An Outdoor Space Odyssey
When you find yourself lost amongst the city, you'll find that a New Orleans porch cannot be strictly defined.
As New Orleans' residents contribute to such a vibrant culture of a place they call home, the beauty of the city's porches, courtyards, and outdoor spaces are their ability to authentically "just be."
Unlike the home renovation and redecoration TV shows and social media trends of today, these spaces provide evidence that dwellers and guests can find serenity from a chaotic world in any design style or budget.
With the weather past its own winter bitterness, more and more time will be spent in outdoor spaces and sitting out on the porch. Yet with new seasons afoot, you may feel called to add some vibrancy into your space. In a place that can experience such extreme and dangerous weather, it can seem daunting to make home on a porch out of fear that it will be destroyed. If these cautions arise, use the opportunity to get inventive, as homes can serve as a foundation for resilience. Whether for a small porch/patio or larger homes and their expansive spaces, many local businesses can suit the needs of adding more life into such spaces for further enjoyment and help you take advantage of less is more, untraditional, and "by the basics" ideas.
Speaking from experience, part of a design project requires a furniture revamp, so it can be intimidating knowing where to begin. Backyard Living Patio Furniture offers numerous design styles that can withstand the mercurial weather elements of the city. If budget allows, they even offer design meetings. Unique elements include powder coated aluminum, recycled poly furniture pieces, and hammocks.
Many nurseries today are seeking to break the stereotypical molds of how planting should look and empowering people to know they can pick it up, no matter their prior skill sets. A local resource exemplifying this is Crazy Plant Bae. They offer a range of services including custom curated plants and pots, plant repotting, and private events and workshops. Additionally, they offer community engagement and also function as a Black Women's Collective in their in-house space, which supports local women business owners through retail space and further empowerment.
Filling your outdoor space with plants is a wonderful way to bring in vibrancy and added design elements without detracting from staple or centerpieces. New findings are also showing the mental and physical health benefits of gardening and planting as a healthy outlet hobby. Urban Roots Garden Center is a local gem that features an assortment of plants, pottery items for gardening, and an assortment of necessary items for developing green spaces with tools, seeds, and specialty tips to find success amongst the dirt.
A low (or any) budget idea for adding varying texture and eye-catching appeal is to source various rocks, stones, and pebbles as a way to fill a blank space. Rock N Soil provides in town inspiration with their range of natural stones and aggregates. If any neighbor friends may also want to clear up their outdoor spaces, each home could make purchases and swap some of their said purchases upon delivery for even more of a unique element.
An establishment on Royal Street, Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights allows for current residents to brainstorm on outdoor lighting ideas that create an effect of transportation to time periods of the past. For an interesting read, their website origin story details more, such as how their work helped to "revolutionize the production of gas lamps" with a honed approach to metalwork and the other artistic elements involved in it. The functionality of the pieces is only one component, for the aura and statement looks they create is an unparalleled draw in.
With a name like Banana Manor Rug Factory Outlet, it's nearly impossible to not want to venture and see what collections they may house. For early and novice interior decorators, as many of us are, rugs can be intimidating and come across as distracting from other focal points. Yet when shopping smartly, a rug can help bring in an entire creative design vision for porches and outdoor spaces.
Not all may have the space for it, but a unique and inspirational local business to visit is French Fountains, a division of the French Casting Company. Their old world approach to housing a collection of vintage and rare pieces can also serve as a resource for bringing the grounding natural element of water intentionally into your space. For any residents who have older fountains on their property, their expertise can also be of guidance for proper upkeep or other resources. Allow their approach to serve as a reminder of the meditative qualities of water for days when the outside world needs to be quieted.
Out in Slidell, the Outdoor Home Store has created a space for aspects such as grilling and outdoor kitchens to come to life. In a city full of so many restaurants and at home chefs, as well as devoted food lovers, this can serve as a focal point of a design project to build other elements around. From their collection, find grilling options to suit any cooking level, as well as fun items like pizza ovens or even outdoor kitchen storage.
Unique Tip: Around the Town Businesses for At Home Mixology
When thinking of revitalizing an outdoor space, the physical design elements don't have to just be furniture and decor. With the beauty of New Orleans spring, revamp your home bartending (even for the sober and sober curious folk) with local delights so you can enjoy fresh sips in your updated space. Big Easy Bucha has expanded operations in the past several years for fermented and healthily satisfying beverages. While they have an array of kombuchas, they also have developed creative health shots and a line of tepache, a beverage mostly hailing from Mexico, with pineapple as the main ingredient.
