Contemporary Modular Sofas

Although the double chaise's dimensions were too great for the existing porch, a similar, more suitable option is available from the same Caluco Mirabella Collection.  Utilizing two corner sectional pieces and two ottomans, a daybed is created when pushed together.  When entertaining groups, the pieces may be pulled apart for a seating group or for perimeter seating.  When entertaining one guest, the pieces may be set out in pairs with two groupings of one corner piece and one ottoman separated by an end table.

                                                 

Sometimes when we settle on a concept and realize it is not going to work out, pushing through the concept, the result becomes more refined and in the case higher functioning.

From the first option, the dual functioning, sculptural bar table is retained.

Now that the furnishings have been selected, it is a good time to start looking for accessories to soften the space as well as to enclose it further, perhaps with sunbrella curtains and to diminish the somewhat unsightly view of the hot tub.

Photographs courtesy of http://www.caluco.com/

Happy Holidays!

Native Pacific Dogwood Cornus nutalli

Double Chaises & Daybeds

Mirabella Double Chaise by Caluco

Significant home improvements do not always require a contractor or a landscaper.  In the case of a small 400 square foot porch, a comfortable living space is added to the home once properly furnished.  Beyond its diminutive size, it has many openings and awkward angles.  It is important to take accurate measurements before furnishing such a space.  The space is accessed both from the master suite and from the main living area of the home.  Understanding how the space will be used in addition to its relationship to interior spaces is relevant.  Good questions the do-it-yourself designer will ask include:  Will it be used as a lounge, a dining room or a meditation space?  When will the space be used?  What activities do the users of the space like to do outside?  Which interior rooms connect to the space?  Answers to these questions will help the designer perfect a design.

Option 1

In response to users who want to rest outside rain or shine and using one of the latest trends in outdoor furniture the daybed or double chaise, one design option is to furnish the space as an outdoor lounge or bedroom.  What is especially nice about eh double chaise is that in warmer seasons, it can actually function as an extra bedroom for guests or an exciting location for a kids' sleepover.  The contemporary, minimalistic, aluminum design of the Mirabella Double Chaise by Caluco has a contemporary sculptural quality that I find aesthetically appealing.  The double chaise is a great place to lounge, visit, read, nap or just watch the rain.

Mirabella Double Chaise by Caluco

  

Mirabella End Table by Caluco



Mirabella Bar Table by Caluco

The sculptural quality of the collection is particularly evident in the Mirabella Pedestal 42" Square Bar Table.  The dark wicker table top ties into some of the more traditional furnishings of the same hue inside the home.  The bar table has to functions on thi small porch.  Typically, the table is to be tucked back in the corner of the porch next to the hot tub where it is used for things like holding towels and drinks.  When there is an event or party, the table can be pulled out into the main space of the porch and used as a bar table with holding appetizers for mingling guests. 

I have several pieces by Caluco including umbrellas and sofas, they are all quality pieces, moderately priced.  Other contemporary Caluco collections include the Grace Collection.

After putting all of the measurements into an AutoCAD drawing, the generously scaled double chaise would not be accomodated by the small porch. 

On to Option 2.

Photographs Courtesy of http://www.caluco.com/

Online Landscape Design Certificates

Urban Landscape and Garden Development Certificate

French Bistro Outdoor Furniture

Fermob furnishings bring a mix of European sensibility and playfulness. Fermob has many classic bistro designs, many folding. Their tables are meant to last. I have one opera outdoor bistro table that is quite easy to move that I have used extensively both inside and outside.

Mixing indoor furniture with certain outdoor pieces sometimes creates an intriguing vignette. It is also an inexpensive way to create a chic juxtaposed-styles look when updating your interior design on a budget. At times, when we utilize things we have in new ways, even things we think that we don’t care for, they take on a new purpose and a new air and find their place in the home and in doing so become valuable and beautiful.

Terracing to Create Useable Outdoor Spaces

Altering the topography minimimally by giving into the existing topography is my preferred method of landscaping.  However, machine made cuts into a hillside may provide substantial terraces and building pads and places for never ending views and can be functional, ecologically viable and evoke modern design.


Hilfiker Retaining Wall and Stepped Vineyard Terraces

Building a retaining wall and then backfilling the space up to an existing hillside is another way to alter a site's topography to create a flat, more useable landscape without altering the existing hillside habitat or in addition to making cuts in the hillside.  If you plan to use the space for gardening avoid compacting the backfill with heavy equipment and use the best soil your money can buy.

There are many types of retaining walls to consider.  Poured in place concrete can created a clean modern look, but make sure to include drainage in the wall or you may end up with a swimming pool or a blow out. 

A concrete wall can also be faced with stone mortared in place preferably by an skillful stone mason.

Stone Faced Concrete Retaining Wall by Kevin Kruger

Concrete, stone and mortar can be used alone to retain soil as in the case of an island planter. 

Benches can be built into walls and columns can be created using stacked stone, mortar and again a skilled stone mason, like Kevin Kruger and his assistant Billy who performed the work below.

Faced Wall to Left and Right of Stacked Stone & Mortar Column

A Hilfiker Gabion Wall is another more industrial method that evokes a more modern and functional design aesthetic.  To make it appear a bit more refined, the stone may be stacked flush against the cage at the front of the wall and then back filled with quarry stones.

Hilfiker Retaining Wall in Contrast to Stone Faced Column



A wall turns into an art piece with elements like the boulder below and horizontal stacking of pancake like stones punctuated by specially selected stones.

James van Sweden Prairie Inspired Landscape

James van Sweden, CornerStone Gardens

Olive trees have a lot of character, but can be rather slow growing.  Mature Olive tree specimens are widely available and transplant well.  Included in the CornerStone Gardens James van Sweden landscape installation are mature Olive specimens, a Rosemary hedge Rosmarinus officinalis, a mass planting of Mexican Feather Grass Nassella tenuissima with randomly emerging albeit purposefully planted American Century Plants Agave americana and Genus Coreopsis and another flowering perennial planted as randomly but with a bit more frequency.  This is  particularly easy landscape to install and maintain, yet is quite useful, habitat-friendly and beautiful.

With the exception of the Olive, the plants are exceptionally fast growing an generally inexpensive, providing relatively quick gratification for relatively little money.  The Chinese Elm Ulmnus parvifolia would be a less cumbersome investment and is very fast growing.  If a gardener or landscaper is to care for the structure of the Chinese Elm as if pruning a bonsai, the tree's aesthetic quality may compare to the Olive.

Enhancing the elegantly simplified planting palette is a sculptural element peering up behind the rosemary hedge, which invites the visitor to travel the path to investigate.  One might find similar sculptural industrial elements that contrast nicely with this prairie type of landscape at a salvage yard or at ARTEFACT or Restoration Hardware.

Mermaid in Front of ARTEFACT

The rosemary hedge frames the planting, setting it off, which keeps the natural looking planting from appearing uncultivated.  I imagined this first as a planting for a front yard with the trees somewhat near the home though set off some distance by the broad path and potential terrace which might serve as a foyer for a home lacking such a feature meanwhile providing great curb appeal.  However, this landscape design would be equally at home in a backyard with the trees against the back fence and the grasses nearest the home.  What is appealing about the latter arrangement is when looking from the home, one has the sense of floating in a sea of grasses.  The movement of the fine grasses with the wind is delicate and calming.  Many of these plants are easily propagated and so when considering a landscape design on a larger scale, this planting is not only visually effective and habitat friendly, but also affordable and engaging for the avid gardener.

Reinventing Outdoor Dining Rooms

Bubble Room at the J Winery

You don’t always need to have a dining table to serve dinner. I recently visited the Bubble Room at J Winery in Healdsburg, California with friends for a 5 course pairing and had such a good time. We sat around a coffee table on a huge sectional with a fully set table. It was such a relaxing, fun, unique way to have dinner and facilitated lively conversation.

Behind an outdoor kitchen island is a dining terrace. Already, the space has a lot going on flanked by the kitchen, a lamp post and a fireplace. All of these will be softened as more plantings are selected and existing plantings grow in. Instead of opting for the obvious table and chairs which tends to suit only one purpose—a meal served all at once for a group and then generally is left vacant or if you do sit down at it alone, you feel like you need to be productive with so much desk height table space.

I found the perfect solution in charcoal twill cushions, a deep sofa (always check the depth measurement on outdoor "sofas" or you may end up with a well cushioned bench), coffee table and lounge chair. The pieces, selected are all from the Restoration Hardware Collection. These pieces will comfortably furnish the space while allowing for both multiple uses and a restrained uncluttered feel.

Always try to take stock when you are really comfortable and enjoying yourself in a new place or a favorite place.  Take stock of the people, the food, the wine, the environment, the furnishings.  Then, find a way to apply those perceptable good things to your lifestyle or use them to resolve an issue that has had you stalled. Summer is always just around the corner and winter is a really good time to find great deals on outdoor home furnishings.