Have you been thinking about extending the living space of your home while giving the exterior a modern look?
Well, it’s easier than it sounds. Much of it can be done with contemporary & comfy furnishings to showcase your interior design sensibility onto the patio and into the backyard..
Choose the Right Furniture
Furniture is the fundamental anchor of any area – it welcomes people to congregate, it provides visual direction about how to move through the space, and it defines how we use it. The investment you make in outdoor furniture should express your style. .First and foremost, its intended use should drive your goals, whether that use is conversation, dining, entertaining, or relaxing.
Also your furniture selection depends on the amount of available space to arrange it in. For example on a small patio, a combination of simple chairs around a modest table is a common choice, appropriate for a conversation or a short escape to enjoy a moment under the awning or patio shade.
But if you have a larger area where more people are likely to gather, such as a pool or lakeside terrace, you may need a more expansive outdoor seating arrangement. This could include a sofa, love seat, several chairs and ottomans, as well as multiple small tables for drinks and snacks. You can define this as an exterior “living room” with the addition of a weatherproof outdoor area rug.
If you have the space to install a modern outdoor structure, then you may want to furnish it with a dining table and chairs so that the family can enjoy outdoor dining, protected from the sun by its overhead shade.
For tighter spaces, such as a narrow side yard or small balcony, you might consider wood benches with built-in storage where you can stow cushions to protect them from the weather.
There is a world of outdoor furniture options, so plan to spend a considerable amount of time looking for styles and sizes so that you’ll know all the options before you make a final decision.
Mind the functionality
Functionality is the key to modern homes, where clean lines coupled with decorative elements allow the optimal use of space or hide clutter.
For instance sleek, subtle, and leading-edge outdoor décor in shades of black and brown can give a sophisticated look to any space. This can be a blend of your outdoor furniture choices with something like a Rollac outdoor structure for shade that can filter or block light can turn a patio space into useful extra “room” without walls in summer.
Under the protective shade of a modern outdoor structure, you can utilize the space for long conversations with friends and family, or read for long hours to disconnect from the outside world, or even to stretch out to take a catnap in the fresh air. Outdoor sofas, chaises, and daybeds are ideal furnishings for these uses.
On the other hand, life in the city can at times involve very little space outdoors. To make the best use of it tie different elements together with the interior, blending indoor and outdoor spaces into a balanced, unified environment. Allow sufficient flow of air and people with the furnishings you select and the outdoor structures you add so that whenever the weather allows, the house is open and larger.
In these cases, the same kind of outdoor structure used for shade over a spacious suburban patio can expand the usable living space in a way that significantly enhances your at-home lifestyle. This opens up new possibilities for entertaining comfortably in a small space.
For a pulled-together look, you could carry the style of these outdoor structures or furnishings through to exterior shutters in a matching modern shade. In fact, recent research points to a tremendous increase in home shutters since 2018.)
Add a Hint of Green
Nothing brings outdoor spaces to life like plants. Before you make your plan for what to place where, learn about plant varieties that thrive in your climate and survive its changing weather conditions.
You can protect your plants by installing watering systems or aids to keep them healthy and beautiful. When landscaping is not an option, planters are the ideal way to style and take care of your plants.
Color Palette
Modern décor leans toward a restricted palette of hues. Simple, angular lines in basic colors like black, white, and gray define spaces and give you the liberty to mix and match creative materials that add colorful spots and textural interest to enhance the features of your home.
Just as you might use a piece of art inside, you can strategically place a garden screen, a grouping of potted plants, a fountain or statue, or complementary pillows to bring your modern design aesthetic to the outdoors.
Keep the basics, such as furnishings, on a dark or light palette that aligns with the home’s overall color theme to provide a foundation for the spots of color or texture you’ve added as accents.
If you are uncertain about how to proceed, bring in a designer to help you curateyour modern aesthetic from the indoors to the exterior of your home, matching their recommendations to your lifestyle and personality.
Light It Up
Illumination can completely alter the vibe of your outdoor space in the evening.
Dim lights installed at regular intervals along a fence or exterior wall give a sense of peace and continuity to outdoor space. String lights over an outdoor dining area can also bring a whimsical tone to an isolated section of an otherwise modernistic yard.
If your home has ample space, you might even create an area for a fire pit where you and your friends can gather with coffee and make s’mores.
Keep It Secure & Comfortable
Although we mentioned shutters as a design feature, they can also be quite practical too. Shutters can be closed in the daytime to protect the interior from a hot sun,chilly rain, winter, or closed at night to help keep the heat inside. They are also becoming essential to protect homes in areas where weather activity has increased.
Whenever you walk in from the outdoors and settle into the house at night as a security measure, remember to lock the doors and close the shutters. Shutters are experiencing a resurgence of interest because of their ability to regulate temperatures as well as protecting the home from storms and discouraging unwanted threats.Fortunately, new styles are at the core of this resurgence and have made shutter options much more desirable as additions to outdoor décor.
All of these — outdoor furnishings, lighting, outdoor structures for shade, and shutters for protection — can combine to give your outdoors as much use, beauty, comfort and enjoyment as the indoors, and breathe new excitement into your modern home.
