outdoor entertaining Archives - The Curated House

Introducing Project Backyard Makeover

Backyard Makeover Fabrics

The best and most meaningful memories are made gathered around the table.

Without a doubt, some of the happiest memories I’ve ever made have been gathered around the table with my family and friends. I feel like savouring daily meals together is one of the healthiest practices we have as a family. Turns out I’m not alone. In fact, researchers are saying that eating meals together as a family improves our health and even improves our kids’ vocabularies more significantly than reading them books at bedtime! And did you know that the only thing you can do to improve on the healthy, happy habit of eating around the table together is to do it outside? That’s why this little backyard makeover is so close to my heart.

dining-area-before backyard-before-sectional backyard-before-view-from-entrance

Not totally offensive, but not exactly pretty and inviting, right? So over the next 3 weeks, our plan is to create a space worthy of making summers last as long as possible. We had Thanksgiving dinner out here a couple of years ago, and I’m hoping we can do the same thing this year but with way more comfort and style.

Here’s the plan:

Using the most stunning Sunbrella fabrics, including some delicious accent fabrics from their collection for Holly Hunt Great Outdoors, my friends at Deka Home & Patio are going to sew new seat, back and decorative cushions to bring the sectional back to life. Check out the first photo in this post for a peek at where things are headed there.
I’ve wanted a dining pergola for forever, and thanks to Toja Grid, my dreams are going to become reality. Their super deluxe easy system of brackets is going to take the stress out of creating our dining structure, and then our friends at Deka are going to create some beautiful outdoor panels to frame it in and warm it up using more Sunbrella goodness.
We’ll be painting the whole thing out with VOC-free, non-toxic Fusion Mineral Paints. We recently stucco’d the house a warm white and want the dining pergola to blend in.
We are having our friends at Dinuovo create a ridiculously gorgeous custom dining table made out of stunning natural White Cherokee marble from Polycor. I can’t wait to show you more about our plans for that next week.
To tie the dining and living spaces together, Dinuovo will be making a new cocktail table out of the same natural stone from Polycor for the seating area. (Bites lip) It’s all going to be so GORG.
That dining table will seat 10, so we’ll be selecting some new dining chairs from partner Structube as well to complete this fresh, modern classic outdoor entertaining area.
Generally tidy up, trim and refresh everything else for a truly inviting finished space for family and friends to gather.

We’ve given ourselves a rather ridiculous timeline to get all of this accomplished, in large part because summer is basically halfway done already! I do hope you’ll follow along with our progress as we transform this “almost there” outdoor living/dining area into a “we want to spend all of our time there” kind of space. While I’m definitely feeling daunted by all of the work yet to be done, I can also envision the finished product, and that is what is driving me forward.

Check in next week for the juicy details on the custom dining table, coffee table and chairs, and be sure to follow my Instastories in the meantime for some behind-the-scenes updates. Oh yes, and we will be throwing in a week and a half trip away to San Diego while we’re at it just to keep the pressure on. Because why not, right?

Looking forward to catching up with you and filling you in further next week!

Sarah-Signature

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|July 26th, 2018|0 Comments

Design Find | The Casa Acanto Collection by Fisher Weisman

It’s been nearly a year since that fateful day when I naïvely stumbled into the design offices of Fisher Weisman, thinking I’d come upon a retail store. Their bright red door – top half open to the breeze – was the perfect gateway to the enticing view of spectacular custom pieces within. Little did I know that in that moment I had surreptitiously discovered one of the premier design firms in San Francisco.

Today I am delighted to tell you that this brilliant design duo has recently launched their own line of accessories and furnishings, bringing their impeccably original and timelessly beautiful designs to a wider audience with the launch of Casa Acanto.

The name for the eponymous Casa Acanto collection was drawn from Andrew Fisher and Jeffrey Weisman’s spectacular 18th century San Miguel De Allende Mexican retreat, recently featured in Architectural Digest.

Casa Acanto‘s stunning collection of tables, desks and accessories showcases Fisher Weisman’s brilliance for pairing exquisite craftsmanship with intricate details and the use of unexpected materials. The collection is at once timeless and yet somehow other-worldly, inviting a fanciful sense of wonder and admiration at their attention to detail and delightfully unique designs.

“The Casa Acanto collection showcases the dramatic style and unabashed luxury that have become hallmarks of our interiors,” said Andrew Fisher, Chief Creative Director of Casa Acanto. “Throughout the course of our careers, custom pieces have been key to our work and the Casa Acanto collection enables us to offer our designs to a broader audience that appreciates inventive design.”

Perhaps my favourite grouping in the Casa Acanto collection is the Veracruz series of outdoor tables, exquisitely crafted from Brazillian teak and powder coated steal. The way these pieces fit together like a puzzle is entirely genius, and the flexibility they offer for a variety of configurations for entertaining is perfect for our fluid and flexible lifestyles. I can see this collection of tables making a stunning formal dining table for an indoor dining space just as much as outdoors, but how decadent to dine in such luxury under the stars!

Perhaps it is in their collection of Casa Acanto accessories that Fisher Weisman‘s sense of whimsy and wonder are most keenly expressed. The golden toad appears to have materialized straight out of the pages of a fairytale.

“Casa Acanto is the culmination of our combined five decades in the design industry,” said Jeffry Weisman. “The collection pairs rich materials with fanciful details and exquisite workmanship. We are thrilled to offer these distinctive pieces, designed to transform any room.”

With such a delightful initial offering, I will most definitely be keeping a close watch on all things Casa Acanto and Fisher Weisman! They have unquestionably captured my imagination and delighted my appetite for innovative design.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|June 25th, 2013|0 Comments

A Backyard Beauty from Paeonia Gardens

I don’t know about you, but Springtime has me scheming and dreaming up ways to spend more time outdoors. Specifically, we are working on creating more of an outdoor living space in our garden so that our summer nights can be spent savouring the warm breeze and good company by the fire. There’s something so magical about an evening spent outdoors and the season is already far too brief, so we need to find ways to capitalize on it and make the most of the dreamy, temperate twilights ahead.

In the spirit of seeking out inspiration {for me and for you!}, I reached out to my friend Jenn Hembruch, a brilliant landscape designer on the West Coast. Jenn’s company, Paeonia Gardens, is a design + build company servicing the Sea To Sky Corridor {Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler BC} with a passion for sustainable, beautiful, creative outdoor spaces in Pacific Northwest gardens.

In addition to being a landscape design superstar, Jenn is also the mother of gorgeous twins, a loving wife, and a very active outdoorswoman. Truly inspiring in every sense!

Jenn has kindly shared one of her brilliant transformations with us today, that I think it will inspire many of you who have a love for clean, modern lines and gracious outdoor living.

THE BEFORE

Jenn’s “before” shots may feel a bit familiar – an outdoor space full of potential but totally lacking in design direction to start.

From the moment Jenn walked into the back yard, she had a clear vision of how the space should work. The clients were a young family with active kids who wanted an outdoor space to “be” in all year round. They needed space for kids {ie: lawn, trampoline, veggie patch} as well as an extension of entertaining space {outdoor dining, hot tub, fire bowl + lounge, etc}.

Jenn set to crafting a vision for this outdoor space. She says: “The client had already finished an update and remodel to the interior of the home, so it was time to revamp the back yard. Working with a modern garden theme, we chose grays and charcoal stone elements {concrete pavers, river rock} offset with the warmth of natural cedar wood in the decking, fence, and pergola.”

THE AFTER

“Keeping the garden low maintenance and user friendly, we worked with grasses and conifers. New Zealand Flax and Windmill Palms lend a lovely tropical feel to the finished space. The new fencing gives added privacy as does the new hedge of Black Stem Bamboo. I have always loved how Bamboo works in the garden: evergreen {year round interest}, a delicate texture, and the sound and movement of the leaves in the wind makes this a favourite plant to work with. The key is installing it properly in sturdy Bamboo Barrier so it stays healthy and contained.”

“Another key component to well done landscape design are the hardscape features. Wood and stone really serve gardens well, aiding in all year round interest, as well as complimenting the softness of the soft-scape. We added in various sized Basalt Boulders to ground the space and provide texture and height year round when the herbaceous plants go dormant. A finishing touch that always sets off a completed garden reno is landscape lighting, giving a lovely glow and ambience to the garden in the evening.”

I feel like I’m on vacation when I look through the “after” photos, Jenn! Truly inspiring – modern, but still soft, warm and inviting. Thanks for sharing your amazing gifts with us today!

Jenn has offered to share more of the projects she is working on in the weeks to come, so watch for more inspiration on how you can transform your outdoor space into an extension of your home!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|June 5th, 2013|2 Comments