One of the biggest mistakes people make with their outdoor living
space is not filling it with enough stuff, according to television
host Susie Coelho.
Adding unusual elements will make your
yard into an interesting space. This time-worn fireplace
grate was made into a pretty flower planter. Photo courtesy
of “Salvage Style for the Garden,” Sterling Publishing.
In her HGTV show “Outer Spaces,” Coelho performs outdoor-room makeovers,
creating everything from a South Seas oasis to a prairie-themed
backyard.
Leaving enough room for flow is important, she said. However,
she added, “If you fill the patio with a lot of items, you will
feel like you’re in your living room indoors. You want the outdoors
to be styled with the same amount of effort as the indoors. It’s
amazing what you can fit.”
People used to be satisfied with a table and chairs and some
potted plants on the patio. Now they want outdoor living rooms,
soothing spaces that are fully accessorized and themed.
“Cozy and comfortable, that’s what people are after,” said Julie
Bull of Sterling Garden Center in Columbia, S.C.
For interior designer Laurin Johnson, the outside living area in
her backyard is as important as the inside one.
Smith & Hawken’s
“An outside room needs to feel just as warm as an inside room,” she
said. “When you come out here, you’re away from the rest of the
world.”
Be imaginative, not just when you survey your yard, but also
your home. When you get tired of something that’s been used indoors
(such as old fireplace andirons, doors, heating grates, shutters,
windows or ceramic items) consider if it will work in your backyard
before throwing it out.
