Category: Design

Backyard Pergolas: 5 Practical Uses

Extending your indoor living space into the outdoors is really simple to do. A patio, fire pit, pool, paver walkways, and a garden are just a few of the ways that your outdoor space can become a more usable and functional part of your home. Being able to enjoy the outdoors gives you more options for entertaining guests, personal leisure time, and it can even promote better health and reduce stress. Pergolas are another great way to dress up your backyard. Not only are they beautifully simple structures, but they’re also surprisingly functional. Their slim profile and open roof have made them a prized stand-out architectural piece for thousands of years. There are many practical uses for backyard pergolas, and this article will cover some of them. If you’re looking for reasons to install a pergola or spruce up the one you currently have, keep reading.

1. Comfy Seating Area

Adding a 12 x 16 pergola for yard seating can make for a beautiful backyard centerpiece. Creating a shaded area for outdoor seating is perhaps the most popular use for a pergola.They allow for sunlight to penetrate the slatted roof while providing enough shade to make the area more comfortable and cooler in the warmer months. You can use it with your patio or deck or just out in the yard wherever it pleases you most. Pergolas do a lot to tie a space together while adding some visual dimension to a flat space. The seating area you create can include lounge chairs, armchairs, hanging pod seating, outdoor tables, and more. How you arrange your seating and the type of seating is totally up to you. For larger gatherings or when you want a more enclosed feel, pavilions can serve as an excellent complement to pergolas. Together, pergolas & pavilions tend to provide flexible options for designing outdoor seating areas that balance openness with shelter, depending on the mood or occasion. When placing a pergola near a heavily wooded area or a steep drop-off, you may want to consider adding slats to whichever side could lead to potential problems.

2. Pool Accessory

The versatility of a pergola as a pool accessory is hard to beat. They’re beautiful and give your pool an elegant and resort feeling. Whether you choose a stained wood or colored vinyl, pairing your pergola to your in-ground pool decor is going to stand out. It’s nice to have a relaxing area to lounge poolside, entertain guests, and get out of the sun. It will add some vertical texture to the hardscape while being a fully functional piece, providing some much needed shade. What makes pergolas such a great fit for a pool is its ability to blend into the natural surroundings. Adding climbing or hanging plants are a great way to even better integrate your pergola and nature. A pergola is even the perfect place to grill poolside. You can even attach speakers or a television to it to add to teh entertainment factor.

3. Outdoor Kitchen or Bar Covering

Outdoor cooking spaces are always going to be in style for a foodie who enjoys the outdoors. Not only are they useful, but they are also more beautiful when paired with a pergola. Even though food always brings people together, the pergola may be a strong contender for the focal point of the backyard. Whether you opt for a traditional flat roof or a more eye-catching arced roof, they’re destined to change the entire mood of the backyard. In fact, you might even think that you’re in the yard of a brand new home. Depending on the size pergola you choose, it will either be the focal point of your outdoor kitchen or bar, or just provide the framework for the boundaries of your great new cooking space. Either way, your yard is always going to be the preferred gathering place amongst family and friends.

4. Hot Tub Covering

Hot tubs are great for relaxing after a long day. And when you add a pergola to the ambiance of the hot tub and your backyard, you’re in for an absolute treat. If you’re looking to add a little more privacy to your hot tub with a pergola, simply take advantage of some custom add-ons. You can add a retractable sidewall or two, incorporate a lattice to one of the sides, or add a half wall. Little touches like these or even sheer curtains can dress up your pergola quite nicely to make your hot tub feel like something at a spa. It’s an attractive finishing to a luxurious soak. Other ways to create a different vibe around your pergola and hot tub pairing include string lights, television, or stereo speakers. There’s no limit to how you dress your pergola. Smaller pergolas will frame the hot tub, and larger ones will create a more private space for you and guests.

5. Privacy Solution

Everyone needs a little privacy, and a pergola is one of the more practuacl solutions to creating a little more privacy in your backyard. And yet, it is one of the least utilized privacy options. It may seem counterintuitive to choose a pergola as a privacy solution because they are typically open, but they do provide some shelter and make it more difficult for prying eyes to get a good look. Adding a privacy wall or two to a pergola or curtains or retractable shades will give you the extra privacy you’re craving. You have the ability to make it as private as you need it to be while also providing some structure to your backyard. A privacy fence is nice, but a stylish and classic pergola is going to do more for your backyard space than any fence will. Alternatively, you can add fast growing shrubs or bushes nearby to further seclude the area.

There’s a lot that can be said about backyard pergolas. They are truly functional pieces of outdoor excellence. You can have one constructed to meet your needs or you can buy a kit. If you go the custom route you’ll be able to pick the material, post design, paint or stain color, and floor type. There are other add-ons that you can include to make your pergola fit your needs however practical or aesthetic they are.

August 11, 2016
Olivia Fiddes

Originally from Edinburgh, Olivia Fiddes makes ceramic objects and homeware from her studio in London. What makes Olivia’s pieces unique is that they’re solely made using meticulous hand building techniques. We chatted with Olivia to find out more about her interest in ceramics, her design process and future plans.

www.oliviafiddes.com

Product photos by Ben Seeley and studio photos by Alex McLuckie.

When did you get interested in ceramics? Do you remember the first piece you ever made?

My first experience of ceramics was during A Level Art, when our very optimistic teachers asked everyone in the year to make a life-size self-portrait bust out of clay. This had very mixed results. Mine was OK but didn’t look anything like me. My mum has it looking at you right when you walk into the house and puts tinsel on ‘my’ head at Christmas. Whilst this didn’t go amazingly, I loved the process and working with clay. A few years later I started pottery evening classes because of my interest in clay and it went from there.

All of your pieces are handmade, please tell us a little bit more about this process and the different techniques you use.

Everything I make is ‘hand built’ which basically means, in pottery terms, that I don’t use a wheel, moulds, or slip cast. This is quite a traditional way of working as it requires very little equipment. I mainly use my hands and just some small tools. Some of the techniques I use are: coiling, slab building and pinching. These are techniques that you can be taught in a few evening classes but I suppose the hard bit is getting pieces how you want them, being neat, and making two pieces that look the same. It’s a slower method of working but I think it’s this that makes the pieces unique and more expressive. Everything is a one-off when it is hand built which I love.

You use reclaimed clay to create your pieces, are there other measures you take to ensure your business is as sustainable as possible?

It’s important to me that I don’t waste. Especially with clay, there is no excuse for it as you can always give it new life. That is why I use the reclaimed clay from the other ceramicists at my studio. The shared studio I’m a part of, Turning Earth, is very environmentally conscious, from the energy companies they use and the packaging we provide, so it works nicely.

5% of the profits from each piece you sell go to Survival International, could you tell us a little bit about this organisation?

It’s a charity I used to work for and have been very passionate about for years so I wanted to make it an in-built part of what I do. Survival campaigns for tribal (or indigenous) peoples’ rights which are often disrespected. I find it crazy that to this day tribal peoples are regarded as ‘primitive’ or ‘other’ when it simply isn’t the case. It’s these discriminatory attitudes that enable people, governments and companies to continuously take advantage of them and violate their human rights. Hopefully my spreading the word and contributing, even in a very small way, will mean one or two people will change their perception about tribal peoples. Please visit their website.

Do you think there has been a change in the way people consume design in the recent years?

I think being able to make your own website and online shop quite easily and cheaply has really changed the way people consume design. I think people are now much more likely to buy from independent designers or businesses because it’s much more common and trustworthy – which is great! Although, I think things like Pinterest and Instagram mean that massive waves of design and style trends sweep internationally now. You often see the same things over and over again but this is a good incentive to stay yourself and different.

What are your plans for the upcoming months?

I’ve got a lovely series of light coloured pieces coming out on Bonjour Supermarket, curated by Johanna Tagada. I’m so delighted to have been able to contribute to this beautiful shop. We’ve also got some new collaborative ideas up our sleeves.

I will be going to LA for a couple of weeks at the end of the month for some work and a bit of lazing around! When I get back I’ll be exhibiting work as part London Design Festival (19th-24th September). My studio, Turning Earth, will be holding another incredible sale to coincide with the end of this on Sunday 25th September which I’ll be taking part in too. I hope you’ll join us!

After this, I’ll be working on special ranges for some shops and also organising some hand building workshops which are due to start in October in London and Leicestershire. I’ll be posting info and dates for these on my website and Instagram soon. Come along and try your hand at ceramics yourself!

August 9, 2016
Local Heroes – Studio Visits pt.2

Last week we talked about Local Heroes, an exhibition about Scottish design taking place at Edinburgh Airport during the Festival in August. We’ve been commissioned by Local Heroes to document the spaces and processes of all the designers involved. Here are the remaining 5 designers and the products they’ve designed exclusively for Local Heroes.

Local Heroes – 1st to 31st August at Edinburgh Airport
www.localheroes.design

Design studio Instrmnt, known for their minimalist products, have worked with RISOTTO studio to create bespoke risograph packaging for their Instrmnt 01-D watch.

Glasgow-based Trakked have designed two new backpacks for Local Heroes in bright blue waxed cotton fabric. The bags are 100% made at their workshop in the centre of the city and designed to be the perfect adventure companion.

Womenswear designer Rebecca Torres has created an exclusive swimsuit for Local Heroes with the idea of offering something unexpected that visitors to Scotland can take home and can be enjoyed by residents leaving Scotland for summer sun.

Gabriella Marcella from RISOTTO Studio is known for her colourful artwork. For Local Heroes, she has created a set of 3 beach towels featuring vibrant tropical motifs.

Design studio Warriors have designed a poster that champions Scottish inventions, discoveries, innovations and design.

July 29, 2016
Local Heroes – Studio Visits pt.1

We’re excited to be involved in Local Heroes, a design exhibition and shop taking place at Edinburgh Airport in August during the Festival. Local Heroes redefines contemporary Scottish design by bringing together Scotland’s leading designers in an exhibition developed specially for Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.

As Future Positive Studio, we’ve been commissioned to document the 9 designers across Scotland taking part in the exhibition. 4 designers and their products – designed exclusively for Local Heroes around the topic of travel – have already been announced and the remaining 5 will be revealed before the exhibition opens on August 1st.

Keep on reading to find out more about the designers and their products and check Local Heroes website for more information on the project:

www.localheroes.design

Edinburgh-based designer Karen Mabon, known for her silk scarves, has designed her first umbrella and sunshade taking inspiration from Scotland’s changeable weather.

Knitwear designer Hilary Grant has designed a lambswool travel blanket by rhythm, mirroring and colour theory and the knitting traditions of Scotland and its neighbouring Nordic countries.

Design studio Tom Pigeon were inspired by the colours of summer to create an exclusive necklace described by them as “a modern souvenir; a bold celebration of our skills, our environment, and of the craftspeople and makers that surround us.”

Glasgow-based Laura Spring has designed a screen printed cosmetics bag highlighting her trademark love for colour, print, pattern and process.

July 17, 2016
Resident Store

Founded in 2015 James Borley and Greg Avis, Resident is a store bringing together a curated selection of homewares, accessories and grooming products from UK and international designers like Matia Mollenbach, Daniela Rubino and Louise Madzia. After its first location in London, Resident has just settled in a new home in Frome, Somerset.

We talked to James and Greg to find out more about what made them start their own shop, what customers can find at Resident and they’re plans for the upcoming months.

www.residentstore.co.uk

All photos by Resident.

You design your own lighting products as The Electrical Shop, what made you start a store selling other designers’ goods?

It was a very organic process. We started off making and selling lights and began to meet other designers and makers at events and markets who were doing a similar thing to us, but working with different products.

As a result, we started to build up a collection of really great stuff made by great people that we wanted to showcase, and so Resident was born.

Please give us an overview of what type of products visitors can find in Resident.

It’s very hard to pin down a certain type of product, but visitors can expect to find a carefully curated selection of homewares and accessories.

Everything from ceramics, tableware, books and magazines through to accessories, candles and chocolate! It’s a varied mix that we like to change up regularly.

What are the main characteristics a product must have to be stocked in Resident?

First and foremost we have to love the product! We also love to work with independent designers and makers based in the UK; but that does also extend to Europe and the US with some of the stuff we carry!

Essentially, if a product is well-made, well-designed and if the person who makes it gets what we’re trying to achieve with the store then that’s a pretty good start.

Tell us a little bit about the building where the shop is and the renovation plans for the upcoming months.

It’s Grade II listed townhouse originally built in the late 17th Century in the beautiful Somerset town of Frome. As well as being listed, we’re also in a conservation area so we are up against it somewhat with renovation plans!

We’re working with a great local architect (James Grayley Architects) to completely renovate the two floors above (where we live) and will finish by doing the same on the ground floor and eventually end up with a shop space twice the size it is now. This will allow us to not only expand our range, but also enable us to host events and workshops. Plus, we have a licence, so who knows what the future may bring!

You moved to Frome from London. Could you tell us a little bit about what visitors can find in the town?

Frome is a fantastically quirky place. One side is a slowly decaying 70s concrete shopping centre, whilst the other side is a very vibrant independent retail scene.

The local council has gone to great lengths to promote indie businesses by scraping business rates and helping to fund a mammoth monthly market (the Frome Independent) which takes over the town each month bringing around 10,000 people into the town.

Catherine Hill offers great shopping opportunities – alongside us there are menswear shops Assembly and Kushi Clothing, indie record shop Covers Vinyl and a myriad of vintage clothing shops. Plus there’s great coffee at Crocker and Woods and fantastic food at the River House and High Pavement Cafe.

June 27, 2016