Decor for outdoor rooms

When it comes to outdoor furnishings, whats in and whats out are not so clear anymore. Thats because the real trend is a growing category of products thats equally at home in a family room as on a patio. What both have in common is comfort both curl-up and visual. And not unlike the glue that holds interior spaces together, accessories are what make outdoor rooms livable and give them personality.

Livability is quite the buzzword. In fact, on retailer websites, outdoor living is the updated header that once included only a few furniture options and now encompasses pillows, poufs, rugs, lighting, lanterns, planters, curtains, dinnerware and even art.

When IKEA U.S. commissioned a report on the home, its conclusion about outdoor living is that it is our new backyard oasis ... an extension of our living room and our kitchen, a place to relax and entertain. On the Pottery Barn website, a mini primer puts forth design ideas.

For areas big and small, everything starts with comfort; extend your hours outdoors by layering in lighting with a mix of lanterns and flameless candles; to effortlessly entertain, have a variety of occasional tables to accommodate food and drink.

After years of separate but equal, the great outdoors and the great indoors have merged into one space. The backyard used to be a stepchild with lawn furniture and not much more than plants or candles, says Elaine Griffin, author of Design Rules: The Insiders Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator and one of the competing designers on the NBC reality show American Dream Builders at 8 p.m. Sundays on NBC.

The blurred lines between indoors and out have gotten a boost with performance fabrics and materials as well as style. So weatherproof rugs, which most would not have given a second glance to for al fresco use, let alone in prime real estate indoors, are dazzling with color, pattern, style and even an indoor voice when it comes to texture.

Outdoor living is growing trend

High-end designers such as Emma Gardner now are translating sophisticated rug looks more affordably, as in her recently launched collection for Couristan. And some fanciful designs and hues have even broader appeal such as the new Jupiter polypropylene collection for Loloi, which also is being touted for childrens rooms.

A trending go-to accessory indoors is doubling its appeal outside as well: the small-scale table, which is showing up in all sorts of materials from porcelain to resin and reclaimed steel drums.

Relatively new on the outdoor scene is the pouf, a hybrid that merges ottoman and table, but in a puffy rounded or squared shape. Theres a lightheartedness about it, especially when expressed in vivid geometrics and bright solid weaves. The versatility of a piece that can double as a place to rest ones feet or a tray full of snacks is a big selling point.

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Decor for outdoor rooms