How to Coordinate Our Outdoor Fabrics

When the weather turns nice and the days grow longer, we find ourselves spending as much time as possible outside.

And while we love bringing the outdoors in, this is the time of year to take the indoors out.

With that in mind, our designers have pulled together groups of coordinating outdoor fabrics that will help make your exterior living spaces as chic as your interiors (you can find the four color-coordinating collections on the last page of our May 2013 catalog).

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Simply choose three or four fabrics from your favorite collection to mix and match your way to the look you want.

Need a hand getting started? We’ve created four unique looks from each collection to get you inspired:

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Summer by the Sea

This vibrant collection evokes our favorite coastal getaways, combining deep ocean blues with the fresh greens of seaside meadows.

To re-create the look we show here, begin with chair cushions upholstered in the garden lattice-inspired Soledad Green print.

Pillows and drapes in crisp Nantucket Stripe Blue provide airy contrast, with open stripes that play against the more petite motif on the cushions.

The sisal-like St. Tropez rug, bordered in Canvas Blue, adds textural interest, while the solid colors of a Canvas Green umbrella and our Beauclaire Planters bring the various patterns into harmony.

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Black & Cream

Your outdoor décor doesn’t have to use color to make an impression. Ballard’s Black & Cream fabric collection works this classic neutral combination to bold effect.

Our team’s concept starts with cushions covered in the dramatic Cisco Charcoal, its swirling paisley print countered by throw pillows and drapes in our wide Canopy Stripe.

The more subdued patterns of an Arden Black umbrella overhead and the Navarre Rug in Black underfoot create visual balance, as Chapelle Planters in Zinc contribute needed solid tones.

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Tuscan Earth

Rich, warm, natural – that’s the feeling of our Tuscan Earth collection.

The centerpiece for our inspiration look is the Nantucket Stripe fabric in Rust, used on cushions for eye-catching linear impact.

Throw pillows in our smaller-scale Soledad Rust print and the subtly patterned Geneve Rug in Terra Cotta serve as the ideal complement to the broad stripes, while the solid shades of an umbrella in Canvas Rust and drapes in Canvas Brass keep things down-to-earth.

For that just-right final touch, our Teak Planters show off varying rustic wood tones that tie the whole collection together.

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Sand & Sky

If you want your outdoor environment to be a peaceful retreat, try our Sand & Sky collection, featuring fabrics in soft blues, refined creams, and restful taupes.

We centered our design around the Geneve Indoor/Outdoor Rug in Spa. Its subtle, open-scale pattern perfectly offsets the more graphic presence of cushions upholstered in Seneca Stripe.

Throw pillows in Arden Spa pick up the Mediterranean tile-inspired motif from the rug, as pillows and drapes in Canvas Taupe bring in solid neutrals to keep things serene.

Planters in Toulon Cream add light, and an umbrella in Canvas Spa means there are always blue skies overhead.

How to Decorate Team

We enjoy spending days interacting with How to Decorate readers. From answering Design Dilemmas to writing How To articles and working with guest designers, our passion is to provide informative and accurate resources to help people solve their design problems.

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  1. Reply

    Marsha Wright Clark

    September 17, 2016

    I just ordered and received 9 fabric swatches from Ballard designs. Im thinking i would like to use MacKenzie Plaid by Suzanne Kasler for drapes in my over the garage apartment. We have already purchased a red leather sofa that would go nicely with this fabric for drapes. Can you recommend a carpet, pillows and any other colors or fabrics i could use to complement my design.

    • Reply

      How to Decorate

      September 19, 2016

      Marsha,
      Our Designs Solutions team would be happy to help you. Simple complete this form and they’ll email you some suggestions.

  2. Reply

    Caroline

    May 14, 2013

    Does the Nantucket stripe rust fabric match the marina rug in rust perfectly? Thanks!

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