Selwyn_Times: January 19, 2022

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Outdoor rooms
Just because an outdoor space doesn’t have
walls, that doesn’t change the basic principles
applied to any design project inside your home.
With a few simple
fundamentals to guide you,
you’ll soon see how easy
it is to create a beautiful
outdoor room you’ll love entertaining
and relaxing in throughout the warm
days and balmy nights of summer.
Key considerations include style,
function, lighting and mood. Remember
that your outdoor room ought to be
an extension of the look you’ve created
within your home, which reflects your
personality and lifestyle.
Focal point
Beginning, as with any room of the
home, a space must always have a focal
point to anchor the space. For some, this
may be a bar or barbeque area, a large
dining table, or a chill-out zone with
couches or loungers.
Outdoor fireplaces are becoming
more and more popular as our living
areas blend seamlessly between indoor
and outdoor entertaining throughout
the changing of the seasons. They can
serve not only a practical purpose of
somewhere to gather around to warm
as the day turns to dusk and the nights
get shorter, an outdoor fire can make
a stunning feature or room divider for
any outdoor living area. Water features,
like a pond with beautiful koi fish, can
also serve as a great outdoor focal point,
creating tranquil environment in which
to relax and unwind in, or create a
meditative Japanese rock garden which
your outdoor area can overlook.
In the zone
If you already have a large terrace or
outdoor area, a blank canvas is a great
place to start. If you have a particularly
large outdoor area, dividing the space
into zones makes for a more functional
and aesthetically pleasing space. You can
do this by using a number of different
elements, such as contrasting flooring
materials or by creating different levels
of decking. However, if you’re after a
seamless indoor/outdoor flow or wish to
create the illusion of more space, use the
same flooring materials indoors and out.
Divisions can also be made with the
clever positioning of furniture. Use
modular seating to create walls and
separate spaces. Plants are a cost effective
and eco-friendly way to create divisions
between zones, and are also an ideal way
to camouflage ugly walls, create privacy
and soften sharp angles. Living walls, an
ever-increasingly popular vertical plant
system, can be either freestanding to
create different outdoor areas and can
be on wheels to easily transform your
outdoor space at a moment’s notice. Play
with height and scale with various
types of planters, whether you use
hanging planters to draw the eye upwards,
or oversized planter pots to add drama.
Go with the flow
Creating a great indoor/outdoor flow is
easily created by opening up your kitchen
with bifold doors or windows to create a
servery or bar area for easy entertaining.
If you are building your home from the
ground up, you may want to design an
outdoor room which lies at the epicentre
of the building, with rooms opening onto
the communal courtyard with bifold
doors.
Function over form
Consider what you intend to use your
outdoor space for. If you don’t plan on
eating outside, there’s no need for a dining
table, but buy some comfortable outdoor
seating instead. If you only intend on
sitting outdoors during the evening,
then don’t waste money on awnings and
umbrellas, and invest the money in an
outdoor fireplace which you will actually
use.
Atmosphere
Create unique and personalised outdoor
decor with textiles and homewares from
your travels or your favourite antique
shop, or make your own shell garlands or
wreaths from beach holidays. String up
fairy lights or lanterns to create a festive
mood in the evenings.