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For All Seasons
The newest frontier in home remodeling isn’t the kitchen, the family room or even inside the house–it’s the backyard. Patios, terraces and decks are increasingly being transformed from casual spots with a lawn chair or two into commodious, elegantly furnished spaces.
“Areas connecting indoors and outdoors are being looked at as rooms or promenades where people can enjoy the outdoors,” says David Sutherland, president of Sutherland. “Even areas of the country with limited climatic time for enjoyment are taking advantage of increased comfort and good design. The backyard is no longer a throw-away area.”
A New Wave of Designs
Synthetic materials are on the rise. Plastic-wrapped paper fibers and acrylic strips are now woven into sheets that resemble wicker or rattan.
Stronger plastics such as polycarbonate, compression-molded acrylic and polypropylene are dyed in bright colors and made into sturdy, translucent tabletops and sculptural, stackable chairs. “These plastic materials passed the test of combining aesthetics, structural integrity, durability and recycled content,” says Richard Heriford, vice president of Landscape Forms, which sells a new line of playful contemporary furniture with names like “So Happy” and “I’m Dreaming.”
Colorful Classics
Like their indoor counterparts, outdoor rooms require well-crafted, colorful furnishings for dining, relaxing and entertaining. Furniture companies are responding with diverse designs in durable materials and finishes. Among the newest garden furnishings are wood, metal, woven, plastic and upholstered pieces in styles ranging from ornately traditional to sleekly contemporary. They are designed to withstand harsh weather, ultraviolet light and dramatic temperature changes, while still being attractive enough to be used indoors. Many are sold at specialty stores or through interior designers or landscape architects.
Still a Favorite
Still popular are furnishings made of teak, a tropical hardwood that resists splitting and decay, and takes on a silvery gray as it weathers. Wrought iron is another favorite for its stability and ability to be crafted into intricate shapes. Lightweight furniture in aluminum, which is often covered in dark finishes or metallic coatings, is a practical alternative to wrought iron.
The Sky’s the Limit
Cushions and upholstery for outdoor furniture have also become more weatherproof and sophisticated. Woven vinyl, canvas and mesh have given way to acrylic and polyester fabrics that are quick to dry, color-fast and resistant to fading. These fabrics are sold in a variety of colors, patterns and textures that mimic the look of cotton, silk, linen, and jacquard.
Gone is the limited choice of dark green or tan. Sunbrella, a durable outdoor fabric sold since the 1960s, is now made to resemble damask, boucle and tweed, and offered in brighter oranges, blues and greens. Among the latest designs from Perennials Outdoor Fabrics are Japanese-inspired Shinto cloth and chenille in 13 colors. The new fabrics are often sewn into cushions filled with polyurethane foam or polyester fiber that can last for years, if properly cleaned and stored during extreme weather.
The growing popularity of turning outdoor spaces into rooms has led some manufacturers to enlist name designers to create outdoor furniture. Among the newest offerings from Century Furniture is the English-inspired Chatsworth collection created by fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. More playful is the Take 5 series from Landscape Forms with plastic, stackable chairs in tangy colors by Philippe Starck, Dominic Symons and other noted contemporary designers.
As inside the house, outdoor rooms should be decorated to reflect a homeowner’s taste and personality – tables and chairs, for example, don’t have to match. “People like to create their own sets of furniture,” says Steven Rubin, comptroller of Patio.com, which operates a Web site and stores in Rockville, Maryland and Vienna, Virginia. “They want to mix and match depending on the size of their family and the number of guests invited for a backyard barbecue or party.”
