Anything truly new will test our boundaries, and every day new materials, manufacturing techniques, and splashes of fashionable style-blending continue to blur the line between indoors and out. We've wanted to move modern style outdoors for years, and now we finally can. So what's on the horizon for your brave new patio? The options are as big as all outdoors.
Modern styles are about removing clutter and focusing on the interplay of lines, weights, and textures. What better place is there for you to create a modern environment than in your own backyard? Your patio or poolside could allow you to start with a (relatively) clear canvas so you don’t have to worry about cleaning or redecorating your everyday space.
Now that modern furniture isn't limited to the use of fragile materials like leather, wood veneers, or sensitive textiles, almost anything that you ever wanted inside can go outside. Would you like an area rug on your patio? Go ahead and pick a color. What about outdoor lamps or a fire-pit? Just out a space where you want to set it up.
Until now, outdoor furniture had to be at least semi-disposable if you wanted to leave it outside. That meant that we focused primarily on the cheap and functional, or we chose overly rugged pieces that looked like they were built by a lumberjack working on commission. Today, you can achieve almost any of your outdoor-design goals with weatherproof resin, rust and corrosion-proof coatings (on aluminum, steel, or iron), plastic that looks like stone, resin that feels like wood, or woods such as teak or ash that can wear like iron. And that's before you get to see the rainbow of fabrics that are fade-resistant, quick-drying, and easy to clean. With modern design wandering outdoors, you can have almost anything you want beyond the walls of your home. For example, resin wicker is seeing a surge in popularity thanks to its ability to be formed around light-metal frames that are designed around low, angular lines with a strong Bauhaus or contemporary Italian feel. This material is also lightweight, easy to clean, and fade-resistant, making it an ideal choice for a single piece or entire outdoor settings when you want an up-to-date feel.
Today's green designs are as easy on the eyes as they are on the environment. The use of more sustainable materials like bamboo or post-consumer materials like Polywood's HDPE products that come from recycled milk jugs allow manufacturers as much, if not more design latitude than those using traditional materials. Not only are many of these products responsibly produced, but many of them offer exceptional durability in outdoor environments. Anything from a picnic table to a lounge chair to a rug could have had a previous life as a soda bottle or a milk jug.
Modern furniture has never been as accessible or affordable, and now it's going to follow you outdoors.
