French Inspired Patio Table: Which is your Favorite?

Greetings everyone!

Today is yet another cold day here in Indiana.  I believe it made it up to a whopping 39 degrees today..burrrrr.  After the holidays we are pretty well much over the cold and snow.  Yes I know winter has only started, but there is nothing wrong with also starting the countdown to spring!

Looking out over the snow covered patio gets us thinking about warm summer evenings sitting outside and enjoying fresh produce from the garden.  Today's inspirational images remind us that warmer times are just around the corner. 

The new house will have two separate outdoor seating areas just perfect for one of these French inspired patio tables.  Can you see yourself enjoying a bottle of wine at one of these tables with your family and friends?  On second thought, I could really enjoy a bottle of wine anywhere!

Choice 1

We like how these smaller bistro style tables were pushed together to form one larger table.  The space is enhanced by the French blue shutters and red flowers, both providing a "pop" of color. 



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Choice 2

This wood table provides a separate dining space away from the house, and surrounded by nature.  A great way to spend a quiet evening.

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Choice 3

This outdoor French style table appears to be made of iron.  The green seat cushions do a good job of blending in with the natural surroundings.



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Choice 4
Looks like a great French bistro table.  Lunch for two anyone?

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Choice 5
What an amazing place to dine outdoors!  You can actually rent this home in France if you are in need of a good vacation. Great terrace covering the large patio table.

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Choice 6
We love the idea of placing a table under the arbor. Arbors do a great job of letting in just enough light, while vining plants can give off beautiful flower blooms.



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Choice 7
A small french style patio table on a crushed stone path.  What an amazing little well!  

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Choice 8
Large rustic tables are great for the outdoors.  I don't like the idea of having a very formal and expensive table outside only to be exposed to the weather.  We also don't want to move all of the furniture indoors every fall.  This wood table under a shelter is just perfect.  It has protection from the elements and since it is made of wood it can stay out all winter.

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Choice 9
What a long French style wood table.  It looks like you could seat 14 or more people at this table.  How great it would be to spend long summer evenings outdoors with your neighbors and friends (assuming you want to share your wine with them).

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Choice 10
This wood patio table sits under a retractable roof, allowing for more control of the sunlight.

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Choice 11
More bistro style tables on a crushed stone terrace. Great French blue shutters as a side note.

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Choice 12
A great private outdoor French style table.  More terracotta pots and flowers brighten up this space.

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This is the view from our current patio.  We intend to use this French style iron table at the new home, but with new cushions.  This patio is covered and has a great ceiling fan to keep the air moving in the summer.

Another view from the other side of the patio.  We also have roller shades to keep the western sun under control.

On the house front; we have so many meetings scheduled with contractors over the next week.  On the agenda are 1) Wood Floors 2) Custom Cabinets 3) Built In Shelving 4) Heating and Cooling 5) Brick / Stone / Stucco Selections.  You will all get to see the "narrowed down" selections VERY soon.

 

WINE RECOMMENDATION

 

As we mentioned before; if you are going to sit out on the patio, you might as well enjoy some wine.  Here is one we highly recommend following a recent tasting we hosted.  If you want to spend a few dollars on a bottle (and know it's going to be good) give this one a try. 

 

 

2009 Grand Vin de Bordeaux

Chateau La Bonnelle

Saint Emilion Grand Cru

 

 

Wishing everyone a great day!

 

-Rob and Tonya

French Inspired House Design: Exterior Shutters

Happy Tuesday morning!  I hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend of visiting with friends and family.  Here in Indiana, we had the greatest racing event of the year; the Indianapolis 500.

As mentioned in earlier posts, our future home is in its final planning stages.  Once we begin building we will focus mainly on the architectural design, the construction process, and the materials.  We plan to have daily construction updates along with regular interviews from the craftsmen building the home.

Until then…..we will continue to share photos from our inspiration file. Today is SHUTTERS. 

Shutters make such an impact on the exterior of a home.  I am not talking about shutters that are screwed into the house and serve no purpose.  I am talking about shutters that open and close, latch, and sway.  I am talking about real shutters that protect the windows and let in a cool summer breeze while keeping the suns rays away.  I am talking about shutters with hardware that compliments the windows and exterior of the home.  Shutters, in a way, are our homes jewelry.

This shutter makes a great statement with its bright red on an otherwise dull gray building.

I just love these windows!  The overlapping gives such character.

Terrific shutters for a heavy window.  The shutters too are bulky and were left natural.

I am told that the blue / lavender color is more commonly used in France as it is thought to keep bugs away from the windows during the summer months.

Very traditional shutters.  The darker color looks great against the wall.

This shows you that your home does not need to be French country to host some shutters.

Again, love the bright blue color on this shutter.  They also brought the color down onto the rail.  Others bring the color onto the window trim .

Well I hope you have enjoyed todays photographs on shutters. Our plan is to have shutters that are hand hewed and while not written in stone, will most likely be the blue / lavender color seen above.  We will show photos and videos of the process when we get to that point.

If you like this post or some of our others, please follow along so that you can stay updated as we build our French Inspired Home.

Have a great day!