What could be more essential, more de rigueur, for your outdoor space than a two-seater teak bench? A spot to sit and meditate, sip a coffee or a kombucha, have a long chat with a loved one. Wood that belongs in the elements, a design that looks equally at home today or a hundred years read more »
The prominent black presence of a television screen has long been a design challenge. How to keep it from being the focal point? How to offset its size and color? How to work with the unapologetic contrasts it presents? Whether or not you need a piece of furniture for your TV to stand on, a read more »
There are so many reasons use both chairs and benches around the dining table. Some of them are practical: perhaps you are working with limited space and want to accommodate more diners. Perhaps you have younger children and benches are easier for them to climb on and off. Perhaps your dining space is tucked in read more »
If mirrors are design magic, the way they add light and depth to a space, then small accent mirrors are like a magician working the room, doing a quietly astounding trick for an audience of one. Their size creates intimacy, the way you need to get up close to see your own reflection, the way read more »
Kitchens are a little wild to begin with, aren’t they? Dishes everywhere, water splashing, flour spilling, the smells of baking (and occasionally burning). The best kitchens come alive when they’re being used: cooks moving from fridge to oven to chopping block; guests chatting and tasting, trying to stay out of the way; small creatures underfoot read more »
Do you have a tiny yard? A tiny balcony? A tiny porch? The tiny house movement has shown us that just because a space is small in size doesn’t mean it has to be small in ambition or design. A tiny outdoor space can be a jewel box of well-considered finishes and furnishings. Its size read more »
Side tables, those small but functional necessities, present a great opportunity to bring life and fun to an outdoor space. Whether you’re depending on your side tables to hold drinks and buffet plates, to double as overflow seating, or just to look glamorous, we’ve picked up on some creative ways to incorporate them into your read more »
Why isn’t there more buzz around outdoor family meals? Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter get a lot of attention but because they fall during winter and spring in the Northern hemisphere, they’re typically indoor meals. Here at EcoChic, we believe that outdoor meals can be just as epic. Here are some tips to get you started. read more »
If you visit the showrooms and websites of popular outdoor furniture stores, you’ll find no shortage of glass, aluminum, steel, and plastic. You’ll also come across a fair amount of cedar, acacia, and cypress wood. The colors will be shades of brown, grey, black, and white. What you won’t see much is paint and color. read more »
Wall décor isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when designing an outdoor space. Your patio or back deck may hardly have any walls at all. But after you’ve created inviting places to sit and dine, after you’ve provided the comforts of shade and cushions, you can turn your attention to the vertical read more »