Ruth’s tips to extend your living area outdoors

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Ruth’s tips to extend your living area outdoors

At this time of year, many of us long to spend more time in the outdoors, surrounded by nature and its calming qualities. By using colour in creative and effective ways, you can easily extend your living area into your garden to create functional spaces that are brimming with design personality.

Read expert tips from our Creative Director, Ruth, as she discusses the benefits of indoor-outdoor living and shares inspiring ways you can bring colour to your outdoor space …

Create your perfect indoor-outdoor living space

Ruth writes: “Over the past few years, we have seen a real shift in how exteriors are being decorated. Rather than being treated separately, we are seeing interior design schemes and the use of colour being taken outside. This can form a transitional dining or living area that is bursting with personality, and links the interior to gardens or exterior spaces.”

Ceiling & Frame: Slaked Lime, Cladded Wall: Aquamarine - Deep, Chairs: Indian Yellow

By simply introducing a splash of colour, your outdoor space can feel instantly elevated and connected to your interior scheme. Even if your exterior space is limited to a small balcony area, you could paint the external cladding in a soothing hue such as Aquamarine – Deep. Pair with Indian Yellow on the garden furniture to achieve a beautiful, considered scheme where you can relax outdoors on warmer days.

Wall: Slaked Lime & Juniper Ash, Stools: Vulcan

If your kitchen leads onto your outdoor space, this is a great opportunity to create an inviting breakfast bar. Paint your exterior walls in shades that complement your kitchen scheme for a seamless transition. Here, the beautiful deep blue, Juniper Ash, brings an elegant, contemporary feel alongside bamboo and botanical features.

Zone your outdoor space

Ruth writes: “Colour is being used to zone outdoor areas, forming relaxation, dining or living areas within a wider garden setting. Simple updates such as painting a single wall in a bold, bright colour or refreshing wooden furniture can add instant impact and extend a living area outdoors.” Consider a bright, warm and comforting colour such as Light Gold to transform a shaded area into a cocooning sanctuary.

Wall: Attic II, Ceiling & Doorway: Flint

Dark, earthy colours can work particularly well to zone your outdoor space. Shades like Attic II will provide a sophisticated backdrop to define your dining area, whilst subtly blending in with the leafy plants and vegetation in the garden beyond.

Cladded Wall: Celestial Blue, Chair: Marine Blue, Balustrade: Loft White

Add personality to every area of your garden

Using colour to transform your exteriors means you can incorporate all elements of your outdoor space to add beauty and durability. Ruth writes: “As well as being a practical solution for weatherproofing and protecting a home, decorating your exterior is also the perfect opportunity to add design personality to your outdoor space.”

Consider painting your shed in a bright, bold hue to create an interesting focal point amongst the abundant greenery. Or choose a rich, earthy shade like Nether Red for external walls, bringing a sense of calm and wellbeing even as you carry out everyday chores!

Find colour inspiration

“Exterior decorating trends are very much following those we are seeing in interiors, with rich, warm, brown-based tones and earthy natural colours being embraced alongside joyful year-round sunny yellows and more traditional coastal blues and greens.”

Explore colour schemes to inspire your exterior update, from restful neutral settings to a bolder use of colour.