a friend recently asked me about contemporary looks for outdoor furnishings, so i collected a few ideas to share with her and then thought, why not blog this too? just as i told her, even if a particular piece here isn't your favorite there are tons more options available from each of these companies, so their websites are definitely worth a looksie.
(heller's gehry collection has several unique and interesting outdoor furniture pieces. they resemble many of the new archteypes gehry has created with his buildings. the pieces curve and twist, functioning as much as sculpture as they do seating and surfaces. composed of rotationally molded plastic and finished in silver. the collection features a sofa, a bench (doubling as a long low table), two twist cubes (side tables or individual seats), an armchair, three-sided cube, and large coffee table. found on unica home)
(the voltair armchair comes from the plastic-fantastic series by studio jspr. the collection uses vintage and restored pieces in a baroque style and gives them a very contemporary twist ~ each piece has been treated with a special soft skin rubber coating causing the forms to become somewhat homogenized with the unification of a single color. found on retromodern)
(patricia urquiola has designed these gorgeous outdoor tables for kartell. the surface of the "t-table" top alternates fullness and space to create an elegant effect reminiscent of embroidery. it’s available in a clear transparent version or in six different opaque colors, as well as three different heights. first see on mocoloco)
(quinze and milan's club 01 arm lounge is both comfortable and resilient, employing the technology of rigid foam with a special lacquer finish making it resilient and carefree. great for use indoors and out, the club 01 exudes elegance and simplicity)
(eros swivel chair designed by phillipe starck ~ made from polished aluminum and polycarbonate. for a contemporary patio bar i think these would be the perfect fit. found on hive modern)
(constructed with aluminum and covered with woven man-made fiber, belinda, from the in-out collection of charming tables and welcoming armchairs, offers a whimsical alternative to traditional patio furnishing. available in blue, red, yellow, green, and mocha colors, one can mix and match. found at momento italia)
david duncan livingston resides in gorgeous marin county of the sf bay area, but he travels all over the world to photograph interiors, landscapes, people and art. he has a great way of telling a story with his artful photo direction and keen sense of style. i have worked with him on several occasions doing photo shoots of my own work (some of which i've blogged about here in the past) and he has taught me a multitude of things: tricks for making the camera capture just the right look and feel of a space, the right color combination and quantity of still life objects to add to a tableau to enhance it rather than detract from it, how to make floral arrangements just the right size and shape to perfect a scene, and how to look for shadows & light in a whole new way. so i suppose this post is as much a thank you to him as it is a showing of his great skill.
these were just a few of my favorites images, but there are tons of detailed information and tips to explore on her fun 
