Downlights in a landscape will focus attention exactly where you need it at night, with minimal light pollution from glare and excessive brightness. By pointing toward your feet, downlights make it safer to walk on dark paths without creating skyglow, which obscures the stars overhead and disorients migrating birds.
Are you looking for discreet downlights to mount on an outdoor wall, in a stairwell, or at the edge of a path? Here are 10 stylish sconces that won’t create light pollution.
Design classics aren’t just for interiors. In fact, a crop of notable 20th-century designers made dining and lounge chairs for the outdoors (and/or their designs were later reworked for outdoor use). From the Eameses to Jens Risom to brands including Tolix and Fermob, here are our 12 favorite classic outdoor chair designs. Looking for more […]
After just a week in Maine a few summers ago, I decided that it was my favorite state. The beaches were how I like them: light on people, heavy on dramatic vistas. The weather, too, was my preferred type: temperatures that required at least half of the body (your choice of top or bottom) be covered up. I enjoyed my stay there so much that I did what I usually pride myself on not doing when playing tourist: I left with a souvenir—a doormat woven from reclaimed lobster rope. Every time I step barefoot onto its knotty surface, I am reminded of my trip.
Recently, I noticed that I’m not the only one enamored with nautical rope doormats. They’re popping up in quite a few stores outside of Maine. Here are 10 I like. I am partial to the washed-out, rustic look of the versions made from upcycled lobster rope, but I’ve also included rope doormats that are a bit more refined.
When it comes to doormats, there are coco fiber, woven mats and plenty of patterned and multi-color options out there, but what about the more straightforward set? We’ve sifted through the rubble to source 10 of the best modern doormats specifically designed for outdoor wear. For more doormats, see our posts: 10 Easy Pieces: Durable […]
A garden is brought to life by birds, not only with the sound of their singing but the sight of their constant activity, from dawn to dusk. Water, too, is an essential component of a garden with vitality. More than a trickling decoration, it brings in the insects that attract birds; it cleans the birds, and hydrates them. There is really no point in putting out seed without fresh water—which can be as simple as a few bowls (shallow enough for a bird to stand in), on the ground near shrubs, on a wall, on a makeshift pedestal.
People who love birds know that formality is a human, rather than avian interest, and that informal watering holes enhance any space. One of the most memorable aspects of designer Cleve West’s last garden at the Chelsea Flower Show (in 2016) was a trio of large rocks with indents carved into them for holding water. He does the carving himself, and on occasion still makes the kind of bird baths that birds like; there is one for sale now at Lichen Antiques.
