Stylish décor moves outdoors to Hong Kong’s gardens and balconies

Large windows, natural lighting, hazy shades of green and blue, botanical inspired fabrics and wallpapers – for interiors this season, it’s all about bringing nature inside.  But a growing number of Hong Kong residents are taking the trend one step further, creating new and functional rooms outside – whether in a large, verdant garden or on a tiny urban balcony or rooftop.  The city’s fragrant flowers and plants – bougainvillea, frangipani and orchids – provide the perfect backdrop for any décor. Simply layer in lighting, fabric, outdoor rugs and comfortable sofas just as you would any room indoors, and create your own modern oasis.

“Where possible, we are definitely seeing people extending their internal living to outdoor spaces,” says Nicole Cromwell, director of Hong Kong-based Nicole Cromwell Interior Design.  “The modern garden is comfortable, colourful and filled with lush vegetation, creating clever ‘rooms’ for relaxing and dining.” 

Cromwell says building a stylish outdoor area has been made easy thanks to innovations in furniture and fabrics. Options are no longer relegated to chintzy patterns made of plastic that crack and yellow with age.  There is a veritable smorgasbord of glorious weatherproof materials – resistant to sun, water and mildew – that are of such high quality, you can’t tell the difference from those textiles you would use indoors.

For example, Osborne and Little’s Ionia collection in acrylic includes the chic, trellis-inspired Ithaki line in a palette of turquoise and lime, as well as the bold hexagonal graphics of Zante in a rainbow of bright hues.

Christopher Farr Cloth has a sublime collection of fabrics, with each colour and pattern more gorgeous than the last.  His Kazulu zigzag fabric in blues and creams are on trend, or for something brighter in the current bohemian, hippie-chic theme, try Mare Outdoor in Rosa – hatched reds, purples and greys.