Outdoor Living Space Designs

Olioboard recently teamed up with Wayfair, a terrific home furnishings source for your online shopping experience (they are LOADED with a diverse assortment of goods!! A Zillion to be exact!). To launch their new partnership with Olioboard, Wayfair will be having 3 weeks of design challenges. This week is The Ultimate Patio Design Challenge. Patios come in all shapes, sizes, climates and locations. Here are a few I put together this week from an urban city patio, to a desert living patio to even poolside or along the beach. You can click any link (links are title + bold) to see details on the board - plus vote for your favorites!

 

POOLSIDE SEABREEZE

Inspired by the thought of a South Beach Hotel on Ocean Drive - or a patio for a home off Alton Road, Miami Beach.

A more modern loungey feel is what you see in South Beach hotels, Utilizing benches behind the sofa worked great for extra seating or even to hold lamps (various lighting used at night near water adds sexy ambiance). Lanterns tucked in the umbrellas also add to the ambiance at night (it's important to envision a space both day & night) Well manicured topiaries add organic style & structure to the strong architectural lines. 

 

 MIAMI SILAN

Inspired by the 80's Miami slogan: MIAMI - SEE IT LIKE A NATIVE. 

Remembering much of the clean line architecture of Miami, much of it built in the 60's and 70's, they also used a lot of stone mixed with wood. Many of the exteriors of the modern wave of 80's & 90's architecture is white. The board was conceptualized by combining this memory, along with an old ad slogan from the 80's, "Miami - See it like a native" plus the graphic punch of both bold & zebra stripes to highlight the Wayfair merchandise. I may have been born in New Jersey, and lived there for 10 years, but I did live in Miami for most of my life (33 yrs) so I am kind of native :)

 

BEACH MOJITO

Lux Beach Outdoor Living Area - Miami Beach Lifestyle board. 

Note: This board I created my making a duplicate of an earlier board (Seaside Chic). The "room" was made from photo images - flipped & cropped. After duplicating the initial board, I removed all the furnishings to clear out the space and use Wayfair merchandise for the challenge. The ceiling fan wasn't n the set to choose from. I found the outdoor fan on Wayfair's site to upload to me library.

 

 MIAMI BEACH MOJITO

 Lux Beach Outdoor Living Area - Miami Beach - Lifestyle & Product board. 

Note: After saving my initial 3D board, I reloaded it to create a new board - and used a linen background, part of the new backgrounds available in Olioboards Pro Tools.  Since the challenge called for at least 5 Wayfair products to be used on the boards, I called them out below. I only wish the test tool enabled a means of also creating a background, to better see the text. I might need to go back and crop my own white boxes to make it easier to read.

 

GUYS URBAN PATIO

Living in the city can mean tight quarters when it comes to an outdoor living space - But these guys have the essentials: A grill, table & chairs, a sofa, TV's and beer + a canvas artwork creates the focal point.  (Think outdoor modern mancave)

Note: The greenery walls were inspire from a photo of the West Elm store in Seattle, where recently the CEO of Olioboard, Sheilah Macsporn, gave a presentation about the site. After I did some cropping and editing to the picture, I was able to start to layer and build the space for Guys Urban Patio (think Brooklyn, between buildings)

 

DESERT MODERN

  Living in the desert can be pretty brutal on an outdoor space - But come late September, when the evenings cool down - THIS IS the place to be. 

 

Note: I created this space from cropping and layering a pergola I spotted on Olioboard, but flipped it to work with the cacti image (I found online earlier this year). The layer behind the image is one of the new "Backgrounds" Olioboard added to their Pro Plan Tools. Since we do not have as many shady trees here in AZ, I have seen many of the pergolas used to help defuse the suns light. A pergola gives a great place to hang outdoor lighting or lanterns.

 Don't forget to stop by Olioboard and vote for your favorite boards or create one of your own. Voting for The Ultimate Patio Design challenge ends Monday, June 18. Afterwards, a new challenge will be launched! I wonder what type of space it will be? Stay tuned to find out! If you'd like to inquire about me creating a board for you, contact me at nyclqd@yahoo.com.

UPDATE: CONTEST ENDED

CONGRATS TO NEETIB for her win on

GO GREEN PATIO

Thanks for stopping by!

 

LINKING POST TO:

Thrifty Decor Chic - Outdoor Space Link Party

Olioboard & Spirit of Sports ManCave Challenge Top 3 Winners + an Honorable Mention

Truly feeling so excited, honored, humbled and blessed to have one of my boards place FIRST in the Olioboard ManCave Challenge, sponsored by Spirit of Sports! ♥ Special thanks to Social Media Maven + CEO of Kaleidoscope Partnership Leslie Carothers and founder + CEO of Olioboard Sheilah MacSporran for all your fab posts & tweets. More special thanks also to the judges Marilyn G Russell and Andie Day, who did a terrific job (and had a tough one I might add!!) of selecting the top three 3D ManCaves presented. Getting to use the fantastic artwork from the challenge sponsor, Spirit of Sports, to create these ManCaves from was a true treat! Congrats to all who entered the 3D challenge - especially to the two Olioboard members who placed in the Top 3 with their 3D board! 

 

 

THANK YOU

Spirit of Sports + Olioboard with 

tweeters, facebookers & friends for your support!

 

 Stop by these two facebook pages to visit: Olioboard and Spirit of Sports and leave a congratulatory comment for the winners!! Since there were so many wonderful boards to choose from, the judges also gave an "Honorable Mention" for an additional board:

Sophisticated ManCave for All!

by Selma Hammer

Here are the other two of the Top 3 boards:

3RD PLACE WINNER:

 spirit of sports man cave by marialuisalim

2ND PLACE WINNER:

 feeling and courage by mirellaparer

1ST PLACE WINNER:

Literary Mantuary by Lynda Quintero-Davids

Spirit of Sports, More Mancave Style & A Contest @Olioboard!

Last week, I shared with you "How To Make Your Man A Mancave" - but with a sophisticated approach. For the flip side of that mancave styling, here are two more casual mancave moodboards I recently created for a NEW Moodboard Challenge happening now at Olioboard - The Spirit of Sports Mancave Challenge. You've come through before, and thanks to your votes, I've been able to place in the top 3 for the contests I've entered. This time though - the winning 2 boards from the challenge will be featured on the TODAY SHOW airing February 17 - with design expert & Today Show contributor Susanna Salk representing Olioboard!! (not to mention also generous gift cards to purchase Spirit of Sports art!) Multiple boards can be entered, so I've been testing my testosterone, and here are my latest two mancave roomboards...

VOTE HERE FOR: DIESEL DEN

Diesel Den was created for the man who loves tinkering with old trucks, gears, gizmos, and riding his horse Thunder. He appreciates his past with a nod to mid century - but living out west, he's drawn to rustic finishes. He just wanted a space to kick back with his buddies to watch the game in comfort. He had his Spirit of Sports art customized to be a cover for the wall mounted flat screen TV. Since several of his fave sports players through the years have been named "The Diesel" - hence, here is the Diesel Den.

For the man who isn't into as into TV & sports, but would rather seclude himself into a cocooned room filled with his rare book collection to read a novel or get lost in a mystery - Here's a mantuary just for him too...

Vote here for: The Literary Mantuary

No fluff - Just Books, lighting, leather, and art - with a special piece as the focal point: SWIFT - A stunning Spirit Of Sports wall art reminder of his college days when he was on the rowing team. He lounges and puts his feet up on rich worn leather, from the versatile coffee table / ottoman, to the chair he picked (think American Pickers) to his fave Milo Baughman chair he acquired from his father.

 

Since not all mancaves need to be in a garage, basement, or separate room - he needs a place to sleep too - here is an additional man space in sophisticated style inspired by his love and admiration for roadsters...

Read: How To Make Your Man A Mancave

Susan Rapp, the VP of Community Management at Kalidescope and representative at Olioboard, posted a fantastic write up about the contest on the Olioboard Blog. Sue said, "The ManCave Movement is all about creating a hideaway lounge where the home decor reflects his favorite things, his passion for sports and his hobbies & collectibles. In celebration of Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday on Feb 5th, Olioboard is taking a look at some ManCave Moodboards." Stop by to read the rest of the rules, inspirations, and post... where I am grateful to Sue for including my board in her post - ManCave Moodboards, Contests and great Prizes! Thanks Susan!

VOTE HERE FOR: DIESEL DEN

The contest began yesterday and is running now through February 22. So far, as of today, I made it into the top 3 of 58+ entries! THANK YOU!!! Please vote on my rustic 3D MANCAVE Board - The Diesel Den ... and while at Olioboard, check out the other challenges happening or sign up and try Olioboard for yourself.

Thanks again for your votes and thanks for stopping by!

Test Your Testosterone: Make Your Man A Mancave

The playoffs were this weekend, and the two final champions to go to the Super Bowl will soon have their grudge match for all of us to see. It's evolved into quite an event, and even the ladies have managed to find their place in it by creating delicious dishes and parties for all to celebrate. But what if you'd rather go shoe shopping or to a pretty bridal shower conveniently set on the same date? And your guy wants to have some of his friends over to watch the game? Now would be a great time to put some creativity and organizational skills into play and make a mantuary or a mancave for your man.

This doesn't mean you need make a trip to the nearest Hobby Lobby to clear their shelves of chachkies in fishing, hunting or boating. And it also doesn't mean you need to paint out the garage or that spare bedroom you've been meaning to get to in some horrendous team colors and flood the walls and shelves with every piece of memorabilia known to man.

Think about it - men don't come home with tiny statues. If they collect something, it's usually pretty significant in size - for example cars, trucks, motorcycles, street signs, a hot tub or an appliance... which shows what they collect also usually has (or had) some type of function - Think American Pickers. Even the smallest of objects they are fascinated with have a function: an ipad, an iphone, cameras, tablets, watches, computers, and computer games.

Using the same design principles and concepts you use in your home, you can create a sophisticated space that says him, just as much as the rest of the house says you. For example, let's say he likes cars:

Utilize the inspiration of the cars he admires, and use those as your influence for the style of the space. Keep the walls dark and neutral in a rich charcoal grey or even black. Consider playing with the finishes: Matt vs. High Gloss which looks exceptional when black is used.

 

Floor covering made from recycled tires.

Car seats are usually leather, so some leather seating is a must in a mancave (not to mention it's easier to clean up his spills) For a sportier look, use leather with top stitch trim. For a more classic car or even a rustic old pick-up truck lovin' feel, use rich worn leathers. TIP: If you have a pair of dark leather club chairs and you want to make them a little more worn - lightly use sandpaper, in a circular motion, to refinish its surface and make the leather more worn.

For wall art: keep it simple & sophisticated by framing photographs of cars. You can get a little more artsy and just take detail shots: the grill, a hood ornament, the rims, the tires, tail lights, steering wheel or even the dashboard. If you love your family galleries you already have up in your home, for his space, why not try hanging these images in a grid format for a cleaner look...

For his decorative accents: A little chrome can go a long way. Vintage pieces like tables or chairs designed by Milo Baughman, or similar designs by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard can be a great way to mix furnishings and update the style of a room that just may be housing his old bachelor pad black leather sofa already. Pieces like this can usually be found at your local thrift store, at a vintage shop or even online. Similar pieces can also be found at Crate & Barrel.

Other vintage pieces with chrome & glass to add could be a side table or a lamp. I should have taken a picture of it, but at the car show, I did see a pub table style built from five rims stacked (both flat & upright) with a 36" round glass on top. Pull up two to four bar-counter stools you may have stashed in the garage, and you've just given him and his friends a place to eat their pizza or subs.

To help keep the space clutter free but still personal for him, use clean line storage boxes for some of his smaller memorabilia, and storage ottomans or trunks for some of the larger items. Those items still needing to be "displayed" can easily be corralled onto a tray, displayed inside a Lucite cube or framed for his friends to see.

To add a little shine to his pad, why not showcase a collection of highball, scotch or beer glasses on a stainless steel tray? To add interest to walls, have mirrors etched with items such as his favorite car logos.

To add in a layered look in textiles for the space, think manly fabrics such as wool, flannel, or tweed. Felt can even work to cover a basic white drum shade. For this space, it's more about the textures for him, vs. the prints for you.

 

Leather Floor Tiles of Men's Belts by Ting

The key to designing a sophisticated man space is to keep it functional, keep it strong, and keep it clutter free. Take a favorite item as true inspiration to reinterpret into a space not so literally, but use its finishes to style your man's space. 

 

Basement Bar 2009 from Pegus

As I mentioned yesterday, going to the auto auction was very inspirational. I used that inspiration to source the above photos on Pinterest for my board MR.MISTER... and later I created a male inspired room board at Olioboard...

 

See the details at Olioboard for my board

METROPOLITAN MAN

If you're looking to create a sophisticated space for your man, be it for the Super Bowl or for Valentines Day, but don't know where to begin - I can help. Contact me at nyclqd@yahoo.com.

Thanks for visiting!