Take It Outside

June 12, 2025

Words by Amy Thurston

Add color and style—equivalent to your interiors—to your outdoor spaces.

aking the most from an outdoor space can be as important as making the most of your indoor space. If you can create a room in nature, no matter how small, for seven months out of the year your home just feels bigger. To entertain, to play, to read or to nap, whatever it is you like to do inside, it feels somehow sweeter when you can do the same thing outside. Whether you have a patio, pool or porch, here are some resources to bring the inside out.

For insights on how we can create these moments, Karen Saper of Lifestyles By Design, who considers herself an “exterior” designer, shares advice. After 15 years in the business and biannual trips to trade shows, she has witnessed firsthand the growing demand for quality and comfort in outdoor furnishings. Her company furnishes commercial communities, including HOAs, apartment complexes and neighborhood parks as well as larger personal residences. The same principles can be carried over to any size of residential space.

Courtside

Residential sport courts are booming with popularity—pickleball, bocce ball and yard games like Giant Jenga, especially. Make the viewing experience comfortable and interactive. Saper recommends two different kinds of seating to accommodate each generation’s idea of comfort. Adirondack chairs combined with high-top tables, for example, offer options for different moods and heights.

Simple Comforts

Sometimes all you need is a set of string lights and a couple of well-chosen loungers to make a space feel considered and special. From morning coffee with the birds to after-dinner s’mores, you can make a lot out of a little. Add lanterns and potted plants to turn your porch or patch of grass into a welcome retreat.

The Savoy collection from Summer Classics transports you to a scene in southern France. The resin wicker is classically chic, long lasting and comfortable with or without an optional cushion.

Another sculptural moment comes from Bernhardt in the form of the Sorrento sofa. The cast aluminum frame is textured, adding interest and elevating any environment.

The Lomani sofa from Bernhardt anchors an outdoor seating arrangement that could pass for an indoor one. The encompassing woven texture and blocky cushion blend visual interest and comfort.

Dedon’s Mbarq is a mini alcove for a quiet moment alone or a private gab sesh.

Teak is worth the trouble, especially when it’s the Endless table from Cane Line. Keep it oiled for a rich warm color or let it weather to gray, this material will support many alfresco dinners for years to come.

Bring beautiful color and curves to your outdoor retreat with Dedon’s Cirql Nu, inspired by archetypal African chairs woven around barrel oil drums. The geometry of the lines appear almost 3D and take on different textures and tones based on the light and your perspective.

Teak blended with a woven accent is a match for the ages with the relaxed lines of Lane Venture’s Edgewood chair, available through Designer’s Library. The two elements are meant to weather beautifully together as sun exposure silvers the wood over time.

Bernhardt is a familiar name in quality furniture—and for good reason. The Cyprus outdoor side table and Milos outdoor cocktail table are sculptural forms perfectly suited for nature. Find them at Seville Home.

One of Saper’s recent projects exemplifies the many ways to outfit an outdoor area. At Wheatfield Village Apartments in Topeka, Saper, in cooperation with Schwert Design Group and Crossland Construction, programmed the compact courtyard efficiently to include a variety of seating, gaming and relaxation areas. The swinging chairs and fire pit zones have been popular with the residents. Photo by David Eulitt, Midwest Health.

The Florida Lifestyles daybed is a unique piece with its A-frame roof structure. “It adds architectural interest to any outdoor project and it’s the perfect cozy nook for reading and relaxing,” Saper says.

Another option in high tops comes from Vanguard’s Breeze collection, available through Design & Detail. The white aluminum frame and textured woven seat bring a clean-lined look to any transitional or modern space.

The Tuuci hammock introduces a dramatic focal point to the poolscape. Also, Saper notes, Tuuci makes and keeps replacement parts for these hammocks, giving the end user peace of mind that their investment is protected.

The Halo lounge with ottoman from Summer Classics conforms to your body so you won’t ever want to leave. Better designate a bartender to bring you fresh drinks!

A chaise is an essential poolside staple, but why not upgrade it with a graceful design? The sculpted base of Summer Classics’ Savoy collection is an ideal candidate.

Set up apps and drinks on the Rochelle outdoor console from Bernhardt. With a glass-reinforced concrete top and weathered teak base and shelf, it can handle the weather and your party plans.

Vicki Dreste at Design & Detail St. Louis recommends the Omer side table from Made Goods. The translucent resin pedestal-style cocktail base shimmers poolside in a variety of colors, from neutral to bold marigold, juniper and cobalt.

Sculpture, planter, side table, stool or luminaire? The Babylon from Dedon is all of that! The asymmetrical design is multifaceted for your needs. KDR Designer Showrooms recommends many of Dedon’s lines for a unique addition to your outdoor space.

Purposeful Lounging

For larger backyards with kitchens, pool cabanas and fire pits, mix furniture styles to help define each area’s function while creating an environment that feels thoughtful—much like furnishing an interior space. You may want wicker loungers, ceramic side tables and fun saturated prints around the pool, but for the pool shelter, a selection of wood-framed pieces, solid cushions, stone tables and a bold or textural outdoor rug create a more refined look for entertaining.

A rocking chair without legs! Dedon’s Fedro can rock out a colorful scene in your yard and even go with you anywhere you want to relax.

A chair can be so much more than just a chair with the Origami from Bernhardt. The bisecting lines fold into the frame for a most distinctive conversation piece.

Nothing says summertime like a fun outdoor print. Design & Detail suggests this one, Faro, from Elitis. With Moorish influences from the Algarve region of Portugal, its warmth reminds one of faraway vacays.

Enjoy shade and lemonade in a rocking chair meant for comfort and style. The Avondale from Summer Classics merges a low-maintenance and modernized alumninum frame with plush cushions.

The Kida collection from Dedon is the epitome of rainbows and sunshine. Buy a hanging chair for yourself or share the rays with a tableful of chairs. The cradle-like form of wrapped—not woven—fibers is an invitation to lounge for hours.

Pro Tips

With experience comes knowledge, and Saper and her team have some great tips.

For teak lovers, she recommends an engineered material that replicates teak so you can enjoy the look for longer. Actual teak weathers to gray with time, and unless you maintain and oil your furniture, yours will too.

If you own a lake house, Saper suggests UVA-rated fake plants for your porch or dock. These look very real and won’t miss you when you’re gone.

If you have recently purchased a home and are trying to plan your outdoor space, buy less furniture to start, as you can always add to it as you learn how your yard will actually function.

Take storage and proper covers into consideration to protect your purchases from harder weather and outdoor critters.

If you are on a tight budget, spend money on the pieces with cushions and less on solid pieces like coffee tables or side tables. Quality cushions are worth the extra spend. Dacron foam is found in less-expensive outdoor cushions and takes longer to dry and shortens the life of the cushion.

Rather than pure white cushions, buy a textured weave with natural tones running through, which will hide stains and wear while still looking light and fresh.

And one final pro tip: Take advantage of the borrowed views. Does your neighbor have a giant tree that explodes in color every season? Do you live close to a beautiful church with an architectural steeple that lights up at night? Does your porch have an amazing view of the city? Angle your furniture toward these
vistas and set yourself up with a spot that feels
so good you’re called back to it daily.

Find these items and more at:

Lifestyles by Design, @lifestylesbydesign

KDR Designer Showrooms, @kdrshowrooms

Design & Detail, @designanddetailkc

Designer’s Library, @designerslibrary

Seville Home, @sevillehome