New year, new look: using textures and colours in your garden
Your garden should show your personality, and it's the ideal place to show creativity. Our houses in the UK often look alike - terrace houses are a good example of this - but we use our imagination to design our interiors so they are a unique reflection of our lifestyle and personality. Why wouldn't we want to do the same with our gardens? If you'd love an extra added touch of design in your garden but aren't too sure about how to achieve this, then read on and follow our guide!
Choosing colourful outdoor furniture
If you've read some of our other blogs and browsed our website you may have an idea of what we're going to say: French furniture manufacturer Fermob produce furniture that is ideal to add colour to your garden, such as the Luxembourg and Bistro ranges. Whether you want soft and subtle colours or prefer bold ones, Fermob will deliver. Colours are said to have meanings too, so you can use this to choose which hues to select;
- Red can mean passion, courage and motivation;
- Yellow means joy and optimism, while reminding us of the sun;
- Blue is more soothing and gives an idea of calm, relaxation but also imagination and reflection;
- Green is linked to the notions of harmony, prosperity and nature;
- Orange is often associated with enthusiasm, fun and exuberance;
- Purple can mean peace, spirituality and respect;
- White is linked with innocence, purity and grace;
- Finally, Pink can give a feeling of love, sweetness and happiness. These are only some of the feelings associated with colours, so if you want to create a specific mood in your outdoor area, this can help.
In 2014 Fermob offers us not one but two new colours: warm and sweet Honey, and lively and flowery Capucine (nasturtium in French). Furthermore, Plum, which was last year's new colour, is now joining the growing number of colours available for the outdoor furniture made of OTF (Outdoor Technical Fabric), such as the Dune range.
With Fermob there are no excuses not to add a touch of colour to your garden!
Adding textures to your garden
Scale, form and balance are all things that landscape designers take into account when designing a garden. Adding textures is another important factor, and to do this you can add interesting colours and tones with paving, add a small pond, create interesting border areas with pebbles or wood, or think about the layers and types of planting. But if you don't have green fingers, the easy way of adding texture to your outdoor area is to use clever outdoor furniture and accessories. For instance, the Fatboy Buggle-up is a brilliant beanbag made of outdoor fabric that would do wonders for the look and function of your garden, and as a bonus its round shape would add some form to your garden!
Another option is to add an outdoor carpet, which can be both soft and colourful. Why not take the opportunity to walk barefoot in your garden thanks to a lovely outdoor rug?
In addition, both the Buggle-up and the rugs are easy to store if you don't want them to spend the winter season outside and prefer to enjoy them indoors during cold months.
It's never too early to start preparing for the summer months - we never really know when the sun will come back, even for a day - so if you want to be ready, now is the best moment to start thinking about your garden layout and new garden furniture.
We'd love to help you, so if you need any advice please don't hesitate, come and see us in Barnes, e-mail us info@barbed.co.uk and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ for the latest news and trends.
- 14th February 2014
