stylish pots and masses of greenery to create a lush oasis. Our tips are to mix plants within the same pot, use underplanting, group pots together and vary the heights of the plants. And always select the largest size pots possible.
Summer Scent
As a finishing touch to your outdoor space, burn a candle with a subtly sweet scent to heighten the fragrance of summer.
So get ready to enjoy summer to it’s maximum, extending your interior style to create an outdoor entertaining delight.
Kirsten Ford
KFD Interiors
KFD Interiors is an award winning full service interior design studio located in Auckland, working with residential and boutique commercial clients New Zealand wide.
