Inside / Outside

If you are like me, you’ll like nothing better than being outdoors. Be it in a grand garden that you are visiting or just in your own little plot.  I try very hard not to get bogged down with the daily routine and take a few moments to step out of the patio door with a coffee, take stock and go through my mental task list for the day.  I find that sitting on my bench, surrounded by the scent of my plants, really does help me stay focused on the day ahead.

I think seating in any outdoor space is key to bringing your garden scheme together.  When wandering around any large garden you will notice little pockets where seats are placed, perfectly positioned in the right spot for maximum effect to enjoy the vistas.  You will normally find that the seaing in these public spaces is usually beautifully honed wooden benches that have silvered over time; or if you get to visit somewhere like the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in Somerset the Piet Oudolf garden has the most exquisite contemporary designed metal chairs that fit the surroundings of modern design to a tee and are also exceedingly comfortable.

Getting the right balance is key, if you are a modernist at heart your garden will reflect your sway to contemporary design through it’s planting and what furniture you choose to place in it.  The same will go with those of us who like a cottage garden, wild and abandoned foliage mixed with fruit trees and vegetables.  You will most certainly find an old vintage bench or folding chair placed next to galvanised potting benches and possibly a French café table.

Blending your interior style to that of your outside space is relatively simple too, using your garden as an extra room especially in the summer months and into autumn is a bonus.  Create an area close to the house where you will spend the most time, position a seating area that can be shaded if need be, add an additional table so that meals can be eaten outside too.   A communal area that can take your right from your first coffee in the morning to enjoying a glass of wine in the evening.

I also like to mix things up a little in my interior style too.  If you choose correctly, garden furniture makes for a quirky look inside so why restrict it solely to outdoor use.  I love the mix of industrial style café chairs and benches around a dining table.  I myself have folding wooden garden chairs mixed with chapel chairs around the chunky farmhouse table in my kitchen.

Deckchairs in a large open plan modern living room would work well as extra seating. Metal stools can be used in bathrooms to place your towel when you are having a soak.  Wooden garden benches look fabulous in hallways with shoes neatly lined up underneath.  Why not throw away conventional thinking and shake things up a bit, creating a space where the outside comes inside and vice versa.  Blending the two spaces makes for a perfect interior that flows.

A great source of inspiration for me is my outside board showing you ways of creating a well designed room outside using the correct garden furniture for the right space.

• This post was written in conjunction with Homebase.  Images 1, 2, 4 ,6, 7 & 8 are my own, the collaged images are all from here