The world's largest landscape architecture forum, The Conference on Landscape Architecture, recently took place in San Diego, California. More than 6,300 professionals attended the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) conference, which in addition to various conferences also featured 360 exhibitors of outdoor furniture.
Aspects such as customization, performance and design strength, for both commercial and residential use, have defined what's new for 2022. One of the editors of Houzz Magazine USA visited this issue and summarizes four must-have trends in this article.
- Pastel colors prevail
The pastel color palette has been one of the absolute trends at many of the 2019 trade shows and looks set to remain so in 2022. This trend now carries over to outdoor furniture. Most brands are leaning towards softer colors, which, as we have seen, dominate their new collections.
The French brand Fermob has presented its three new colors: Iced Mint, Clay Grey (both pictured) and Frosted Lemon, which are already in its new collections as of January 2022. In fact, the brand's hallmark is color, as it announced when presenting its products for the first time in September at Maison & Objet: "these new colors provide a touch of softness, freshness and light".
Pastel colors are also present in the novelties of Kettal, the Spanish firm that stands out for its collaborations with prestigious designers and its versatile pieces that blur the line between outdoors and indoors. This year in San Diego, Kettal exhibited the Molo collection, designed by architect Rodolfo Dordoni, which consists of sofas, a lounger and a coffee table.
While the colors used in previous designs are brighter and bolder, mint green and light pink are the two basic colors of this new collection. The large pieces are made of aluminum and teak wood and upholstered in Terrain: an acrylic polyurethane fabric designed by the duo Doshi Levien. The sofas are modular and are perfect for adapting to any space and style.
Mmcité, a Torrent, Valencia-based company specializing in street furniture that also designs residential furniture, has introduced Stack, a new outdoor line in pastel shades of baby blue, pinks and pale yellows. The collection debuted this year at The Street: an annual design and architecture event in the Czech Republic.
Chairs, sofas and tables combine galvanized steel and a variety of laminated woods with the possibility of including a special outdoor waterproof upholstery. The design prioritizes ease of use, stacking and simple lines. "We try to make good choices of appropriate colors for each piece and its particular style," says Brianne Sayers, Mmcité's marketing and public relations manager.
- High performance pavilions
The outdoors is now an extension of the home itself. Today's furniture and lighting invite you to spend more time outside and extend the garden season. In this sense, brands such as Kettal have long been offering pavilions that can be customized to extend the outdoor season. This type of structure is fully customizable and can be adapted to the climate, location or season of the year, according to the customer's needs. The structure is made of aluminum frame and can be fully customized: from the roof, walls, awnings to accessories such as lights, electrical system or tv stand. For the roof, several options can be chosen, such as cedar wood slats, a waterproof sunroof or an aluminum lattice, among others. As for the walls, you can choose between curtains, a tempered glass enclosure, the free-standing structure without walls and you can even order each wall differently.
Renson is a more than 100-year-old Belgian company specializing in ventilation systems and pergolas. Its latest product is Camargue Skye, a pergola with a retractable louvred roof presented in 2017 at the R+T trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany.
The cover is made of a system of aluminum louvers that rotate to open and close, protecting the interior from rain or direct sun. The graduation of the louvers allows natural light to enter the structure (in previous models of the brand this function already existed). The novelty in this case is that the roof is completely retractable. It can be completely closed or opened depending on the need for sunshine and visibility. Like the Kettal H pavilion, the Camargue Skye pergola can also be customized with wind screens, led lights, etc. It can be installed as a free-standing structure in the garden or as a porch, attached to an exterior wall.
- Light garlands for patios and gardens
Garlands subtly illuminate outdoor spaces while creating a cozy atmosphere. They are also very versatile, adding overhead lighting to outdoor garden areas but also on porches or pergolas.
Garland lights are one of the outdoor trends for 2022. Auroralight, a Carlbad, California-based lighting brand, introduced Catenary, a new linear pendant light system. The system is assembled with the brand's lamps, made of brass and copper and with energy-efficient LED lights. In the image, a model of the Catenary system with some of the lamps designed by the company. Tivoli, another linear lighting brand, presented Adapt, its new collection of garland light globes. The line features eleven styles of globes with different shapes and textures, such as diamond shapes or frosted or wavy glass textures. In this collection the company has included energy-saving LED lights. In addition, the product can be customized to the customer's taste, for example, you can request a lighter shade of lights or choose their temperature and intensity to control the environmental impact of the garland.
- The combination of metal and wood
ASLA members work in both commercial and residential design. As such, many of the products on display at the show are not intended for residential use, including some outdoor furniture. But there is one trend we saw at the show that among Houzz users is gaining traction. These are clean-lined designs that combine wood and metal (in this case white).
Victor Stanley, a brand specializing in urban furniture that has been manufacturing products such as benches, wastepaper baskets and planters for more than 57 years, presented Stella of Sunne: a new collection of outdoor furniture. It consists of benches, tables and other pieces made of lacquered steel and ipé wood or recycled plastic slats available in various colors. In this case, the color of the pieces on display was a matte white and will be on sale in early 2022.
The Forms+Surfaces brand presented a prototype of its new Factor collection of chairs and tables. The brand's purpose was to get first-hand feedback from professionals and customers on the design and materials before the final launch of the product.
In the image above, one of the chairs on display, whose structure is made of lacquered stainless steel and whose seat is made of cumaru wood slats (certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council) or recycled teak wood (other options are also available).