Decoration of terraces: mistakes

Spring continues to fill everything with flowers, colors and aromas. The quintessential season for enjoying the outdoors -along with summer- is here. If you are immersed in the decoration of the terrace or its renovation, you must take into account frequent mistakes that, in the long run, end up costing you dearly, especially if it is the design for a local. To help you on your way, we summarize five common mistakes when designing exteriors. We accompany these mistakes with some images that will inspire you to hit the bull’s eye. 1. Lack of planning Haste is never a good advisor. When time is against you, effective planning is best. The first step to address it is to assess the use that the terrace will have. Otherwise you may make the mistake of choosing furniture that is not functional for the exterior in question. If it is a place where we want to accommodate lunches and dinners, for example, it must have appropriate tables and chairs, as well as appropriate lighting when the sun goes down. Their potential should also be taken into account, along these lines. If it has a swimming pool, to cite another case, it makes no sense to lack sun loungers and umbrellas for sunbathing or shelter from it, at ease.

For reasons like these, before fully immersing yourself in the decoration of a terrace it is necessary to take into account its uses and possibilities to plan the space, first, on paper.
In this way, it will be easy to choose an appropriate decoration in practice. 2. Fabrics and materials not suitable for outdoor use Often it is not taken into account whether the fabrics and materials chosen for furniture, cushions and other accessories, etc. are suitable for outdoor use. Sometimes higher quality is sacrificed for the lower price, a ‘saving’ that can be very expensive in the long run – literally speaking. If the furniture is not adapted to withstand the sun or the humidity of the outdoors, it will be difficult to finish the season. Your colors will probably arrive in the fall tarnished and your material worn, if not torn, which will force you to replace them the following year, causing a double expense.

The easy cleaning of the fabric is another variable that is rarely taken into account. However, outdoor furniture is exposed to continuous friction, especially if it is part of the terrace of a premises. It is therefore important that the stains disappear effortlessly. 3. Unpractical distribution of rooms This mistake comes from the disorganization and the rush we were talking about at the beginning of the post. Sometimes the terrace is distributed in an impractical way, which causes the proximity of antagonistic spaces by their function. Plants and different types of furniture can help to separate the rooms, depending on their usefulness, avoiding possible disturbances.

Another frequent failure when it comes to distributing the terrace comes from the attempt to take advantage of more, turning it into a saturated and unwelcoming place, especially if it is small. Place versatile furniture – such as tables tables that incorporate seating in their structure, modular furniture furniture that allows for different compositions or various uses– can avoid problems such as these. 4. Impersonality In many cases it is forgotten that the terrace is an extension of the house or premises that should be equally welcoming. Cold, impersonal spaces do not invite you to linger. For this reason, it is important to give character to the space through its decoration and attention to detail. Some outdoor cushionsintimate lighting and plants will help to achieve this. That brings us to the next point.

5. Choosing the wrong plants The choice of plants should not be motivated solely by their beauty. It is necessary to consider whether they will resist the atmospheric conditions – humidity, temperature, etc. – of the space to prevent them from becoming wilted or, even worse, dying. It is worth considering whether, apart from their aesthetic function, they can fulfill another practical function, such as protecting certain areas from the sun or dividing environments.