outdoor rooms

Outdoor Rooms in the Natural World, Inspired by Russel Wright

The Moss Room mid-century designer Russel Wright created near Manitoga, his home in upstate New York got us thinking about outdoor space in a new way…

Constantino Nivola’s Open Air Solarium

Among Constantino Nivola’s inspiring outdoor garden rooms is his open air “solarium”, designed with high, white walls to reflect the sun “to such a degree that nude sunbathing was possible even in the winter.” And an artful solarium it is.

Moderne, Do-able Outdoor Fireplace

We love outdoor fireplaces and are always looking for interesting iterations, like this big slab of rusting steel as a fireproof backstop, with a cast cement fireplace, and the one Constantino Nivola fashioned one out of ordinary brick to create his outdoor room.

Taking Rugs Outdoors to Make Comfortable, Colorful “Rooms”

As we turn our attention to getting our patio ready for hanging out, we’re inspired by this charming image we found on From Moon to Moon of a Moroccan-style garden ladened with brightly colored rugs. The rugs define and soften the space, and create an outdoor “room”, perfect for hanging out with friends. Creative use of colorful textiles, Moroccan-style, is a great strategy.

unexpected possibilities of inflatable outdoor furniture

We must admit to be quite taken with the idea of outdoor inflatable furniture when we saw this stylish “Chesterfield” sofa by Blofeld. Our free-associating brain seemed to leap from inflated inner tubes floating down a river at summer tubing parties to this, with a big Why not? First off, it costs over $1,000. But…

an outdoor room made of flower pots

We are big fans of outdoor rooms—outdoor spaces defined in such a way as to make them feel like rooms in plein air— and have featured a number of them over the years. (One of our favorites is the lovely outdoor “room” that Constantino Nivola created on his Long Island property.) We were smitten when we saw this…