My brother has this side patio right off the kitchen that is covered year-round and the architecture is so pretty (thanks to architect Anne Usher) so I wanted my hands on it, mostly so I could convince him to have us over for summer kid outdoor movie nights while I swim in the river. It had room for a little dining area for their family of four, a couple of stools at the bar (accordion window into the kitchen), and a living area with a huge TV over a fireplace. IT’S SO AWESOME. I pulled together the design plan (blacks, woods, and all-weather wicker for some warmth), pitched it to AllModern because I know all of their pieces are hand-vetted and really high quality. Then a few weeks later it was done
Here you can see the full space. Narrow and long, with doors in the middle breaking it all up. This is right off the kitchen and not far from the grill area, but this is more of an outdoor hang space than where they’d BBQ (likely on the back patio). The windows on the right accordion open and the fireplace to the left is topped with a big TV. Y’all, this is luxury living, TBH, and hanging out there is such a delight.
I turned it into a dope outdoor living room, with hanging swings (so fun), a big sofa, and a side chair. My main goal was to have it work with the architecture of the home (so black and wood) and be more contemporary/modern in vibe. AllModern (as per its name) has a huge outdoor inventory of high-quality modern pieces (I should know I have a lot). So I was able to quickly pull together a design plan that didn’t feel generic, had cool shapes and textures, and created a vibe but in a really curated world. Plus you can watch sports (or Shrinking in my case) out here. Imagine all the Love is Blind parties you could have out here! The Bachelor final episodes! (are we still doing that?) and Ken is obviously very excited about watching sports out here in the summer.
The swings were crucial as you want to swivel and look at the river and since they had a support beam above they were easy to hang (and feel safe) and their kids LOVE twirling and twirling and twirling. I also love that S-shaped all-weather wicker chair (which echoes the shape of the dining chairs you are about to see).
Sofa | Cream Pillow (similar) | Lumbar Pillow | Hanging Chair | Coffee Table | Footed Planter (no longer available) | Rug
The sofa is incredible – the arms are wide enough for a drink, the seat is deep enough to snuggle up on and the cushions are firm (like all outdoor cushions should be) with softer back cushions. We stuck to the warm tone world with all the woods and wicker and it feels so appropriate. Shout out to our rug from our collection (which technically isn’t an outdoor rug, but it’s covered and we had it so maybe it will be fine?).
The coffee table is smallish, but there isn’t a ton of space there so it works perfectly to allow enough flow.
Armless Lounge Chair | Striped Sunbrella Pillow
A big shout out to Dennis’ 7 Dees (in Lake Oswego) for loaning us plants to shoot – how awesome is that topiary? I tried to convince my brother to buy it and they still might.
As you can see here’s how the whole space interacts and how the furniture fits so well. The sofa faces the TV/fireplace and creates a conversation area with the hanging swings and the big comfy lounge chair.
The Dining Area
Counter Stool | Tote | Dining Table | Dining Chair | Black Vase | Footed Bowl (similar) | Rechargeable Lamp
I LOVE these black S chairs – they are a super midcentury/mod shape and yet they stack and are perforated – so smart for outdoor seating (and these are so comfortable). This hypermod style wouldn’t work as well at my house (at least not in the black) but my goodness they look perfect here.
The dining table is so pretty – a teak wood with really pretty wood grain and slats on top. AllModern has a huge selection of outdoor tables in a lot of different finishes and shapes/sizes so we had a lot to choose from but the size and finish were perfect with the other elements.
Black Vase | Tall Green Glass | Stool | Tote
I love these round legged stools, with a modern windsor style back. These are on the wider side so we only needed 2 and the cushions are removable (but it’s black webbing underneath so you need the cushions to sit on them).
Bar Cart | Ice Bucket | Tall Green Glass | Copper Mug | Wood Board | Rechargeable Lantern
We ordered this bar cart that matched the coffee table (please note that very cute wheel). We styled it out with the usual copper moscow mule mugs, an AllModern wine cooler, wood board, and acrylic glasses. The rest is from my prop house (which is coming in handier and handier these days :))
It’s all proof that if you stick within a curated color palette, add a ton of textures and some pattern, plus a hanging chair or two, you don’t really need to do much else. AllModern has a ton of white or lighter wood options as well – it’s a deep inventory that is still really heavily curated.
The space itself was awesome so I had no doubt I could make it inviting, but within a few weeks it was fully done. Now just waiting for the rains to stop (March has been brutal). We could be watching White Lotus out here!
A big old thanks to my team and AllModern for helping with the transformation. It’s a luxury to have for sure, but our big Starke Family BBQs are going to be better because of it.
Resources and Crediting:
Furniture and Decor: AllModern
Plants (and Propped Plants in the Garden Beds): Dennis’ 7 Dees
Photos: Kaitlin Green
Landscaping: Pistils Nursery
Architect: Anne Usher
Builder: JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
Styling: Emily Henderson (me:))
