'Tis the Season to Get Outdoors

Yes, it's official that we are having a heat wave in the Eastern United States, but it is summer after all!  We have a perfect opportunity to stay cool by spending time on the lake, in the ocean, or by the pool. Enjoy the longer days by relaxing in your outdoor space, eating, talking and laughing.

"Roosters and gingham table linens gained popularity during the 1940s, and remained in use well into the 1950s. - See more

"Roosters and gingham table linens gained popularity during the 1940s, and remained in use well into the 1950s. - See more

Remember how magical the summer days were as a child, once school was out for the year?  We would play so hard, outside all day. Simple things like putting crepe paper in the spokes of our bike would make our day more colorful. We ran around like crazy catching lightning bugs and keeping them for a little while in a jar, with holes poked into the lids for air. Then there was the food…especially the peaches, tomatoes and sweet corn. I loved our summer cookouts, remembering that gingham fabrics were the most prevalent decorative theme.

We’ve come a long way planning our outdoor spaces! We have a variety of choices for restful lighting, comfortable seating and beautiful fabrics to surround us. There is a huge array of highly functional fabrics that are beautiful as well. The major attributes of these fabrics are sun resistant fading, mildew and stain resistance, and fast drying.

Sunbrella Fabrics set the bar high by using solution dyed acrylic yarns. I love talking about fabric construction, and there is a definite advantage here. Solution dyed means the actual yarn is dyed before the fabric is made, so color does not fade. You can tell quickly if a fabric is solution dyed by looking at the reverse side. The color will be the same on front and back, and indicates the highest quality.

“Durability is the new Luxury.” Sunbrella and Elle Décor invited designers to discuss this concept, and to design rooms around it.