I’m so excited to share with you a few changes we’ve made to our front veranda!
As some of you will already know, a little while ago we made a few changes to the front and the back of our house – adding wooden battens and pop out panels. They have added amazing privacy and have also kept our little gymnast Frankie from falling out! Since then I’ve been meaning to style the front deck but haven’t had the chance. I’ve spent a long time looking for furniture that would suit this space and stand up to the elements outside. I finally decided to get creative, and am excited to work with Sunbrella to give this space a little spruce. Sunbrella is the world leader in performance fabrics, which are amazing because they’re water resistant and mold resistant, and are also machine washable so are perfect if you’ve got kids! I knew they would be the perfect foundation for a calm and inviting deck.
Before & After
What I really wanted from this space was a lovely little chill out area. It gets the most gorgeous sun in the mornings and for a long time I have thought about spending a few minutes here in the morning before Frankie wakes up, just having tea and relaxing. I think it would be such a nice spot to do some meditation and a gratitude journal. And also a lovely spot to sit with Frankie too!
Choosing A Colour Palette
If you have my book you’ll know that one thing I think a lot about when I plan a space is the colour palette. It’s something that has helped me build a cohesive style throughout the house. This space was a lovely blank canvas, and I took some time to plan how colour would be used, and tie into the rest of the house. Being part of the entrance, I wanted it to be a welcoming space and also a nice introduction to our home. I decided to use white as the base colour for the spac in keeping with the existing colours, and then chose terracotta and khaki as the highlight colours. There were so many amazing shades of Sunbrella fabrics that it was hard to choose!
Creating The Perfect Outdoor Seating
I was very lucky to find this vintage rattan two seater sofa on Gumtree, it was a little bit worse for wear but I sanded it and gave it a coat of lacquer to make sure it stood up under the elements. I knew that Sunbrella would be the ideal fabric to use for this space, not only is it comfortable but it is perfect in this outdoor environment. I wanted to create a piped cushion to reflect the sofa’s vintage character, so we made them myself using Sunbrella’s Natural Canvas (we’ll share a separate post on this shortly). I also added some gorgeous cushions in Sunbrella’s Blend Cactus fabric. They look so great in this space!
Adding Decor
I was excited to finally have a place for my tiled table! Being a tiled surface I thought it would work well in this semi outdoor space – it adds such a lovely pattern and tone. Plants were also always going to be a key element, although space was a little tight so I didn’t want to go overboard. I chose to put in a big lipstick hanging plant, which I hung using a large shelf bracket attached to the wall, it worked so well! I then added a Zanzibar Gem plant in a pot to balance the greenery. I haven’t set up watering for the hanging plant so I’m just watering it every few days by hand at the moment A terracotta wall hanging and some trash to terracotta vases were the perfect finishing touches.
Voila!
I am so excited about this space and can’t wait to use it! And because life is never perfect, it’s so great to know that these Sunbrella fabrics are durable and family friendly, along with being so so comfortable.
In this space:
Vintage rattan lounger with DIY cushions using Sunbrella Natural Canvas fabric, Sunbrella cushions made form Blend Cactus fabric, Upcycled coffee table made using DIY painted tiles, DIY Whitewashed Vase, Palm Beach candle, DIY wall hanging, West Elm glass lantern, Bunnings plant pot, Target cup.
This post is in collaboration with Sunbrella.
