Hiking Napa Valley

August 1, 2020

Wine Barrel Furniture Napa Style

August 26, 2020

Backyard Decor Napa Style

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Bringing that Napa Style experience to the backyard is pretty simple and affordable if you plan right. Here in Napa, we love it outdoors. With our weather permitting outdoor enjoyment nearly 365 days a year. Even on our coldest days a little warm fire pit and a blanket or two make for a nice cozy setting.

The best outdoor spaces are packed with useful, weather-resistant, and attractive furnishings. While outfitting these areas can get pricey, just remember that you can save a lot of money with do-it-yourself projects, which are often as fun as they are inexpensive. As an added incentive, decorating the exterior of your house not only improves curb appeal, but it creates another usable space that feels like home.

Essentially, your outdoor living space should look and feel like an extension of the inside. These outdoor decor ideas work to enhance the livability of your home's exterior while amplifying your style.

These outdoor decor projects range from backyard patio decor ideas to hardscape improvements and even include a few ways you can stylize your garden.

The first thing we want to focus on is getting inspired and sharing just what is Napa-Syle. Unlike its foggy sister San Francisco, Napa is known for bringing the heat in terms of temperature, particularly in the summer, so outdoor spaces are given the same consideration as their indoor counterparts. The basic indoor decorating ideas apply: Elements should enhance (not overpower) the natural environment, so neutrals and natural materials are standard. Think weathered woods, zinc, marble, and touches of iron for things like lighting. As for greenery, combine the refinement of boxwood with unruly vineyard vines and sprays of lavender in—what else?—wine-barrel planters.

Farm-to-table is a way of life in Napa, which means the kitchen and dining room distinctions tend to blur. Embrace the outdoor kitchen, dining table, and prepare to eat your meals outdoors. Use a farmhouse table in the yard or on the patio, which can flip from prep surface to the dining area in an instant. Even formally set dining tables to keep it mellow with Italian-influenced ceramics, pewter serving pieces, and cutting boards used as stand-ins for platters.

A LITTLE BIT VINTAGE, A LITTLE BIT RUSTIC AND MORE THAN A LITTLE INFLUENCED BY THE VINES, EVERYTHING ABOUT NAPA STYLE HOME DECOR FEELS JUST RIGHT.

We love the simple round farm table with the barrel seating. Add some country dishware some rustic silverware and few napkins and the table is set. You can add an outdoor pizza oven relatively inexpensively and a good wood-burning firepit always makes the area warmer... Not to mention it real wood fire makes for really good smores!

Putting a couple of tables together can make for a fabulous dining experience for a group of 12 or more. It's also a great idea if you are planning a wedding in the backyard. Simple concrete top rectangle tables with rustic slat chairs set the stage for a farm to table experience. Add some fresh or dried flower arrangements with Glass pots. You'll want to go a bit more formal with the dishes and tableware to create a more formal approach. Don't forget the lighting. Candles in old wine bottles are a perfect match for Napa Style.

Boxed Planters lined with Rosemary not only create a great purple backdrop but Rosemary is a great mosquito abatement which here in Napa is always a concern. In Napa like most of California water is scarce so we find an alternative ground covering such as crushed granite composite, pebbles, or sand instead of grass which requires lots of water. Here a simple round rustic metal table and chairs sets the stage for an informal wine tasting or an afternoon lunch. Hanging lights ad a nice romantic appeal to any backyard setting.

Setting The Table

When it comes to setting the table a laid back and non-fussy, but still definitely stylish look is what you want to go for. That’s the inviting impression created by simple elements in contrasting textures—porcelain china set on a round weaved placemats, groupings of glasses, bottles, and votive holders laid on a rough wood tabletop.

Gather Together

What to Consider

The great thing about an outdoor room is that it's a place of relaxation that puts you in arm's reach of nature: shrubs, trees, scented flowers, water features and outdoor accessories. But you can't just plop a settee and outdoor table randomly in the yard and proclaim it your new "outdoor room." Think about these things first:

Location: Is the room convenient to the house, for quick trips to the kitchen or bathroom?
Size: Does the outdoor room take up the whole yard? Is there space for other activities for other household members, like children's play equipment, a grill, an herb garden, etc.?
Shape: While a rectangular shape makes sense, look at the lay of the land in your yard. If it's long and narrow, maybe a diagonal furniture placement or square room would mix things up a bit.
Continuity: If your house is contemporary, continue the same or similar materials and architectural features with your outdoor room. Use similar colors and materials as indoors, only more casual. A Victorian tea garden setup will look out of character with your modern one-story home.
Goals: What do you want in an outdoor room? Maybe a refuge, a place to entertain, for privacy or to enjoy your garden?
Budget: A well-designed outdoor room with carefully chosen vintage and repurposed furnishings can look just as good as a room with an unlimited budget.

The use of lots of wood really brings the Napa Style look to this backyard both by giving it a rustic look but also a sophisticated feel. The use of Adirondack Chairs built-in wood bench seating which could be accomplished with the purchase of two wood benches instead of using built ones and the square over-sized firepit compliment the seating area.

Don't be afraid to bring the living room entirely out to the backyard. Napa-Style is all about bringing the indoors out. Using large modular furniture pieces, lounging chairs and a fire pit coffee table create a very inviting space with lots of room for the family of friends. Add a TV with smart technology and you'll be ready for the big game. Building wooden walls and dividing the space can create more rooms for dining, cooking, and playing.