Design Insider Blog

Around the Fire: Designing an Outdoor Space That Comes Alive at Night

There is a moment on an evening around a fire when the conversation shifts. The dinner is over. The guests who had planned to leave have decided to stay. Someone throws another log on. The wine gla...

The Living Sculpture: How to Style a Patio with Outdoor Planters

There is a specific difference between a nice patio and a patio you cannot stop looking at. It is not the furniture — though the furniture matters. It is not the umbrella, or the pool, or the fire ...

The World's Finest Rocker: A Case for the Slow Afternoon

There is a specific memory almost everyone has, whether they grew up with a porch or not. Someone older, sitting in a rocking chair, rocking slowly. Maybe a grandmother, maybe a grandfather, maybe ...

The Hammock, The Porch Swing and the Art of Doing Nothing

There is a particular kind of afternoon that only makes sense outside — the one where you set out to read, and after ten minutes the book is open on your chest, and after twenty you are watching th...

Backyard Games: How to Design a Play Area Guests Won't Want to Leave

There is a particular sound that a great backyard makes, and it is the sound of a foosball being flicked, a cornhole bag landing solid on the board, a laugh that follows a losing shot in shuffleboa...

Luxury Outdoor Table Setting Ideas for the Perfect Gathering

There is a moment, just before the guests arrive, when the table is fully set and the light is still good. The linens are folded, the glassware catches the last sun, and the candles have not yet be...

Create Your Own Resort-Style Escape Right at Home

There is a particular kind of quiet you only seem to find on the first morning of a vacation. The light is different. The air feels slower. You walk down to the pool with a book you may or may not ...

Outdoor Movie Theater: Build the 5-Star Setup at Home

There's a particular kind of summer evening that feels borrowed from another life. The sun has gone soft. A screen flickers on at the far end of the lawn. Someone has lit the fire pit and someone e...

Patio Umbrella Sizing Guide: Matching Coverage to Your Table, Patio and the Sun

There's a particular kind of summer afternoon that lives in memory long after the day has ended. The dappled shade of an umbrella drifts across a worn teak table, a glass of something cold sits in ...