Decorating Without Walls

Spring has sprung, but as thoughts turn to love and patio chairs, there are a few design tips to keep in mind.

The two most important:

Classic garden furniture brings style to outdoor dining.

• Approach any outdoor space as you would a room in your home. Your deck, garden gazebo or poolside patio are all just open-air rooms. What style and color scheme will best coordinate with the rest of the house?
• Think carefully about function. How will you use this space: as an outdoor dining room, a family room and play area, a sun room, a poolside cabana?

“The first thing you should try to decide is whether to match the interior or exterior of your home,” says one maker of outdoor furnishings. “Consider how much of the outdoor area you see from the interior. If it's a three-season porch, or an area with glass doors opening onto the home, you want to incorporate the interior color scheme.”

“On the other hand, sometimes you want a very separate feeling, perhaps on a deck that is removed from the house or around a pool. There you have the opportunity to create a totally different environment, using different colors, contemporary styles.”

Once you have a color and style scheme in mind, move on to daily function. If this will be a frequent dining area, you'll need a sturdy table and perhaps a trolley for serving. If you plan to entertain, you'll need adequate seating. Think about the times of day the area will be in use. During the day, you need protection from overhead sun. In the evening, you may need to be screened from breezes and bugs.

Even the choice of an umbrella carries with it a range of style and function options.

“An umbrella is more than protection from sun,” says one maker of market and patio umbrellas. “The umbrella becomes a focal point that coordinates the whole patio area, and its style determines your theme — a contemporary wire frame or a European market umbrella make very different statements.”

The options are as varied as outdoor life itself.

A Light Touch

Lighting may be the single most powerful element in setting the mood of a room. Too bright, and you cast an institutional pall; too dim, and even the loveliest room’s features disappear in the gloom.

Intelligently placed fixtures bring a room into focus. But keep in mind that the fixtures and lamps themselves are an important design element, aside from the light they cast. A terrific lamp is simply illuminated sculpture, and as such adds structural interest to even the plainest of settings.

“Any light source really has two functions,” says one lighting manufacturer. “One is to provide light, and two is to provide a decorative element. For light, all you need is a bare bulb, but you can take the opportunity instead to make a meaningful design statement.”

Extend your indoor decor with outdoor furnishings that match your taste and lifestyle.

Lighting designers are capitalizing on that opportunity with a vast array of new lamps that can take center stage in any room. From traditional to high-tech to pure whimsy, the element they have in common is high-impact, sculptural style in a range of sizes and materials.

“You don’t have to find a huge lamp to make a statement. A little red sports car is a style statement. You don’t need a stretch limo.”
So what should you look for in a lamp?

Lamps with architectural elements — columns, pediments, even faux windows add detail to a room that may lack built-in interest.

Sleek, high-tech designs impart a clean, urban, European feeling, and carry well in large spaces (lofts, open family and dining areas).

Small lamps in pairs and trios focus the eye on surrounding objects and create intimacy.