The golden rule of summer décor is to bring the outside in and vice versa.
This is the timeless advice that links our interior and exterior worlds so that the connection between home and garden is uninterrupted and entirely convincing.
Being on the cusp of summer, interior design house Neptune have shared their top tips on how you can make your garden behave as another of your reception rooms without calling upon a landscaper.
First and foremost, set the scene with planting.
Needless to say, greenery is what your garden is made for and planting is a form of decoration in the same way that hanging artwork on interior walls is.
Think not just of low-level plants, but in which areas you might like to add height to draw the eye and to create a sense of intimacy, as window treatments do indoors.
Could a climbing rose on a trellis close to your outdoor dining table add a romantic dimension to the setting?
Or something delicately scented like honeysuckle or jasmine that fragrances your garden’s soft seating area in a way that no sofa-side vase of flowers in your sitting room could.
When there is little garden to be seen or had – such as a postage stamp-sized cottage garden – Neptune will often suggest a garden-inspired scheme for the room that looks onto, or leads out to, it.
This may be back to interior styling, but it is very much about how you can use a garden-like visual to create a sense of an outdoor space far bigger than its reality.
Timber flooring that is weathered and reminiscent of rustic decking, terracotta plant pots in abundance and louvered shutters that let you peer out and natural light to flood in: all will aid you here.
If you are keen to give your garden that sitting room feel, you will need to accessorise accordingly with all of those added extras with which you style your reception rooms.
Think cushions, blankets and decorative objects, as well as mirrors that you will not mind getting spattered with rain.
It is not all down to the accessories though. Mimic the furniture you have used indoors that you find yourself flocking to.
If slumping on a sofa with your feet up is what beckons you most, then be sure to find a similarly comfy garden sofa, complete with coffee table to boot.
And finally, never underestimate the transformative effect of lighting.
Wiring Neptune’s Dartmouth lights in will achieve sublimely soft ambient lighting, but if getting an electrician in and digging up turf and slabs is something you are keen to avoid, then candlelight and strand lights will be your friends.
With fairy lights draped above and candles nestled into hurricanes and lanterns on your garden’s path, terrace corners, and tabletop, nobody will want to head back indoors, even when the sun has firmly set.
