An Interior Designer’s Guide to the Great Outdoors

Rip & Tan: In a general sense, what’s your typical approach to designing outdoor spaces?

Linnea Schooley: I always want outdoor spaces to feel like an extension of the interior and vice versa. With that in mind, I like to think about the overall feel, style, color palette, and flow of the house and make sure that’s reflected throughout.

Rip & Tan: For both durability and design purposes, what kinds of materials make the best outdoor furniture? 

Linnea Schooley: Teak is always a favorite for both durability and design, but depending on the space and style of your home, acacia, wrought iron, steel, and rattan can be great as well! I especially love our Vista Collection for outdoor spaces. 

Rip & Tan: What are some of the essential elements of a casual backyard gathering space?

Linnea Schooley: A dining table and chairs or benches, lounge furniture, umbrellas, and string lights all make a backyard feel casual and inviting. 

Rip & Tan: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see when people style their outdoor spaces? How can they be remedied?

Linnea Schooley: People often neglect their outdoor spaces because they think nice furniture will just get ruined or they don’t deem them as important as the interior.

As someone who would always choose to dine al fresco over in a formal dining room, I believe your outdoor space should be an integral part of your home. If you take care of your outdoor furniture as you would your interior, it should last for years to come!

Rip & Tan: What are a few easy ways to bring extra comfort or a heightened sense of luxury to our patios and backyards? 

Linnea Schooley: Lighting design is just as important outside as it is inside and can really elevate your outdoor space. If you can, add some beautiful exterior sconces to your home that will provide mood lighting as the sun goes down, and string lights are always an easy and inexpensive way to bring light and warmth to your space.

Beautiful pots and water features are another way to really elevate your outdoor space. My tip would just be to keep everything cohesive with the style of your home, having a bunch of mix-matched styles will feel chaotic and thoughtless.

Rip & Tan: Are there any indoor favorites you’ve been styling as outdoor pieces lately?

Linnea Schooley: I love styling indoor pieces outdoors—blankets, pillows, dinnerware, glassware (if it’s not too windy!), linens, and candles. Don’t feel like these things are too precious to bring outside as long as you don’t forget to bring them back in when you’re done!

Rip & Tan: Are there any specific color palettes or finishes you prefer in outdoor spaces? 

Linnea Schooley: I like the furniture to feel cohesive with the natural surroundings, so muted greens, browns, creams, rust, black—all colors you would find in the surrounding nature.

Rip & Tan: Can you share some tips for the care and keeping of outdoor styles?

Linnea Schooley:  

1. Purchase covers.

2. Keep as much as you can in covered areas.

3. Bring cushions in, especially when you know there will be a storm.

Rip & Tan: Can you walk us through how you’d curate an outdoor dining scene?

Linnea Schooley: Always start with linens, our collection is amazing but you can’t go wrong as long as it’s a natural material like linen or cotton. 

Then set the table with some dinnerware and glassware—our tableware is always a go-to because not only is it beautiful, but it can be dressed up or down. Just because you are dining outside does not mean you need to use plastic dinnerware, it’s bad for the environment and it’s not cute!

Top off the table with flowers from your local shop or even better—foraged from your yard, and some candles if the wind allows.

Keep a pitcher of water and a bucket of chilled wine nearby so you don’t have to keep going inside for refills!