"the whole reason to be outside is to get away from the indoors"

Amen, Sistah!

Allen Smith's garden homes are beautiful for that style, but that style is a little too structured & too controlled for me.

Like you, I like openness & an absence of boundaries.

(To heck with clipped boxwood hedges!)

I think a lot of his inspiration comes from medieval pleasure gardens, which were meant to be true outdoor "homes"...
where royalty lounged around to stay out of their stiflingly hot, stinky castles!

One thing I do like, being in Texas, is outdoor cooking, but a grill is enough; I don't really think an entire kitchen is needed (& the space could be used for roses or sage or ginger or elephant ears or daisies...)

I bring the indoors out in the way of an occasional tablecloth, and also like throw pillows (usually made from vintage bark cloth and other like material) on my wicker chairs. Not only does it look beautiful to me, it's also very comfortable. Been doing it for years and I do it for ME not to impress anybody else. The only problem is that you have to play hide and seek with inclement weather and all the dragging in and back out gets old real quick. I don't like plastic cloths or cushions, so it's my fault.

When I see pictures or ads in catalogs for sofas, recliners, outdoor rugs, floor lamps and heaters - that's when I think it goes a little too far.

A lot depends on your geographical location. In sunny California where it rarely rains it makes sense ... not so much in Louisiana where the annual rainfall normally exceeds 60 inches. I'm assuming your question doesn't include screened porches and those with adequate cover.

We are planning on bringing indoors out, and I'm working on some ways to cool outdoors so we want to be there in the summer....but we need roofs here, and rot-proof fabrics. The shows based in California show items placed outdoors that would become filth, rot and mold factories here!

For me the whole idea of gardening is exactly because it isn't inside. There is a wildness that nature brings that feeds the soul and connects us to our roots. I like seeing my plants pop up in unexpected places or grow taller than they're supposed to. I like seeing them be dynamic and alive. Quite frankly my sofa has never reseeded itself into the dining room. If it did I might find indoors a bit more interesting.
Indoors can stay indoors. If I need a pillow I'll use a tuft of moss.

Ironically, I got a lot of inspiration from P. Allen Smith's first book about putting together his Garden Home, but more from the way he did the layout of the rooms than anything else.

I would love to have more nice outside seating areas, but no way am I going to have stuff that needs to be brought inside in the rain. I don't have throw pillows or many rugs inside, either - it just isn't our style. We also don't tend to have many ornamental items sitting out - most flat surfaces are used functionally, so ornamental stuff would just look totally cluttered. (There are a few exceptions, and they often *do* look cluttered, lol).

We do eventually want a screened-in porch, and that would be more like an inside room, probably. I do like the idea of having spaces near the house feel more house-like, and more garden like further away. However, our garden isn't exactly wild feeling, lol.

Years ago, when a sister-in-law came to visit from out of state and the immediate family gathered at my house for a farewell breakfast, I set the fancy old dining table and matching chairs outside under the big crabapple tree! I have no dining room, so the table was always kept "knocked down" or apart and stored in a room, brought out and set up in another room when needed. Which was hardly ever.

Anyway, I put a fancy cloth on it and set up a buffet of sorts on another table. Vases of wildflowers. It was so - unexpected - not sure what the word for it is, to see this big diningroom table setting in the grass in the shade of that big tree. Of course we were all in casual clothes and bare feet! I'll never forget it. I have a photo somewhere,too.

Summer of 1993. The only photo I could find and appears to be before the food was ready. My Mom looks lost in thought or not amused. She probably thought I was crazy. :)

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Schoolhouse, I love your outdoor dining area. And I think your mom looks very content, probably thinking what a smart, creative daughter she has. : )

GGG, whatever you do it's sure to be a hit. And colorful - love your use of color!

As for myself, I love to decorate, inside and out, so I do bring the inside out. I make most of my soft goods like quilts, pillows, seat cushions and table covers. I change things out seasonally and use inexpensive hard goods like vases, bowls, dinnerware/silverware and lighting from places like Michael's, Home Goods or JoAnn's. I like pretty anywhere! Not to mention it gives me an excuse to buy more fabric. lol!

Emma likes the indoors out, too. : )
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Screened porches are something else entirely. ;-) Now if I had one I would be living in it night and day. I might even sleep out there!

-Christine, that is beautiful! I love those chairs. What a neat juxtaposition, the nicely set formal table surrounded by trees and wildflowers. I did something similar for a family freind's daughter before she got married. We had all her female family and freinds over. I set up my wooden kitchen table outside, threw a sheet over it (because no where in my house can a table cloth be found. They all ran away!) I set all the food on it for a sort of buffet.

-angelcub, oh what a sweet cat! She reminds me of my beloved childhood cat Ashley. She looks just like him.
CMK

Heck I have enough to do, I don't need to add hauling furniture, pillows and all that in and out.I have my old metal chairs, my wood table and few benches, these are enough of a pain to find winter storage for. Here in the north country, none of that stuff could stay outside through the winter. And in the summer, well rain, sun and dirt would destroy the rest! Nope not for me.

I'd rather be playing in the dirt!

I'm with Diana on this one - I really like some soft comfort outside, even if I don't sit still for more than 5 minutes, as I always find a weed to pull or a flower in need of a closer look, LOL. I also do a little sewing (nothing comparable to Diana, she's a real pro!), so this comes handy when I feel I need some new cushion covers or a new tablecloth. In my climate, things need to be covered by a roof, in Winter because of the rain, in Summer because of scorching heat. I don't have fancy sofas, etc., but we do have a nice table and chairs in the back porch (whose decoration I tend to change according to seasons) and a long bench in the front porch which occasionally gets decorated as well. We also have a grill near the kitchen.

Eduarda

Thanks, CMK. Funny you should say "sweet cat" because her nickname is Sweet Girl. She is small and has a tiny, sweet meow, and she wakes us up by gently pawing at our faces. : )

Geography does play a part in what you can and cannot use outside for any length of time. But there are some really good outdoor fabrics and furniture finishes that hold up well in rain and strong sun. We get summer thunderstorms and have very strong sunlight but I leave everything out. My outdoor cushions have even had two feet of snow on them for weeks and no mildew. Still, I do understand those of you who have to deal with high humidity and mildew.

And I like the way soft, colorful furnishings tie my house to the gardens. It would look very odd to my eye to see my colorful cottage gardens and then nothing but the house next to it. That said, I do love textiles so maybe I am just use to having them everywhere. lol

I'm also past the point of enjoying constant gardening. I don't want to be dirty and sweaty all day. I work out early then do a little gardening for an hour or so. My gardens are pretty well established so it's mostly deadheading and occasionally planting a few new plants. Then it's a shower and time for enjoying the fruits of my labor. Having pretty and comfy cushions and pillows to lounge on while viewing my gardens just makes it that much more enjoyable. : )

Eduarda, remember the old porch decorating threads? We should have another one. Those were always fun and we all got so many good ideas.

Diana

Yes, Diana, I do remember our old porch decorating threads, they were some of my favorites too :-) Want to start one? You go first, I absolutely love your porch, so that will motivate us all!

Eduarda