Indoor outdoor wow
Meet Abode's new columnist, interior designer and business manager extraordinaire, Kathy Husband, who tells us all about an exciting trend in outdoor furnishing.
I love interior design, styling, and beautiful things. I believe that when it comes to your home, it’s important not to worry about what everyone else thinks. If you like the way it looks, if it tells part of your story and makes you happy, then it will work for you in your home.
If you’re a sunseeker like me then these longer and lighter evenings are welcome. Spring is upon us: the daffodils have started to toss their yellow heads in the breeze and the fruit trees are budding up in anticipation of warmer days. We can start to tidy away our cosy winter throws and spend Sunday afternoons drowsing in the warm spring sunshine with the fragrance of freshly cut grass.
As we transition towards spring and warmer temperatures, it is time to get our winter bodies back to some semblance of health and colour for the advent of dresses and t-shirts. So too, for our houses.
The sun’s rays in New Zealand are harsh on our interior environment. As we tend to orientate our houses towards the north and incorporate large windows to maximise the arc of the sun throughout the day, our interiors have to ‘do battle’ with the unfortunate downside of clear skies and brilliant sunshine. This leads to fading and rotting, caused by ultraviolet rays.
There are various treatments that can be used on windows to provide shade, such as sheer curtains, sunscreen blinds, translucent silhouettes, and shutters, as well as external screens and awnings. One area that has advanced hugely over the last year or so, is the technology behind indoor/outdoor fabrics. We now have the ability to offer a wide range of fabrics for the sunny areas of your home that will be colour fast and sun resistant, such as velvets, luxurious weaves, bright patterns and stripes.
These materials look and feel like normal indoor fabrics however they are more than happy to resist UV and sit poolside, as well as fit with your interior aesthetic. If you have window seats or chairs placed in sunny corners, then cushions or beanbags in an indoor/outdoor fabric would be a great choice.
Resistant fabrics also give you options to couple up functional and practical spaces. You could use indoor/outdoor rugs in hallways and sunny thoroughfares to ramp up comfort and provide aesthetic appeal. Indoor/outdoor rugs use man-made fibre and recycled plastics to create comfortable, soft rugs in a variety of colours and patterns. These rugs are just as happy in hard-working indoor areas of your home as outside. Also, as a mother of four children and various pets, I completely appreciate the ability to pick up the rug and hose it down outside! After three summers outside, my outdoor rug looks as good as new and I can’t wait for the warm temperatures to keep rising so we can unfurl it again.
03 313 0123 | featherandoak.co.nz
