Summer Loving, Los Angeles - Summer Patio Ideas

1. Above - Light grey is a great colour for the exterior of a house. If you have other out buildings in view, keep the same colour palette.

Since my little art studio was finished, it has meant an entire shake up of my rather tired deck and "lawn-less" back garden. In fact, I now realise more than ever how the patio/deck and garden definitely need to be an extension of your indoor living. This means a great flow from indoors to outdoors, the style of outdoor furniture, landscaping and those all important finishing touches as seen in the patio and pool area of this Californian home.

Beyond this Facade - Lies a Garden Guest House

Beyond the facade of this Stockbridge townhouse, lies a charming, garden, guest cottage, I currently have an obsession with garden buildings after completing a garden studio of my own. Whether it's a guest cottage, an artist retreat, pool shed or "she/he shed" scenario, I believe everyone can benefit of such a space.

Tips From 8 Inspiring Courtyard Patios

 1. Debora Carl Landscape Design

The secret to creating a magical outdoor space is to look at it as an extension of your indoors. Think about your style, the area you have to work with, whether you want low maintenance or you are more than happy spending hours, clipping all that boxed hedging. Lets take a few tips from these beautiful courtyard patios.

Mediterranean Garden Inspiration & Give-a-way Reminder

Auckland this weekend was absolutely magical. I spent time walking Poppy, visiting La Cigale market and catching up with friends from overseas...oh and even dabbling in a little chalk paint. Sunday I was given a huge bag of fresh figs plucked straight from a friends Mediterranean style garden. I hope to be able to put them to good use in a blog recipe, although I have to admit they are disappearing fast. 

Bringing the outdoors in - Frameless glazing

The warm summer days are still around for most of you and here in the Southern hemisphere we're looking forward to a supposedly early spring with reports of baby lambs. I have so much going on in my head, there are times when I am looking for a specific image for the blog, I spot another gorgeous image, totally unrelated and off I go on a tangent, writing a completely new post on an entirely different subject, and this is one of those posts! 

I am lucky to have fabulous indoor/outdoor flow to my living area but sometimes I wish that my bi-fold frames didn't detract from my outdoor view, how nice it would be to have seamless windows instead of the three panels in each of my bi-folds. In summer when I open up my doors fully, they not only provide access to my deck and garden, the outdoor area becomes an extension of my interior. When its winter and the doors are closed, regardless of the weather, I just don't have the same feeling.  Actually I never thought about this until I was looking for outdoor ideas and came across frameless glass doors at www.framelessglazing.co.uk. I suddenly thought wouldn't they look amazing if your view was a mountain range, sea or a stunning garden. Imagine a glass curtain across the back of your house, no bulky framing, nothing to obscure your view, totally seamless and at one with nature.  

I absolutely love these doors

Amazing summer living

Huge frameless glass windows 

When the doors are open, the living area almost becomes part of the garden 

 I thought this was a wonderful idea to keep the rain out of a porch, at the same time achieving a stylish updated look 

Images above via:  Framelessglazing (link above)

I have selected additional images where contemporary glass doors would be perfect and naturally beach houses are the first to spring to mind. There are times we can be a little too traditional opting for typical wooden French doors, however quoting from Interior designer Candice Olsen, "contemporary take on tradition creates a look that's at once current, yet timeless", unquote. I think this statement definitely applies to contemporary glazing in traditional homes.

1

2 - The relaxed coastal style is lovely however, imagine the amazing view if there was seamless glass

3 - A seamless door would bring the outdoors in and open up this lovely area

4 - In this situation a glass curtain would appear as if the doors were open all year round, perfect in a tropical setting

Image sources: 1|2|3|4