Beyond Outdoor Living

Beyond Outdoor Living: From Indoors-Out to Outside-In

  • Bring Inside Decor Outside & Outside Decor Inside
  • Tips to Create Interior and Exterior Design Fluidity


    When it comes to your living environment, both indoors and outdoors, there’s no doubt that the notions of style and comfort factor into your design-making decisions. However, there’s another aspect that you should consider factoring in: fluidity. That is to say, you should enjoy all of the benefits that come with creating a seamless transition between your interior and exterior spaces. To do this, it helps to understand the art and craft of bringing indoor design elements outdoors and outdoor design elements indoors. Let’s take a closer look at how you can accomplish this look.


    Take Your Indoor Decorating Style Outside


    Typically, interior design elements are vastly different than exterior design elements. From the materials and degree of refinement to the colors and patterns, interiors have their own unique style. But one of the most rewarding things you can do is to extend the color, style and atmosphere of an indoor room to your balcony, terrace, patio, yard or garden.


    Design-Driven Lighting

  • Dana Point Outdoor Pendant
  • You don’t hesitate to ensure that your interior environment is lavished with high-quality decorative lighting, and there’s no reason the same shouldn’t hold true for your exterior environment. Lamps are typically thought of as indoor lights, but an outdoor lamp can add just the right touch of style to your deck or patio.

    Candles aren’t just for the bath environment – they’re great for outdoor dining areas and come in flameless and safe LED versions. And few lighting elements can bring the indoor look outside like a hanging pendant. Designed in the look and feel of indoor items, but UL Wet Listed for the outdoors, the Troy Lighting Dana Point Outdoor Pendant with a handsome, square lantern box motif fits the bill.


    Bright Accent Rugs

  • Chromatic Plaid Multicolor Rectangular Rug
  • Few decorative elements can so easily bring the comfort and style of the indoors outside than a bright accent rug. Choose a rug that’s bold in color, striking in pattern and instantly uplifts your energy as soon as you see it. Sprawl it out on your patio or porch and enjoy how it instantly gives the space a refreshed look and feel.

    Company C makes a durable, hand-woven Chromatic Plaid Multicolor Rug that’ll give your space a vibrant appearance thanks to a rainbow of colors and shades of gray in contrasting stripes.


    Indoor-Esque Lounge Furniture

  • Natural Tekwood Ice Blue Loveseat

It’s not hard to find sleek and contemporary furniture for your interior rooms, but what about for your exterior? The fact is, garden furniture has come a long way since the days of plastic tables and chairs. Go for appealing, durable and natural-look materials, including wicker, rattan and wood.

You also have mixed material and wood-alternative options to choose from. For example, the Oxford Garden Travira Loveseat is part of a contemporary, mixed material collection that’s a great fit for any outdoor space. Featuring powder-coated aluminum and Tekwood wood alternative, Travira is also built to withstand the elements.

Modern Outdoor Ceiling Fans

If you really want to flip the switch on your outdoor decorating style, then bring your indoor breeze outdoors with a ceiling fan. Install a porch ceiling fan to cool down the area during the day and circulate cool evening breezes at night. Or install one in your sunroom or garden room to regulate temperature in the warmer months. You’ll have no problem finding a ceiling fan to match to your outdoor style, as they come in every style from rustic to contemporary. Cutting a striking figure is the damp location Matthews Fan Co. Irene H Five Blade Fan featuring five neatly joined, solid walnut-stained wooden blades.

Take Your Outdoor Decorating Style Inside


The exterior of your home is your closest connection to nature. Often within a few steps you can have access to the sky, the earth and the trees – elements that make you feel centered and alive. So why not bring aspects of these elements into your home? Here are a few ideas on how to make it happen:

  • Lush Greenery


    If you want to infuse your home’s interior with elements of nature, there’s no simpler and more organic way than by bringing in flowers, plants and trees. Create a spa-like environment in the bathroom with Boston ferns and Begonia flowers, which thrive in humid environments.

  • Natural Materials


    Another great way to infuse your home’s interior with outdoor character is to incorporate materials from nature. Stonewash basins and tiles can be striking in their ability to create a stark, natural feel. Flooring made of bamboo or cork instantly imparts the look and feel of the outdoors.

  • Natural Fibers & Textures


    There are plenty of materials that are associated with outdoor furniture but can actually do wonders to enliven the indoors. Place a large wicker chair in your living room next to your contemporary/modern sofa to create visual interest.

  • Try low-maintenance English Ivy and Snake plants for your living room, the latter of which has air-purifying qualities. And what about trees? Try the DW Silks Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree, which comes in a rustic planter and is crafted from durable materials with realistic details that emulate a real tree.

  • You can also add rock, shell and wood elements to just about any room of the house to create that earthy feel. The damp environment-suitable Varaluz Lofty Faux Zebrawood Mirror is a great way to incorporate wood that catches the eye with its wavy, interlocked grain patterns.

  • Rustic hemp baskets, filled with toiletries or towels, really evoke the outdoors and look great in the bath environment. Make the most of rattan and place the coastal-style Regina Andrew Natural Rope Table Lamp on an end table next to your bed. Plus, feel free to bring items like rocks, shells and pinecones indoors and use them liberally as accent pieces.

Outdoor-inspired Colors


You can take a cue from Mother Nature and bring outdoor-inspired colors indoors to fabulous effect. Think greens, yellows, reds and blues on everything from furniture fabrics to drapes and rugs. Green conveys earth, grass and plants and works particularly well as a base color on larger pieces like couches. Blue works powerfully on floor and ceiling elements, as it evokes the feeling of water and the sky.

  • Company C Prism Ice Blue Rug

The luxurious Company C Prism Ice Blue Rug, hand-tufted and crafted from 100% handspun bamboo viscose, is a great piece to incorporate blue into your interior environment. Lastly, use fresh splashes of yellow and red on accent items like throw pillows to brighten up the space.

Creating fluidity between your interior and exterior environments is one of the great joys of decorating your home. Incorporate the above tips into your design and decorating plans, and enjoy all of the benefits that come with it!



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