ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
An outdoor fireplace with chimney adds an architectural feature to a garden while also being somewhere to linger near when the nights are chillier, thereby extending the use of the space from spring into autumn. This is the London home of interior designer Alison Henry where a gas fireplace has an antique surround. ‘It’s somewhere we gather for warmth in the evening with seats in outdoor fabric which can be left out in all weather,’ says Alison. ‘I created an extension of the indoor space outdoors and considered it as an additional room, not only in the selection of finishes, colour scheme and furnishings, but also the lighting to create the various moods for different times of the year and functions.’
Insider insight
The experts on designing an alfresco living space
MATERIAL MATTERS When decorating a room that hangs in the balance between inside and outside, the best advice is to use resilient, hard-wearing materials. ‘We recently designed a pool house that was also going to be a gym and teenage hang-out,’ explains Sophie Pringle, co-founder of the interior design studio Pringle & Pringle. ‘As the space was likely to get wet, we panelled the walls and painted them in eggshell, which is more durable than emulsion but also gives the space a bit of character and texture.’
FABRIC FIRST The performance or outdoor fabrics market has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, giving designers and homeowners lots of choice. When
