Hello lovelies, summer has finally arrived here in Switzerland, definitely the most beautiful time of the year for us. As much as we enjoy snow and the flowering springtime – summertime is second to none. Since we always hope for good weather here in Switzerland, we nearly spend every summer here. Our life is then best spent outside! This is why I’m very excited to present our favorite summer spot in cooperation with IKEA Switzerland*to you: our patio. As the soon as the sun comes out we take every meal outside and therefore it’s very important to me to have it nice and comfortable on our patio.
But first let me show you how sad and empty our patio looked after the long winter break – horrible right?!:
Now quickly back to the after look! It is relevant to us to have enough space for everybody – a large table and comfortable chairs. When the weather is nice and the girls play outside, I enjoy working on the patio. I can have an eye on them and still get some things done. When I walked through IKEA, I immediately fell in love with the VINDALSÖ collection. I felt instantly approached by its design, a combination between wood and white elements and I think it fits perfectly into our summer spot. Particularly cool to me is the matching serving trolley that reminds me a little of old times and is very functional as it offers additional work surface. We bought the high chairs for us parents and the armchairs for the girls, each version combined with grey seat cushions. A carpet makes it extra comfortable and is very pleasant when you like to be barefoot. It looks prettier than just the “naked” floor tiles. Therefore I decided to get the HODDEcarpet as it matches the grey seat cushions and is suitable for in- and outdoors.
In my opinion the table could have been a little bigger but this way we have enough space for the serving trolley – which is good solution. You can use it for salad bowls and many other things. Furthermore it’s a great place for flowers, just like the pretty hydrangea, decorations and dishes.
For all the cushions – I like to have many cushions – we got the cushion box from the ÄPPLARÖ collection. It comes with a matching inside pocket so that the cushions stay dry. And what I like is that it also functions as a seat bench. The young ladies of our household like this idea and enjoy eating their appetizers on this cushion box.
Very important for a cosy feeling on the patio is a lot of green and we enjoy planting our own vegetables. We don’t have much space for it but there is nothing better than providing kids the opportunity to actually see how seeds and plants grow and flourish to then harvest their own vegetables. I found some products at IKEA to plant as much as possible on the limited space we have available. The SOCKERflower boxes are very useful since they come with a railing holder. And I happen to find an old ladder which is very suitable for a plant ladder. The SOCKER flower boxes perfectly fit the railings and we grow cucumbers, tomatoes and pepperoni in them – and trust me – someone can’t wait for the harvest.
We also placed the SOCKERboxes and pots all over the railings. Next to tomatoes we grow beautiful flowers in them that I sometimes use for my food pictures.
For herbs I used the SATSUMAS plant ladder which comes with 5 pots, that are perfect for different mints, basil or other herbs don't need to be planted.
We enjoy sitting outside very late on warm summer nights, chat, play games or simply enjoy our family time. We like it nice and cosy then too and don’t really like sitting in the dark. This is why we created a beautiful illuminated mobile using the SOLVINDEN solar lanterns. We used an old limb for it – which the girls and I found in the forest – (of course I had to carry it home) – used ropes to attach it to the pavilion and then hung up the solar lanterns in different sizes. We also have a SVARTRÅ light chain that helps setting the atmosphere.
We are very happy with our new, green, cosy and stylish spot and spend incredibly much time there. We either have an extensive brunch, a barbeque with friends or just some coffee there. Here we can let our thoughts run free and our family has a spot where we love to come together – preferably on a nicely set table. I decided to get new dishes for outside from the KRUSTADcollection. It all has to match :-)). I like the clean design and the pretty large mugs for an extra big coffee!
I hope you enjoyed this little insight into our seating design. Your feedback after the kitchen redesign (you can find more about it here) was very positive and so I decided to give you more insights into our home. I totally enjoy redesigning the house every now and then, decorating it seasonally or just changing the existing things around a little – that’s sometimes enough to feel more comfortable.
And I hope I can inspire you with my ideas.
Love, Verena
***This blogpost was created in cooperation with Ikea Switzerland but reflects my own opinion.
And just because I enjoy it so much, I will let these pictures speak for themselves:
