I know we’re
coming to the end of summer but September is my favourite month for sitting in
my garden in Sandycove and I’ve been visiting gardens both in Ireland and
abroad all summer (doesn’t everyone?) so with that garden inspo in your pocket, now's the time to revisit your garden. It's so important to maximise your ‘garden’ meaning outdoor space, which
absolutely includes a balcony, to give you a space to enjoy and use all year round. Summer is easy in that respect, but winter brings
a whole new dimension when you transform it into a cosy, inviting &
interesting space.
My favourite style of garden is bohemian chic, which looks effortlessly stylish, welcoming, a lil bit eclectic, and brimming with plant life. Here are some of my tips to hone the look:
1) Make a really pretty seating area so when you walk into your outdoor area there's a big area for lots of people to sit down in an enchanted setting. See the pictures above for some inspo of easy and inexpensive ways to create a dreamy, boho chic seating area including fairy lights and festoon lights, which can be hung on trellis, plants and wrapped around shapes as above. Look for old mirrors, shelves and pots and decorate with plants and bring in a mis match of cool chairs.
2) The foliage wall is an immediate focus of greenery. If you have a small garden, bamboo is brilliant as it stands against a wall and takes up minimal space on the floor. Wall to wall greenery sounds like you're eating into the precious garden space but it really doesn't take space and weirdly makes a garden look bigger and it really has a fabulous effect, leaving you to simply add seating and stand back.
3) This leads me on to bringing in as much greenery as possible and be as creative as possible! These images show just a few of the ways you can use the floors, walls, ceiling and furniture! Go to garden centers, improvise with Ikea, buy trellising and use anything you can find!
4) Rattan furniture has got to be the boho's favourite outdoor furniture and it beats boring contemporary woven alternatives! My feeling with furniture is to oversize, which despite logic will make your garden seem bigger and give a generous, inviting feel. Here are some super cool options:
5) Its been all the rage for a while and I can't help but wax lyrical about critall (steel windows seen below). They're architectural, traditional & slick yet equally rustic and industrial. They let the maximum amount of light into your home and in reverse you can view your awesome outdoor space to its fullest, (encouraging you to use it!)
6) A bit of an extravagance, but a fire pit is just the most awesome warming focal point and all my friends and clients say it means you can genuinely use the garden year round.
7) Whilst lots of colour is 'bohemian', you know I like to colour block so for a Bohemian chic look, I would recommend a restricted colour palette. I'm currently all over black, white, greenery and wood and you can see from these images how cool it is!
