FURNITURE| 22 MARCH 2021

How you can create a comfortable and practical outdoor space

The boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces are disappearing more and more. This is how you can create a comfortable and practical outdoor space.

Balconies, terraces, and gardens are more and more similar to your living room. This is the current trend. A trend which started some years ago and which has literally exploded during the latest months because of the pandemic. Spending so much time at home made us rediscover, in fact, the relevance of outdoor spaces. And not only in Summertime. We wish to live outdoor all the year round, without worrying about the weather forecasts. Just as friluftsliv, teaches us: it is a Norwegian philosophy that considers living outdoor as the way to happiness.

If outdoor spaces are by now an extension of the indoor ones, it is natural for the way to furnish outdoor spaces to change, too. Today, outdoor floors, furniture and accessories are not only practical and resistant, but also beautiful at sight. Plastic folding chairs are replaced by elegant, upholstered ones covered with performant technical fabrics. Floors are intended in continuity with the house. Accessories match with the home comfort. Heating systems allow us to make the most of our balconies and terraces all year round. For a house with fluid boundaries where gardens blend with the living room and the living room is more and more green.

Here you find some ideas to furnish your outdoor space with style.

Outdoor performant floors in perfect continuity with interiors.

The first step to furnish a terrace or a garden is to choose the floor. For a house, whose boundaries are fading, the trend is to create continuity between the outdoor floor and the indoor one.

Casalgrande Padana is an interesting example with its floors made of porcelain stoneware tiles Kerinox and Metropolis.

Kerinox is available in four colours (Anthracite, White, Grey and Sand), two formats (60×60 cm and 90×90 cm) and three complementary surface finishes (natural, lapped, and polished).

Metropolis is an extremely versatile collection of concrete-effect porcelain stoneware tiles. It is available with a natural finish for interiors and anti-slip finish for exteriors, in eight different formats and four different thicknesses: from the thin 6.5 mm version to the traditional 9 mm and 10 mm ones, up to the 20 mm thicker version for outdoor laying.

Outdoor performant floors in perfect continuity with interiors.

Still about outdoor flooring, in the spirit of continuity between indoor and outdoor, Mosaico+ offers interesting solutions.

Among the Mosaico+ proposals we mention the Sticks, Quilt and P-Saico collections made of porcelain stoneware. Sticks, the project by Massimo Nadalini, is a collection of “sticks” of porcelain stoneware which give life to endless compositions.

P-Saico by Studio Irvine reinterprets the historical Venetian terrace in a contemporary way, with its rectangular pieces laid irregularly. It is possible to use all three collections both as a flooring and as a covering for indoor and outdoor spaces.

Quilt is the collection by Marialaura Rossiello who transforms the mosaic pieces into a patchwork

The heating system to stay outdoor all the year round

The heating system to stay outdoor all the year round

Today, it is possible to make the most of outdoor spaces all the year round thanks to outdoor heating systems. But there is a problem: the first generation, traditional gas or UV ray systems consume a lot and have a remarkable impact on the environment.

What can we do? Thor by Olmar helps us; it is a heating panel for outdoor which allows to save about 80% of electricity compared with the traditional UV systems.

Thor consists of a patented 10 mm sheet of glass which gives out distant infrared rays by using nanotechnology. It is possible to install the panel on the wall or in the ceiling; it is transparent and not that bulky. Thanks to its essential design, it is possible to place it easily in any location.

Outdoor loudspeakers

Sometimes, comfort may be invisible to the eye. That is the case with Lyzard KZ14 by K-Array, a loudspeaker which is so small it blends with the background. Lyzard KZ14, in fact, weights 58 grams and measures 2,2 x 10 x 1,08 cm. It is fully made of aluminium and is weather-resistant. For this reason, it is suitable for outdoor installations – IP54.

Lyzard KZ14 is available in white, black, polished steel, brushed steel, 24k gold versions or it is possible to customize it to match any RAL code and thus to better fit it in any environment.

Showers for gardens and terraces

For those fortunate enough to have a swimming pool in their gardens, an outdoor shower is a must- have. But it is better if it is a design one. Like SHAWA, the shower column in the industrial style by antoniolupi.

SHAWA is a freestanding shower column created by assembling hoses with different thickness reaching the maximum diameter of 115 mm near the water supply pipe. It is intended for indoor and outdoor locations. And for outdoor it is possible to fully dismantle it to avoid problems related to weather in wintertime. Besides the freestanding version, the wall showerhead is also available.

Vases to give a coloured touch to your terrace.

To make your balconies and terraces as comfortable as your living room, you need to pay a great attention to details, too. Such as vases, for instance.

An idea is given by antoniolupi with its I GIGANTI, the vases drawn by Carlo Colombo. They are made of natural materials such as gravel, sand, and cement, and are reinforced with synthetic fibres; I GIGANTI are indestructible and versatile. Moreover, it is possible to customize them using weather resistant quartz-based paints, to create coloured corners or to hide them in the surrounding environment.

Reflex tub by antoniolupi is made of Cristalmood.

Sunshades to shade with style

They protect us against the sun, but they can also give a lot of personality to an outdoor location. Therefore, sunshades are fundamental accessories when you furnish gardens and terraces.

If you look for a practical and versatile sunshade, an excellent solution is JOINT by Poggesi. It is a sunshade with a side pole whose code word is customization. In fact, it is possible to design JOINT in different forms, frames, and colours, both as for the canvas and its components.

It is fully made of aluminium and painted with thermosetting powders; JOINT guarantees the most of weather resistance. You can adjust the canvas using the handle on the sliding guide and you can direct the arm by turning it by 365°. When it is closed, it is completely vertical and minimally bulky.

Suggestions to furnish an outdoor space with style and design. Outdoor ideas and products.

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