Outdoor Living Spaces

With temps rising in our sunny corner of Toronto, I thought I would round up some of my favorite outdoor spaces found on Pinterest. Decorating outdoor spaces is one of my favorite spaces to makoever. I guess it's the option of increasing your living space by creating another room outside.

Personally I love working with a small space and turning it into a cozy nook. A larger space can be more daunting but the key is to create different zones within the larger space. Consider breaking it into different areas for lounging, dining, playing and reading. This makes the task more approachable.

One of my favorite ways to turn an outdoor space into a reading corner is adding hanging chairs. If you have a beam or chair stand to hang them from then this quiet sunny corner is the perfect place to catch up on your stack of magazines. Add a few fairy lights and you are done!

Via The Contemporist

Via The Trendenser

If you have a long narrow kind of space then hosting an extra long dining set would give you the option of having outdoor dinner parties. Just imagine a line of candles on that table and soft music along with your bruschetta and sparkling wine. 

Via Linen and Lavender

Via Maple and Shade

If your outdoor patio is a tiny space then consider tiling it with cement tiles which are all the rage right now. They bring color, pattern and lots of character to your home. Many tile shops are carrying them now and you can check out some of our favorite cement tiles spotted on our tile hunts here.

Via WG Landscape

Via VT Wonen

The ultimate luxury is adding a fireplace to an outdoor space which allows you to stay out even longer when the nights get chillier. The fireplace below is a free standing one built out of brick and painted white.  Add a couple of Peackcock chairs and copper/lucite tables and you've just created a a very stylish corner.

Via The Butcher's Daughter

With a more neutral scheme try adding more texture through tree stump tables, bamboo furniture and terracotta pots to make the space more inviting.  

Via Ad Magazine

If you are not a neutral kinda person and more a colorful person like me then consider adding lots of color through rugs, poufs and cushions. Emily Henderson is one of my favorite Interior Designers and she is the best at adding color and vintage elements to the spaces she decorates. 

Via Style by Emily Henderson

I definitely lean toward a more Bohemian style when decorating outdoor spaces and last summer we transformed our drab side yard into this Boho Oasis. You can see more pics of our outdoor space here.

If you liked this post then you will like this other one I wrote last year on "How to add color to your outdoor spaces". Stuck on ideas for your outdoor spaces feel free to give me a shout and we can brainstorm some plans together.

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Have a supah summer folks!

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Big Hugs

Lynda

Pit Stop: CIOT Mississauga

Things have been pretty hectic at the Wilde North HQ with several projects going on at once. We have the Jeff Coat Basement Remodel in mid construction where we are remodeling the space to include an entertainment zone, kitchen, washroom and spare room. Then the Cedarglen Kitchen that started around 2 weeks ago where we are ripping out a 20 year kitchen and completely replacing it with a more modern & glamorous one. The Birchbank Basement where we are building a spare room and washroom for our neighbor. And the list goes on....

We made a couple of stops at CIOT Mississauga looking for hardware for the two kitchens we are working on and found some great options for future projects too.

A multitude of faucets to choose from.........this was no task for the weak hearted. CIOT carries are a wide range of home renovation items with high quality designs making it very easy to find everything in one place.

More beautiful sinks and faucets to choose from. I didn't see many gold or brass options which are trending right now but did see this cool white option below.

A total stand out piece against the graphite counter top, I thought this would be a talking point in a trendy kitchen space.

This grey sink had such clean lines that I wanted it in our own kitchen which is also pending a reno. The matt look is what I liked about it and it had a soft organic feel to it.

Moving onto the tile section looking for back splash options my eye went to this pretty printed hex tile. I will forever remain a fan of cement tiles and have finally convinced D to allow me to get them in our own kitchen. Now debating whether we should put it on the floor or back splash.

This was a 12 x 12 tile with four prints in one - kinda like a faux cement tile. Came in grey/white and black/white options.

D took to this gorgeous wavy tile that we are considering for one of the kitchen remodels. He prefers large format tiles as there are less grout lines although way more difficult to install. This tile looked clean and fresh adding a modern element to a traditional kitchen.

This reminded me of homes in Goa where this tile would be found in the entrance or foyer balcony of old homes. I remember them being in earth colors of terracotta and mustard. Right? Designs never go out of fashion, they just cycle round every 10 years.

Another patterned tile with a cool raised effect to it, very suitable for a modern contemporary kitchen.

Here are some more CIOT tiles we had spotted at the National Home Show we attended earlier this year. Their lighter color tiles are absolutely stunning in design particularly this one below in grey and white.

On our way out D spotted these pedestal risers which are meant to raise your patio tiles if you are looking to build over an old patio. Very cool option to keep in mind.

A close up of the risers.

CIOT never fails to impress us with their high quality products and designs, and if you have a decent budget for your reno this is a great place to browse. Follow along to see more of our Pit Stops on INSTAGRAM.

You can view the washrooms we have renovated HERE as well as other work.

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Hugs

Lynda