Call it a summer romance between inside and out. Design elements once seen exclusively between four walls are suddenly busting out the back door and populating the patio.
From curvaceous benches to sectional sofas, mixed-media chairs and pull-up-a-stool bar sets, this season’s crop of outdoor furnishings is taking its cue from the great indoors. “People really are creating outdoor rooms these days: covered pavilions with fireplaces, for example. And you need furniture that looks at home in those environments,” says one furniture manufacturer.
Some pieces are clearly designed for an open-air environment, yet still draw on shapes and materials more associated with the bedroom than the backyard. Even a classic wooden dining table and chairs can throw you a curve. Not only are people looking for the finish and quality of indoor furniture, but all of the other amenities as well. When entertaining, for example, it used to be good enough to wheel out a drink cart. Now, says another furniture manufacturer, you can wheel out the whole bar. “Why bring out a mini serving cart when you can wheel out a 30-by-40-inch bar? It’s a complete outdoor entertainment center, and that’s what folks want.”
Make any interior trendy with texture
Texture is one of the most enduring trends in home decorating and there have never been more beautiful choices than we have today. Look for great new textures in upholstery, window treatments, bed linens and fabrics ranging from sumptuous velvets and frothy sheers to ornate matelasses and soft chenilles.
What’s behind this renewed desire for texture in home furnishings? According to one fabric designer, “It’s a return to traditionalism. People are going back to what they grew up with. They still want a casual look, but they’re leaving it in the family room and going back to more formality in the living room. Textured damasks, velvets and jacquards add personality to colors, patterns and prints.” Velvets, tone on tone patterning, damask looks and solid color jacquards are just a few of the emerging textured fabrics.
Texture enlivens the unique colors that serve as today’s “neutrals.” This isn’t your grandmother’s beige and ecru—today’s neutrals are colorful indeed. Still earthy but hardly earthtoned, they include sage, eggplant and taupe. “Texture enhances tone-on-tone patterning, adding depth to what might otherwise become a rather flat perspective,” she says. For example, a sofa can be upholstered in a velvet taupe, then dressed up with coordinating pillows in a variety of taupe-hued stripes, florals and patterns in raw silk, heavy cotton and damask for a more sensual feeling.
Patterned carpets and rugs are prominently displayed in home magazines and designer showhouses. If you aren’t sure what pattern to choose for upholstery and window treatments, choose a favorite solid color and then add texture to create a dramatic counterpoint. You’ll have a look that coordinates well with any pattern.
Texture also shows up in decorative embellishments including tassels, bows, cording and other trims. Here again, the use of texture adds dimension as well as a sense of formality that hearkens back to yesterday’s living rooms.
Whether you’re a casual layabout at heart or believe formality never goes out of style, you can use texture to create the tone you prefer. Leather, tweed, denim and corduroy still have a firm hold on family room sofas and recliners. Damasks, tapestries, jacquards and velvets feel just right in today’s living rooms. But in any room, texture helps create an overall look, especially when used with materials that have their own sense of texture, including wood, leather, brass, iron, glass and marble.
