Outdoor dining rooms

When we built our house, we made a conscious decision that our outdoor room would be an intimate seating area with a fireplace, but not a space that would function as an outdoor dining area.

On the pool deck, we are using a 25 year old Brown Jordan patio furniture set that was given to us by my in-laws when they downsized, which includes a round table and chairs (seen on the left).  We have plans to get new outdoor furniture at some point – maybe next year.

I have noticed that we rarely sit outside and eat.  I am not sure if this is because of our natural inclination to eat inside, or if it is because the table and chairs are enough of a distance from the kitchen that it is not easy or practical to carry the food out there.   I love the idea of outdoor dining, though, and I have been pinning a lot of outdoor room ideas onto pinterest that feature outdoor dining rooms lately.

We have a patio that is off the kitchen that is fairly empty (please forgive the state of the patio, it has been so damp and wet this summer, it needs a good pressure wash right now!).  This space isn’t huge, and we tend to use it for entertaining when we have people over (we often set up a long bar on the far end), so whatever goes here must be flexible and light weight enough to move out of the way when we need the space.  I think a round table would work well given the size of the space.  A square table won’t work, as I need to seat at least 5 people (so that everyone in the family has a spot!). I could possibly do a rectangular table that seats 6.

This picture appeals to me on many different levels – it has the style I like, and seating for six. I love the dark trim and light walls of the house, which is perfectly reflected in the color scheme of the stone floor and the dining set (which I believe is Janus et Cie Amalfi). Via pinterest.

I have admired this picture many times when appreciating the kitchen in this William Hefner designed space, but only recently focused on the outside space – which also appears to be a Janus et Cie Amalfi chair and table set.   It looks like a round table to me.

Here is a view of the back of the house – the dining set can be seen behind the tree.  This patio space is large, and has a seating area as well. Architecture by William Hefner.  I have been a fan of William Hefner’s work for years – and he has a new book out called California Homes that I am very anxious to read (I have not ordered it yet).  Click here to see on Amazon.

This picture caught my eye because of the smaller size of the space, and the fact that the color scheme of the bluestone and house work well with the dark color of the dining chairs and table.

I saw this picture on The Enchanted Home, and it still remains one of my favorites. Attributed to Ginger Barber.

There is something about this picture that really captures my imagination.  I don’t see many fully paved courtyards in Atlanta, but I remember them well from my childhood in Washington DC/Georgetown. 

This is at a French Monastery, featured in Veranda, so does not reflect what an American back yard might look like, but it is such an inviting outdoor dining set up!

This has always been one of my favorite images of an outdoor dining room. The stone table surrounded by klismos chairs, and that unbelievable lantern, makes the most beautiful picture and is a lovely space. This house, designed by Bobby McAlpine, was featured in Veranda years ago, and this picture made the cover of the new book Veranda: The Art of Outdoor Living. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon here.

Suzanne Kasler’s outdoor table is just outside her kitchen; in fact, the outdoor table is parallel to the kitchen table inside, with steel windows and doors separating the two.  The teak chairs appear to fold, and the table has a large stone top, which means that it probably can’t be moved without great effort! It’s a beautiful look, and there is plenty of room for it.  However, I wonder if teak is too heavy looking and feeling for my smaller space outside the kitchen.  (Note the Janus et Cie Amalfi seating in the covered room. It is a chic look that clearly has great appeal.)

John Saladino had a similar outdoor arrangement at his former home – teak chairs and a stone topped table.   It would be wonderful to dine outside under the cover of the vines.

This is a pretty back yard, and I love the look of the teak dining table and chairs. Via pinterest, source.

I also like the look of a French bistro style dining set – it’s effortlessly chic. It looks particularly good on the pea gravel patio, don’t you think? Almost like it is in a Paris park.

Another casual Parisian style set up.

Since there has been so much royal news lately, I immediately thought about outdoor dining when I came across this picture of Kate Middleton’s parents’ home in Bucklebury. News reports indicate that this is where Kate, William, and the new prince will be spending time while the refurbishment on their new 20,000 square foot apartment at Kensington Palace is being finished.  Notice the large outdoor table on the left side?  It seems like this would be a wonderful place to eat summer dinners. Source.

The view from the table is absolutely incredible – I would be eating out here every day! The Middleton home sits on 18 beautiful and private acres.  Source.

Based on the solar panel seen on the right side of this house, I think this is the front entrance of the Middleton’s Bucklebury Manor. It’s incredibly charming (I love the green door), and interesting to see the front knowing how deep the house actually is…the house appears like a cottage from this view. Source.

Here is an aerial view of the house, which gives a great perspective on the house and its outdoor areas. Note that there are not just one, but two outdoor dining tables – one on the right, and one on the left side of the house.  I believe these pictures were taken when the house was on the market last year, so it’s possible that the Middletons did not replicate this arrangement when they moved in.

Do you have an outdoor dining area?  Any perspective on what works well, or any styles/brands to recommend?  I love the look of the Janus et Cie Amalfi items, but I am not wild about dealing with the cushions – even if they are outdoor fabric, they will get dirty very quickly (although I read a great blog post on a couple who had custom cushions made with marine grade vinyl – brilliant idea!).  I am also a big fan of many of the Brown Jordan outdoor furniture items. I love the idea of teak, but think it might just be too heavy for the space.  The bistro table idea might be a bit too casual and small, although very light weight and flexible. Any thoughts are welcome!

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Garden benches

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In our backyard, we have a spot that is ideal for a garden bench, but with all of the other higher priority items involved in finishing the house and getting it furnished, the garden bench took low priority.  However, we ended up having to replant some trees, and it became apparent that we needed to go ahead and find a bench so that the trees could be placed in their final position based on the size and scale of the bench.

I have been collecting some images of benches over the years, as I love the charming element that a classic bench adds to a garden. Many of the benches that I have seen and admired have been in the beautiful parks that can be found all over London.  This image shows a bench in Kew gardens (source).

As I was looking for inspiration photos, Cote de Texas’s most recent post had a beautiful picture of a curved garden bench.  I really like this style, but I need at least a 6 foot bench, and this style only comes in 4’ and 5’.

 

I have long admired the custom benches in this garden designed by John Howard. These benches were custom designed for the space.

A custom colored bench is a feature in this back yard from a house that was on a tour a few years ago.

A simple and classic garden bench, flanked by magnificent trees, makes a wonderful visual feature in this garden. Image from Southern Accents.

This is one of my favorite style benches, and is not too hard to find in the 4’ size (as seen here).  However, it is much more difficult to find in the larger 6’ size (and can be quite expensive). Image from old real estate listing.

Here is the larger version – there is something about the straight lines of the bench and the curves of the design that really appeals to me. Source unknown.

Richardson Allen makes a 6’ version of this bench.  It comes in natural teak, or any custom color painted in marine grade boat paint (so it is very hardy and won’t rot).  I do love this bench – this particular version is over my budget, though!  Also, as the bench is custom made for the customer, I could not wait for the standard lead time as we needed to move a tree that was incorrectly placed, and we need to do it while the tree is still dormant.

The Lutyens style bench is a classic (this one is made by Kingsley-Bate), and I kept visiting it in a local teak store as I thought it would look beautiful as a featured landscape design element in my backyard. 

According to what I could find on the internet, what we know as the Lutyens bench was designed by famed English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) for the garden at Little Thakeham, and is officially called the Thakeham seat.  When researching the origins of the bench, I stumbled across a company called Lutyens Furniture and Lighting, which was started by Lutyens granddaughter and sells furniture based on Lutyens’ designs.  According to the Lutyens Furniture site, not only was Sir Edwin Lutyens a prolific architect, but he also had a passion for and expertise in furniture design. Image source.

After much thought and consideration,  I purchased a Lutyens bench for the spot (seen above, in my back yard), and I am very happy with the decision.  The Lutyens bench has such a distinctive and classic style, and the size (6’ 5”) works very well for the space.  The bench is teak, so it will weather with exposure to the elements, and ultimately achieve a beautiful silvery gray color. Already the color of the teak is starting to mellow.

The bench can be seen from most of the rooms on the main floor, and it such a pleasure to catch a glimpse of it!  Landscape design by Alec Michaelides of Land Plus – now that spring is here, and the back yard is starting to bloom, I am simply awed by the beauty of the landscaping – Alec created a truly beautiful design for us.  I am such a big advocate of carefully considering the landscape when designing a house.  It is an essential design element, and makes our house feel as if it has been here for years.

When I was contemplating the garden bench decision, I pulled out a lovely book that I received for Christmas:  Gertude Jekyll and the Country House Garden.  Ms. Jekyll was known for her collaboration with Edwin Lutyens, and the book highlights several beautiful gardens that were a result of this collaboration (as well as many more).  In this book, I saw pictures of some of the original benches that Lutyens designed for the gardens that they worked on. (Click here to purchase on Amazon)

One of the original Lutyens designed benches, in a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll.

A Lutyens bench found in an image on the internet (source unknown), at a house in France.

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Outdoor design elements: bluestone

Now that the new house is being built, it is quite apparent that the outdoor spaces are of critical importance in making the most of the house design, mainly because the house is an ‘L’ shape, and the inside of the ‘L’ is a courtyard that can be seen from virtually every room on the main floor.   The landscape design was a bit of a challenge, because the orientation and views from the house are as often diagonal as they are straight.  Thankfully, I have an expert landscape architect, Alec Michaelides of LandPlus, and he has created a beautiful design that balances hardscape (the paved areas, including patios and walls) and softscape (the plants). 

For budget and design reasons, we selected the outdoor paver material that will be used in the hardscape fairly early on.   When looking through my files, many of my favorite pictures seem to have bluestone, which is a very popular choice here in Atlanta.   One drawback – because of the darker color of the stone, it can get hot when placed in sunny areas.  Limestone is also used quite often in Atlanta, and has a lighter color, but it is above my price point and some say that it etches and stains very easily.  We also looked at concrete products such as Peacock Pavers, which come in light colors and don’t get as hot in the sun.  Travertine wasn’t an option because we get freezes in Atlanta, and apparently exterior travertine is not hardy enough for the cold.

I thought about this decision quite a while, and ultimately decided that my favorite look is bluestone.  I love the color, and particularly like a tailored installation of the stone.   Because my landscape architect kept mentioning the fact that bluestone can get quite hot under bare feet, I took every opportunity to test it out last summer – whenever I was at a home with bluestone pavers (even the Symphony Showhouse!), I took off my shoes and tested out the feel of the bluestone.  Ultimately, I decided that the warmth of the stone is something I can live with, especially since the stone cools quickly when out of the sun, and the area where the majority of the pavers will be located will only be in direct sun until mid afternoon.   

This is one of my favorite pictures of bluestone on a patio.  I particularly like this bluestone because it is fairly uniform in color, without the oranges that bluestone can often contain. 

 

Many of my favorite landscape pictures contain bluestone as a major design element.

I am not sure where this picture came from – maybe Restoration Hardware? I like the furniture, but it is the landscape design that caught my eye, with the rugged stone wall and the sunken bluestone patio.

Another stone wall combined with bluestone.  I particularly like how the pool area is like its own outdoor room, with walls and stairs.

One of my all time favorite landscape pictures – a bluestone patio culminating in an outdoor fireplace.

There is something about bluestone that looks so beautiful in combination with a pool.  This pool is actually part of the same property as the previous  picture  - what a magnificent landscape design.  I have had these pictures in my files for years, source unknown.

And last, but not least, one of my favorite backyard pictures – an outdoor room attached to the garage of a home, with architecture by Pursley Architecture.  The color palette, with the gray of the slate roof, the off white of the painted brick, the gray-blue of the pool, and all of the bluestone  - sheer perfection.   

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