By Sungula Nkabinde
It’s almost December and, with more of us taking time of work to relax, there will surely be more opportunities to have friends and family over to entertain. SA Home Owner caught up with Clint Lewis of Clint Lewis Interiors to get the low down on what it takes to create a beautiful and equally functional outdoor entertainment area. This is what he said:
What are the current trends for outdoor entertainment areas?
To incorporate the outdoor living areas with those of the interiors, thus creating a seamless flow between the various spaces of the home. Being mindful, for example, on the type of flooring used – a big trend is to use the same/complimenting flooring on the inside as well as on the outside, again creating a sense of flow between the different areas. The use of large doorways with pocketed doors is another popular trend at the moment and is a great way of achieving open spaces. Home automation – visual and audio distribution to include the outdoor entertainment areas is definitely a must. You can listen to your favourite CD or watch the game on TV with the click of a button.
What, in your opinion, drives these trends?
Our beautiful climate and the passion that we as South Africans have for the outdoors; it’s natural for our homes to incorporate the outdoor living as part of our lifestyles.
What are the top 3 elements that every outdoor entertainment area should have?
First, is a generous and comfortable seating area with couches that you can fall asleep on. It should also have distributed audio. I, for one, love my cd collection and no lazy summer day would be complete without my chilled Ibiza tunes. Last, but definitely not least is a built- in braai facility
Should your outdoor decor match that of your interiors?
It doesn’t have to match but it should most definitely compliment – it’s all about creating unity between the inside and outside of the home. One must keep this in mind when selecting the style of furniture and the colours and textures of the various fabrics etc. for the outdoor areas. Gone are the days of boring plain outdoor fabrics; nowadays you can even get a velvet which is water, mildew and UV resistant.
Once your patio has already been built, how easy is it to enclose this area and how would you recommend home owners go about doing this?
Well depending on the structure of the home and the space of the area, fold away stacker doors is a good solution.
How can home owners split their patio into subsections, in terms of cooking, dining, lounging, and a games area?
By creating subtle and clever divisions between the areas. For example – backing a sofa to the games area of a patio, and placing a server with object at the back of the sofa. Thus creating a division in the different areas but also creating a point of interest with the server and what is on top of it.
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