Al fresco apparatus: outdoor furniture that puts a spin on garden design
Step outside the Wallpaper* House into the garden to find an architectural space sculpted by multifunctional outdoor furniture. Dressed in tones of marble and wood, our back yard creates moments of zen and vibrant surprises in-between for a versatile experience that offers a new light on landscape architecture
Name: ‘Half Dome’ floor lamp
Designer/Brand: Naoto Fukasawa for Kettal
Price: from €1,395
Spanish outdoor specialist Kettal has been in the business for more than 50 years and can be relied on to anticipate what our backyard needs next. In this case, it’s more moonlight, courtesy of Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and his soft-edged minimalism. Evoking the moon both in shape and in the glow it casts, the ‘Half Dome’ floor lamp seems suspended in space, thanks to its narrow, seamless stem. Available in a whopping 34 colours and two different bases, Fukasawa’s slick lunar homage makes the ideal post-dusk outdoor accessory. The sun may have set, but you’ll always have the moon.
Name: Concrete round pot
Designer/brand: Marie Michielssen for Serax, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £45
Designed by Marie Michielssen for Belgian brand Serax, this pot is representative of the simplicity for which the designer is known. Honed from red-coloured concrete, the simple and unassuming vessel is intended to host plants, with the inclusion of handles on each side ensuring practicality. The piece is taken from a wider collection of concrete pieces designed by Michielssen, a long-time Serax collaborator
Name: ‘Span’ bench
Designer/brand: John Pawson for Salvatori
Price: £9, 400
Master of minimalism John Pawson uses his subtle style to create a highly dynamic collection for Salvatori. In a rich mix of Bianco Carrara marble and sandblasted Avana, this monolithic bench is a statement outdoor addition that he describes ‘depends on clarity of line, form and junction’
Name: ‘Aquiloni’ table
Designer/brand: Derek Castiglioni
Price: On request
Castiglioni specialises in outdoor design following his family’s background in the landscape and planting business. He melds this with his studies in architecture to produce these playful coffee tables that join together like a puzzle to make one larger table. The mix-and-match quality of the triangular tables allows for a magnitude of geometric garden sets for summer soirées
Name: Sienna standing bowl
Designer/brand: Fort Standard, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £85
A centrepiece, a vessel, a sculpture — Fort Standard’s large standing bowl offers many uses. Whether used as a fruit bowl or as a focal point for outdoor dining tables, the powder coated aluminium bowl makes a huge impression with its three architecturally-inspired planar legs and textured sienna surface
Name: Albisola
Designer/brand: Büro Famos for Paola Zani
Price: on request
Offering a simple and elegant addition to the outdoor space is this low table, seating and plant pot hybrid by German design duo Büro Famos. Made for Italian Brand Paola Zani, the sleek powder-coated steel structure is adaptable with the changing botanicals chosen to live in its pleasingly circular silhouette
Name: ‘Herringbone Bud’ vase
Designer/brand: Phil Cuttance, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: €44.00
An impressive demonstration of the limitless potential of handicrafts, Phil Cuttance’s ‘Herringbone’ collection presents a series of objects featuring a herringbone pattern so intricate that it could be assumed to have been created on a computer. In actual fact, the pattern that adorns the surface of this cylindrical white jesmonite vase is entirely created by hand and is the defining feature of this decorative piece, which is ideal for small arrangements or single stems
Name: Quadrado
Designer/brand: Marcio Kogan For Minotti
Price: on request
The Brazilian architect was inspired by Japanese Metabolist architecture of the 1950-60s for a multifunctional modular system. Kogan’s design is a warm addition to the outdoor set with its frame incorporating a magnitude of textures from the backrest in woven fibre to the grid effect on heavy wooden base. The organic palette also allows it to blend with the natural tones of the great outdoors
Name: ‘Terra’ marble table
Designer/brand: Simon Legald, for Normann Copenhagen
Price: £249
Simon Legald has given southern European materials a robust modern twist with this Terrazzo table. Titled ‘Terra’, the pastel hued pieces have an exclusive quality through each Terrazzo sheet being unique in its naturally developed patterns. Produced for Danish brand Normann Copenhagen, the minimalist models also have whimsically twisted legs that contrast the flat, lacquered top