In this column, Avotakka’s editorial staff present their favorite products and interior design solutions that have proved functional. Managing Editor Anu Karttunen picked 8 outdoor products available in Finnish Design Shop for creating a trendy, natural yard that invites you to relax in the open air.
1. Sit down in awe
“I’ve always dreamed of having a yard with an old tree to build a bench around. There’s no big tree – at least for a few decades – but HAY’s curved Palissade Park bench, designed for park-like outdoor spaces, could help create the illusion of a bench built around a tree.
“I’ve always dreamed of having a yard with an old tree to build a bench around.”
In open outdoor spaces, the benches can be used to create imaginative organic shapes. On a residential yard, one bench goes a long way when you change place from one end of the bench to the other and enjoy the changing scenery.”
• HAY's Palissade Park bench >
• All outdoor benches >
2. Showering under the sky
“Taking a shower outdoors in the morning sun would be a great way to start a summer day. In the city, the neighbors might have something to say about that, but at the cottage, an outdoor shower could be a viable option. Excel’s copper-colored outdoor shower is also really beautiful!”
• Excel’s outdoor shower >
• All outdoor showers >
3. Natural light and warmth
“It’s great that people are now equipping their yards with cozy spots for sitting around a fire and spending time together. What could be more relaxing? Eva Solo’s rusty, rugged FireCylinder outdoor fireplace seems like a practical choice for many reasons: high walls protect the fire from gusts of wind, the grille can be used for cooking food and, being light, the fireplace is easy to move around. The outdoor fireplace is made of weather-resistant Corten steel, which only becomes more charming over time.”
• Eva Solo's FireCylinder outdoor fireplace >
• All lanterns & fire pits >
4. Let’s swing!
“Everyone loves swinging. The seat of Finnish Lillagunga’s handmade Grand Outdoor swing is large enough for adults, as well, which is a lovely surprise. Although the swing can be hung indoors or on a patio, hanging it from a sturdy tree branch guarantees the most thrilling swinging experience.
• Lillagunga's Grand Outdoor swing >
5. Nest for napping
“I was very pleased to see Ferm Living’s new hammock. I’d been looking for just such a charming cot to hang between trees in my yard. The boho-style hammock is hand-braided and decorated with fun fringes.
“The Path hammock is knotted of PET yarn made of recycled plastic and is thus weather proof.”
Most similar hammocks are made of cotton, which is not a very sensible choice for something used outdoors. The Path hammock is knotted of PET yarn made of recycled plastic and is thus weather proof.”
• Ferm LIVING's Path hammock >
• All garden hammocks >
6. Rebirth of a beer keg
“Mater’s fascinating OC2 lounge chair is also made of recycled plastic – beer kegs of the Danish brewery Carlsberg, to be exact. The green color characteristic of the beer brand looks amazing in outdoor furniture. And, all the components of the weather-proof Ocean furniture can be recycled when the time comes.
Not only the materials but also the design is recycled: a reinterpretation of the outdoor furniture designed by Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel in 1955. The timeless design goes with all kinds of outdoor spaces, including the garden of our old house.”
• Mater's OC2 lounge chair >
• All outdoor lounge chairs >
7. Get good tools
“Bacsac’s garden trowel is part of the Garden Fetish collection featuring hand-forged garden tools with whimsical design. I believe that tools also matter in gardening: a beautiful, ergonomic tool is more likely to be properly taken care of, and since it is made of metal, it may well last from one generation of gardeners to the next.
I’ve been thinking also about buying Bacsac’s Chantepleure watering can for years. Perhaps now would be a good time to test how a clay container utilizing a medieval watering method fares in the modern age? The can is filled by submerging it in water, which will flow on the plants through the holes in the bottom.”
• Bacsac’s garden trowel >
• All garden tools >
8. Time to fall for weeds
“Now the most alluring garden trend is letting things be as they are. No matter how much you love taking care of your yard, you should leave unmaintained areas not only for important bugs and pollinators but also for all kinds of edible things.
“So don’t pull up the nettles, willowherbs or goutweed but pick them for food and enjoy!”
So don’t pull up the nettles, willowherbs or goutweed but pick them for food and enjoy! With the Wild Herb cookbook by wild-food specialist and chef Sami Tallberg, you can take cooking with weeds to the next level.”
• Sami Tallberg's Wild Herb cookbook >
• All Scandinavian cookbooks >
Avotakka’s Managing Editor Anu Karttunen lives in an old, previously abandoned house that, together with the yard, offers an endless amount of things to do. The layered style also includes new, interesting design and playful details.
See also:
• More outdoor furniture at Finnish Design Shop >
• The Summer Shop at Finnish Design Shop >
Text: Anu Karttunen Images: Manufacturers