Clever designs that let you make the most of outside living spaces in changeable weather
Courtney is a TV presenter and fashion designer with a growing interest in furniture design. “I’m at an age when my home is more important to me than it was when I was younger.” The collaboration with EZ Living Interiors was born of his need for furniture that could be used indoors or outdoors, all year round. “It’s a bit of a clunky design motivation but, if you’re designing something you require yourself, you can’t go wrong.”
Brendan Courtney Home & Garden Tripoli Outdoor Sofa Set
His new home in Co Wicklow is his fourth renovation project, but the first to have a garden. “I grew up in Kingswood, Tallaght. My dad was a great gardener. He was a builder and good with his hands, so he made a swing bench out of planks of wood. It was like something in a fairground.”
The collection comprises two sets. The Brendan Courtney Home & Garden Tripoli Outdoor Sofa Set, to give it its full title, is a long low table, a sofa, and two armchairs (€1,999). It’s made in acacia wood with weather-resistant cushions. The three-legged chairs, with curved arms and a back support that continues to become the third foot, are reminiscent of the traditional Irish form Tuam or Sligo chair.
The second set, the Brendan Courtney Home & Garden Tripoli Outdoor Dining Set is a longer-legged version of the first with a dining table and six chairs (€1,999). In both instances, the table has slats with narrow gaps between them so that rainwater won’t pool on the surface. “I’m proud of that innovation,” he says. Otherwise, his design process is pragmatic. “You’re not reinventing the wheel. You’re organically working with what’s already there. Acacia curves are going to be everywhere. We’re all influenced by the same things – there’s no such thing as an original idea.” That said, he’s proud of his tabletop which has narrow slats so that the rainwater can drain through or be brushed off easily.
Garden design by Oriana B
Courtney works with what’s easy, what’s available, and what would otherwise remain unused. “They loved me in fashion design because I’d head straight to the bin to see what I could use. I’d ask them to show me cloth that had already been dyed and rejected, and I’d work with that.” For this collection, the team at EZ Living Interiors showed him the available timber options, from which he chose acacia wood. It’s silky, luminous, and FSC certified. “You have to have some sort of hope that what you’re doing is environmentally sound.”
Photo by Jessica Glynn
At the launch, he wears a light blue jacket and has a small white terrier clasped to his chest. This is not an affectation. “I’m holding her to stop her from barking,” he says. The dog nestles in, looking smug. His pale clothes are intentional. The dog, whose name is Nancy Drew, is moulting. “You’ve got to go with the white hairs. Everything in the house is chosen with that in mind.” Note the pale beige cushion covers on the new collection. White dog hairs won’t show at all.
Tableware from Meadows & Byrne
Acquiring inspiration from other people’s outdoor living spaces is as old as snooping on the neighbours. Interiors and architectural photographer Jessica Glynn has more opportunity than most. Her latest book, House Love: Moor Baker Architects (€65) is a glimpse into homes designed by the Florida-based firm but their outdoor spaces, bright and breezy, require a bit of translating for an Irish context. Glynn, who lives in Co Mayo, will be speaking about this topic at the DFS Interiors Theatre at the PTSB Ideal Home Show.
Photo by Jessica Glynn
“In Florida, outdoor spaces are assumed,” she writes by email from Florida. “They’re expansive, open, and built around sun. In Ireland, if you approach outdoor space the same way, it simply won’t be used. The weather is too changeable, the wind too constant, and the ground too damp. The best Irish outdoor spaces are designed for real conditions, not ideal ones.”
First prioritise shelter. Make places that are protected from the wind. “In Ireland, a beautiful open terrace is often the least usable space.” Then, be realistic about the amount of time you’re liable to spend there. “In Ireland, it’s about short, consistent moments. The most-used outdoor spaces happen where the light lingers and stepping outside feels easy.”
Styling by Jean Hughes
Choose materials that improve with age and weather rather than fight it: “Timber that silvers, stone that holds texture in damp light, gravel that drains quickly underfoot.” Drainage is critical. Planting should reflect the landscape, rather than put manners on it. Warmth is important. “In Florida, you design to cool down. In Ireland, you design to stay out longer. A fire pit or outdoor stove creates a reason to stay.”
Styling by Jean Hughes
When interiors stylist Jean Hughes bought a house with a north-facing garden, she didn’t have a lot to work with. “There was zero garden. It was literally concrete slabs, surrounded by other gardens like a goldfish bowl.” She didn’t have a lot of money either. First, she tiled a patio in blue-and-white tiles and built a brick bench around it. Later, she plastered it and added cushions.
Photo by Jessica Glynn
“I had a really good Calligaris dining table that was broken but I’m a big one for not wasting money. I fixed it with kintsugi paste and now it looks like a work of art.” Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold lacquer. She added a Helgeö decorating rod (€25 from Ikea), an overhead rail that clips onto the table top and can be festooned with baubles, flowers and lights, and purchased Ilderhuse outdoor dining chairs from JYSK (€60 each).
“Lighting is key. So is colour. If you have ledges, decorate them. It doesn’t have to match.” For texture, she suggests in big planters (wine boxes with drainage holes) with grasses that sway in the wind.
The key to successful styling is not being too precious about what’s meant to be outdoors. “I bring in things that shouldn’t necessarily be outside, but most of them come from the charity shop. It’s not the end of the world if they don’t last forever.”
See ezliving-interiors.ie and @homestyling_ireland. The PTSB Ideal Home Show takes place from April 24 to 26; see idealhome.ie
Brendan Courtney and his Home & Garden x EZ Living Interiors collection
News in 90 seconds – Friday, April 17
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