Daylight, space, and the naturally bold colour palette of plants makes your garden or patio a space you can ‘get away with’ colour choices that wouldn’t work inside your home… but with all that choice it can be hard to know where to start when choosing colours to use outside.
Here are some things to consider;
Will it be easy to re-paint?
If the wall or fence in question is going to be covered in trailing plants, it will be difficult to repaint it without trashing your whole garden. In this case, it is important to choose a finish that will age elegantly – e.g. a natural wood finish, or a colour that will look ok if the original finish starts to show through (e.g. dark grey/ black, some shades of green).
Is it a sun-trap?
White walls will bounce the sunlight and heat so can make a small sunny patio area unpleasantly hot – especially if they are full height. Consider a darker colour if you don’t have any shade.
Do you want to make a feature of it?
Consider the role you want colour to play… do you want the fence to fade into the background, to complement the view inside, to make your plants or another feature ‘pop’, or to be a feature in its own right?
Inspiration
Natural wood
Wood acts as great ‘neutral’ in the garden environment – we love the elegant slim horizontal bars in this one, lending a modern look, with the added feature of creating a cat descent route from the upper floor!
White inside and out
Continuing the wall colour from your inside into the garden is a great way to create the ‘inside-outside’ look – along with large patio doors and compatible floor finishes. The white fence here connects the garden and the rear extension. As above – be careful with white if you have a south-facing suntrap!
Geometric concrete
Another inside-outside connection; these concrete Kaza tiles make a brilliant feature wall in this tiny outside space. The colour & texture connect with the modern interior finishes. The joinery is finished in Little Greene Knightsbridge – a lovely grey-brown that acts as a neutral in this environment.
Black
Black fencing is very on trend – but it’s a trend we can see lasting. Dark colours really make greenery ‘pop’ (especially the first shoots of spring) – and with the open sky it isn’t overbearing in the same way that it would be in some indoor rooms. We love the way it works with this beautiful brickwork and grey-green joinery.
Brights
If you have a small terrace area, consider a bright wall like this one. From inside the yellow adds a splash of sunshine on even a dull day. For inspiration on using bright colour outside, look to Morocco and Vietnam
Earthy colours
These ‘Desert’ toned colour schemes are perfectly suited to an outdoor space – pair with solar powered fairy lights, terracotta pots, and outdoor furniture in tactile-textured fabrics.