more

HOT NOW: OUTDOOR LIVING

AND SUMMER IN TYROL

Do you have an apple tree in your garden? In the garden of the old villa opposite stands a fairytale apple tree, currently donning delicate green buds that were until recently covered in snow. The buds don’t mind and nor do the people. But buds, like people, flourish when sunshine and light triumph.

Living at home, but outdoors – not a trend, but a fact. After all, is there anything more enjoyable than feeling connected to nature even at home and in every free moment? It’s not without reason that we say: “grounding ourselves” when talking about finding our centre again. About figuring out our own wishes and dreams and inspirations.

Theoretically, you could sit on white plastic chairs in the sun. For example, while slurping an aperitif at a beach bar in the south of Italy as you dig your toes into the sand. But it’s not quite so fitting when you live in the mountains and want to set up your outdoor area as an extended living room.

Then it’s about design and quality, and you’re prepared to invest in outdoor furniture that’s chic and also lives up to your expectations in terms of quality.

TREND: BLURRING THE BOUNDARIES

Who says that the design and style of the living area inside the house and outside your door can’t have anything to do with each other? Exactly. Last season, we already got a taste of how these established patterns of thinking are being challenged. The boundaries are being blurred, and furniture is no longer assigned to just one living area.

All of this is possible because the materials have evolved. The necessary functionality of outdoor furniture no longer stands in opposition to beautiful optics and haptics. With many of these pieces of furniture, you can’t tell what area they were designed for. And yet they retain all the properties you might expect and desire.

architekturvisualisierung_home_fiecht1_c018.jpg

A CLOSER LOOK: OUTDOOR FABRICS

Our heart beats for beautiful fabrics – and always has. And this love doesn’t discriminate with outdoor fabrics either. Especially since in addition to their diverse functionality, nowadays they are produced from elaborate yarns and are extremely soft and natural to the touch.

One example are fabrics made of bouclé yarn. Previously only intended and suitable for clothing, bouclés have been enhanced to be fit for furniture too. Currently bang on trend are bouclés with extremely large loops that create a high pile and a cosy feeling when sitting or lying on them. As the next step, this trend led to the development of bouclé fabrics for outdoors.

shutterstock_85239469.jpg

FUNCTIONAL OUTDOOR FABRICS

Fabrics that are going to be exposed to sun, wind and rain need to be really durable. These are textiles made from synthetic fibres that have been specially developed for open-air use. This also applies for use in conservatories or wellness areas.

Water-repellent, dirt-repellent and antibacterial – these are the main properties of outdoor fabrics. Incidentally, the water column shows how strong the water-repellent properties of a fabric are. The water column value is determined using so-called hydrostatic testing. How high it is indicates the amount of water it takes for drops to start penetrating the fabric. According to DIN, a fabric is watertight with a water column of 1300 mm or more.

shutterstock_2087775214.jpg

In addition, fabrics for outdoor furniture also need to be skin-friendly. After all, outdoor furniture is most used during the warmest times of year, when shorts, sportswear or swimwear is worn.

How fabrics reacts to moisture and humidity is crucial. But what’s more, the colour fastness and UV resistance are also essential for the optics of fabrics. Depending on the location, outdoor furniture may be exposed to the sun for many hours each day. Which is why fabrics for use outdoors can be treated in such a way that they absorb the majority of UV radiation. These have a high colour i.e. light fastness and barely fade at all.

Moreover, fabrics for garden furniture should have a higher tensile strength. Their brilliant benefit is that they’re usually easy to care for and stain-resistant. Special treatments are also to thank for this. Spilled drinks can generally be quickly removed with a cloth. The water-repellent property prevents liquid from penetrating the upholstery.

DER HOME INTERIOR-SPEZIALTIPP

Auch wenn Outdoormöbel echte Alleskönner sind und sich gegen Wind und Wetter behaupten, sollten die Polsterungen nicht über lange Zeiträume im Freien bleiben. Sollten sie nach einem Regenguss nicht wirklich komplett durchtrocknen, kann es in Ecken und Falten zu Staunässe kommen und Stockflecken oder Schimmelbildung wird Vorschub geleistet.

Ähnliches gilt, wenn diese Stoffe für Wellnessbereiche verwendet werden, wo ständig eine hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit herrscht. Beherzigt man diesen Rat, sind Stoffe für Outdoormöbel nicht nur stylisch und schön anzugreifen, sondern auch extrem langlebig.

shutterstock_1655251780.jpg
shutterstock_520013428.jpg
architekturvisualisierung_home_hart_c004.jpg
shutterstock_2215423585.jpg
shutterstock_1555005371.jpg
shutterstock_1805172922.jpg
Back to overview