Let’s move this party outside, shall we?! We had the honor to showcase our design expertise in the 2024 Charleston Symphony Designer Showhouse. We designed the Second-Floor Piazza. It was a wonderful opportunity that tested our outdoor abilities. We’ve never designed for an outdoor living space before and let me tell you, there is WAY more to it than just mastering a beautiful design, it takes strategy, muscle, creativity and patience.

This second-floor piazza was up pretty high, endured some heavy winds and rain so everything needed to stay beautiful and intact. Keeping all reinforcements incognito was the tricky part. That’s where the less fun creativity came into play. I’ll take all the guessing out of this part for you because I can attest that what we did, worked. I’m not saying its fool proof because nothing stands ground to hurricane or tornado winds, but it definitely did the trick.

Furniture:

We used wrought iron, reinforced concrete, and acrylic furnishings. Which alone, were plenty heavy to withstand the windy weather. The cushions are all Sunbrella fabric which is fade proof, stain resistant, and cleanable. *you can simply clean any Sunbrella fabric with bleach (yes, even black fabrics).

Other types of outdoor furnishings: teak, Aluminum, Wrought Iron, polywood or all-weather wicker are heavy, weather-resistant and durable. They can withstand exposure to sunlight, rain, and most strong winds.

Rugs:

Outdoor rugs are great! They capture the space to make it feel more like a “room”. Outdoor rugs are a great way to add character and personality to an outdoor area. Not only can they withstand what mother nature throws at them but they’re the easiest to maintain. Simply hose them off, use a little dawn soap, hose them off again and hang (or roll them up and stand on side) to dry completely before laying back down in desired position. Furnishings should be placed on top of rugs, so that is all the reinforment they should need!

Window Treatments:

If you have somewhere to hang window treatments in your outdoor living area, do it! They make the area seem more relaxed, casual and inviting. The material is important here. Again, Sunbrella is key. Let me tell you how we kept them in place and from blowing everywhere (or in your face as you’re trying to enjoy your sitting area). We used an outdoor cable wire to tether them to the sides. Since these were outdoors (not inside a screened area) we used weights/sandbags at the bottom. In a screened porch, simple waterproof magnets should be plenty.

Greenery:

What a great way to incorporate peace within a space. If you’re planting live greenery, they’ll obviously have plenty of dirt and weight from the watering.. NOW what we encountered was HOW MUCH dirt it would take to “fill” the tall planter. It was just too much and seemed like such a waste. SO, we added bricks/rocks at the bottom to add some extra weight and added pool noodles to fill some of the space. (if you don’t want to permanently keep your greenery in a tall planter, watch our video here).

Pillows:

No need to be scared, with this solution you won’t have to constantly be asking your neighbors to return your pillows that blew into their yard! Yes, there is such thing as waterproof pillow weights and they’re fantastic. In order for these weights to work, you will need pillows with zippers, which is great advice anyway since that makes them easier to throw in the wash. But don’t forget the waterproof inserts, you can’t have a pillow without the insert!

Accents:

Worried about adding floral arrangements, decorative screens, accents, gnomes, trays, candles, or statues to your space? Well, why not?! Simply adding removable and durable museum putty, heavy duty and waterproof sandbags, weighted and beautiful glass stones, or practical and clear fishing wire, could be all you need to reinforce the beautiful item(s) to your outdoor living area.

In conclusion, we shouldn’t be worried to place something beautiful outside that will add excitement to our outdoor living areas. There are plenty of solutions to a stable and secure outdoor living space. It’s not a fool proof plan but these strategies have been put to the test. I hope these tips are useful to someone!

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