Plastic Chairs? Not in Their Backyards
The must-have item for the backyard used to be a barbecue. The bigger, the pricier, the better.
These days that will hardly do.
Now entire backyards are getting extensive--and sometimes expensive--make-overs. Gone are those plastic tables and chairs and tiki lights.
Outdoor decor these days can range from the lavish--fireplaces, furniture nice enough for the living room, imported tile, fountains and even chandeliers--to the basic--wrought-iron lanterns or wooden rocking chairs. Those barbecues are still out there, but they’re competing with elaborate full-service outdoor kitchens, complete with refrigerators and ovens.
Marianna Share describes her backyard as “like being in my own oasis.” Share, an advertising executive who lives in Santa Monica, says her yard was pure dirt before she decided to transform it.
“I wanted a beautiful backyard,” she explains. “You live in Southern California, and we spend so much time out there.”
Now the area boasts a tiled patio (used often for entertaining), a hot tub, fire pit, koi pond and fountain, and furniture, including a 9-foot aluminum-frame sofa with matching chairs and chaise lounges.
“We have really big windows in the house,” says Share, who spent $40,000 on her yard, “and when I look outside, I think, ‘Gee, that’s really pretty.’ ”
An estimated $2.2 billion was spent on outdoor furniture in 1999, according to Judy Rudrud, publisher of Casual Living Magazine. She expects a 20% growth in 2000 as people discover “the selection and quality of what’s available. I think it’s helping people to understand how beautiful they can make their outdoor areas.”
The backyard is the last frontier for cocooners who love spending time in and on their homes. Treating it as a room offers infinite opportunities for decorating this additional living space.
“I think our lifestyle has changed,” says Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of the Furniture Manufacturers Assn. in North Carolina. “We live more casually, and it’s very natural for folks to be thinking about the outdoors as part of their homes. In many cases they have formidable space that has gone unnoticed, and this is an opportunity to maximize their area.”
This is hardly a new concept. People have been using their outdoors as living areas for centuries--witness the Polynesian lanai and the
European courtyard.
A recent HGTV special, “Outdoor Rooms With Kitty Bartholomew,” ran down different types of al fresco living around the globe. Lanais, outdoor rooms with a roof, are suited for balmy climates and provide some shelter from the rain. Italian loggias offer a framing device--archways and pillars--for breathtaking vistas. Portals of Spanish-style haciendas, which run the length of the house, are covered by a roof and sometimes have a fireplace at one end.
In America, Victorian homes with sweeping porches eventually gave way to sprawling suburbs and tract houses in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Porches were eventually replaced with backyards and all the trappings: decks, barbecues, pools and picnic tables.
Today, our cocooning culture has discovered the joys of entertaining at home, even if it’s a casual potluck. The Internet has made it possible for more of us to work at home. It’s convenient, but we often find ourselves spending hours huddled in front of a computer screen.
Says Bartholomew, “If people are working out of their homes, it’s nice to create a room outside that’s away from your office--going to the kitchen isn’t enough. It’s a very therapeutic thing, and without spending a lot of money, you can give yourself an amazing vacation.”
Suzanne Faulkner’s clients, like Share, want all of the above. Share says, “When people come over, they say, ‘I didn’t realize your garden was this beautiful.’ ”
An Encino interior designer, Faulkner gets requests for “things that are not the norm--unusual pots that are glazed or have colorful finish. Fountains are a big deal right now. And even people who have small backyards can increase the look of their space with mirrors with lattice work over them.”
Faulkner prefers using the house’s architectural bones as a decorating guide: a contemporary house would demand contemporary tile; a hacienda style, rustic terra cotta.
Texture can be added by incorporating pieces made of teak, rattan, redwood, glass, wicker, wrought iron, aluminum and stainless steel. Not only do these hold up to the elements, but the patinas that develop over time are not unwelcome.
“You can shellac wood, but then when you let it weather it turns all kinds of wonderful gray colors,” says Faulkner.
Not everything is completely impervious to sun, wind and rain. Even cushions covered in vinyl will eventually soak up moisture, and fabrics will fade and deteriorate in direct sunlight. Awnings and overhangs can help protect less sturdy pieces. For special occasions, items from inside can be brought out for a few hours: rugs, pillows, lamps and furniture.
Recent technology has given us more substantial fabrics, metals and plastics. Carpets made of Olefin (polypropylene) are colorfast, and most can withstand the outdoors. They also come in various patterns, from Oriental to folk art.
Furniture makers Brown Jordan use a variety of materials, from cast aluminum to teak to woven fabrics made from an all-weather resin that imitates the look of wicker, cane or flat reeds.
“One of our priorities is to create furniture for the home and garden that is both functional and aesthetic,” says Richard Frinier, chief designer of the Long Beach-based company.
Items can be found everywhere from Target (frosted glass and wrought-iron candle holder, $7.99) to Smith & Hawken (round galvanized dining table, $495).
Other options include:
* Furniture not normally found outdoors, including day beds, etageres and folding screens.
* Sofas, chairs, chaise lounges and love seats made of high-tech materials that won’t rapidly degrade with exposure to the elements.
* Chandeliers swinging from overhangs or trees, lit with candles.
* Fireplaces and cooking facilities.
* Rugs--either natural or synthetic--over tile, wood or flagstone.
* Accent pieces such as mirrors, curtains, fountains, plus “found items” that become garden sculpture.
Jeannine Stein can be e-mailed at socalliving@latimes.com.
