Colors and high style take over the great outdoors

*For links to the numerous websites mentioned in this article, please see the end of article.

The line between indoor and outdoor style is getting a little blurry!

Today’s hottest exterior furniture, fabrics, and accessories are taking their color and style cues directly from the “looks” that are classic and trendy for your home’s interior decor. In fact, these high performance, weather resistant marvels look so much like their interior counterparts, that you won’t be surprised when your neighbor does a double-take at your next soirée.

Horchow leads the pack of retailers creating outdoor pieces that look shockingly like their interior counterparts…making me rethink my whole outdoor living decor. I’m loving the idea of Chippendale chairs outside!

This melding of interior/exterior style is by far my favorite trend this season! Being someone who has always dreamed of existing in one of those fabulous “outdoor rooms” you often find perfectly styled on the glossy pages of magazines, I’m utterly thrilled!

Living on the muggy, cold East Coast, I had years ago resigned to the fact that my stylish outdoor vignette dream was just that – a dream. Obviously, such a dream could only be attained by those lucky “70 degrees and sunny, Southern California” dwellers.

But alas, this summer outdoor living additions of my favorite catalogs began showing up in my mail, my coveted home magazines all began to mentioning more and more of these all weather fabrics and furnishings, even my favorite go-to for instant gratification store – Target – had their own wares. Suddenly, my dream was beginning to seem more like a reality!

So what’s a girl to do? Scour the internet and magazines for inspiration, of course.

But the wealth of products out there can be daunting, especially if you’re starting from decorative scratch. So to help narrow down my search I first take into consideration the exterior colors of my house and property.

At Sensational Color, we like to refer to these colors as constants, since they are the colors that are not easily changed. Constants include the exterior colors of your home and surroundings. Mine are bluish-gray siding with white trim and reddish-brown doors, a slate gray roof, and a blue-stone patio that has tints of terracotta throughout. My landscape blooms purple and white in the spring, yellow, warm pink, deep red, and white in the summer, and weathers to sea grass bronze, deep red, and dark greens in the autumn.

The amount of sunlight is also an important factor in outdoor color choice. Since colors can be used to warm up or tone down, give this some thought, as well. A shady location, like a covered porch, can handle brighter colors, while a patio in full sun may need a quieter palette. It all depends on your home’s and your personality.

My back patio is an awesome space that just cries out for a make-over. It’s in the shade most of the day, with sun in the late afternoon. With this in mind, I think a mix of subtle and eye-popping colors would be fun.

A beautiful, antiqued, bronze-colored table and chairs that seat six will stay, leaving me about half the patio to work with. Since I have a place to dine, what I really desire is a comfy place for guests to perch. So I set out on my virtual quest…

The Malibu Sofa from Walter’s Wicker fits the bill as my fantasy outdoor couch! I think its chocolate brown color and timely fabric would fit in perfectly.

These outdoor sofas from Pottery Barn could work, as well. They’re great examples of a company taking a successful interior design and recreating them for exterior use.

A ceramic stool from Mecox Gardens could easily be moved inside for winter, while this ultra-cool outdoor Moroccan motif rug from Laneventure would stay fabulously chic outside all year long!

A round iron table from Wisteria would blend in nicely with my existing dining table and pick up the pattern from the sofa’s upholstery. I’m gaga for chinoiserie motifs inside my house, so I flipped when I spotted the Mandarin Bench from Horchow…I think it would be simply delicious placed in the far corner of my garden!

This outdoor faux-bois table from Crate and Barrel would look so fabulous inside my house – it might not make it all the way out to my backyard. If it does, it would make an awesome bar! Nesting tables are great both in looks and function; this set from Pottery Barn is ultra-hip and would fit right in. Boxwoods planted in these Eden Park planters from Smith and Hawken could sit in the corners around my patio and would give the whole place a Parisian flair.

One of my favorite finds on this quest has got to be this oil-like outdoor painting from Target.com. It would look so cool hanging on the base of my brick chimney or, for a more surreal look, I would place it at eye-level on my giant chestnut tree.

An outdoor mirror from Crate and Barrel could hang above my outdoor sofa and reflect the colors of my garden. A pair of copper wall sculptures from the same place would be cool mounted on either side of my back door and would pick up on the copper finish of my fantasy planters.

Two Louis XV chairs from Sutherlandteak recovered in this funky outdoor print from Duralee could do double-duty, pulled up to either end of my table as extra seating. I love the pops of color throughout this fabric – the blue is the exact shade of the morning glories that grow along my fence! I’d top everything off with some throw pillows made out of this coral inspired fabric from Lulu DK…I’ve been worshiping this swatch for months and have been itching to use it somewhere!

With the pillows in mind, maybe I could change out my off-white market umbrella for the coral-inspired number in the middle.

I love the mood that outdoor lamps create. This cool bamboo floor lamp from Lowes could really add some evening ambiance. Once I get around to putting up my dream pergola over the table area of the patio, two of these Moroccan-inspired outdoor pendants from Pottery Barn could hang over the table. Meanwhile, an antique stone candle holder from Vivaterra gives the space a sense of history.

With so many choices, you can easily continue a color theme and style that matches your home’s interior decor, creating a seamless transition between lifestyles. Or, if a new color or style trend has recently caught your eye, your patio may be the perfect place to give it a try.

Do a little bit of research…scan magazines, catalogs, and the web for style inspiration. Then take throw pillows, stylish objects, and even beloved artwork from inside your home to the outside. Test to see how their colors play against your exterior backdrop and then go from there.

Most companies are happy to send you fabric swatches, which is of utmost importance. My beloved Lulu DK fabric read “bright red” in both magazines and on their website, but showed up at my house looking very orange. So don’t commit to anything that can’t be returned until you have at least a sample in your hands

This outdoor canopy bed from Janus et Cie is just one of the awesome pieces featured on the company’s site (it would be perfect outside my fantasy beach house – don’t you think?).

Other favorite websites to check out for inspiration include…Laneventure, Brown-Jordan, Restoration Hardware, Horchow, Pottery Barn, Mecox Garden, Sutherland, VivaTerra, Wisteria and Smith and Hawken.