Easy ideas to enliven your outdoor space to create an alfresco oasis as productivity goes down and everyone is suddenly working from home.
It’s a rare thing, a run of hot weather in Ireland, and we appreciate it in a way no other nation does.
Tools are down, and out-of-office notices abound.
Some of us will still have to work, but at least we’ll be taking it outside. Here are 8 easy ways to enliven your exterior space and create an alfresco oasis.
Beach shack breakfast
Start the day with a continental breakfast at a friend’s fancy beach shack while seated on BoConcept’s elegant new Cancun outdoor range.
Made of lightweight, galvanised steel, it can stand up to the scrutiny of the Irish climate and the post-mortem of the night before.
Available in matt green, show or ash grey, the lounge chairs with cushions cost €478 each, while the two-seat sofa, also shown, costs €648 and is available in both Beacon South Quarter and Navan stores.
Hit the beach
What you need for a day at the beach is simple.
A set of togs, a towel, reading material – Sally Rooney perhaps - sunscreen and something to transport it all in.
Top marks then for choosing this tote bag. It channels the thick gold chains, tiny GAA shorts and Maynooth styling of a certain leading man.
The exclusive design is by the April and the Bear team, and it costs €14. All your friends will want one.
Is it rose o’clock yet?
Sunbathing is thirsty work. At some point, someone will ask if it's OK to crack open whatever refreshing drink is your preference.
This will lead to more drinks, followed by some people falling asleep in the sun and getting burnt.
At least if you pack plastic tumblers and wine glasses, you won’t have to worry about any breakages and a trip to A&E, where the sun does not shine.
These Kallsinnig tumblers and stemmed glasses cost €1.50 each from Ikea.
If you actually have to work
Take it outside. Set yourself up on a lounge chair with this side table that can become a footstool when you’re taking a break from all the calls and screen time.
This Amaro two-piece costs €354,95, reduced by 26 per cent from €479.90, excluding delivery, on Sklum.com.
Feeling peckish?
Fire up the barbecue. If heading off for the day, then bring it with you.
Weber’s Traveller is the gold standard of portable outdoor cookers. Gas-fired, it comes on wheels so you can navigate pathways and boardwalks with ease.
Once you pick a spot to set up camp, it opens out to a large BBQ area onto a sturdy cross-frame.
It costs from €529, excluding delivery from Weber.com.
If invited by friends to join their BBQ
This Rex barbecue tool set with a carry case is the perfect gift to bring to the picnic.
The Spirit of Adventure design includes a basting brush, metal serving tongs, wooden skewers and grill cleaning brush that can be tidied away into its portable case.
It costs €34.50 from Stock Design.
Hanging around
Swinging out of a hammock when the air temperature is hitting the 30-degree Celsius mark in your backyard rather than on holiday is a simple Irish pleasure.
With its froufrou fringing, this Cruz macramé hammock channels the Balearic Isles and costs €155, reduced from €195, excluding delivery, at Anthropologie.
Time to lime
Channel the light, tranquillity and mood of the Caribbean by relaxing and liming in this fine weather.
The new outdoor fabric range, Ile du Vent, by Lelièvre Paris, features geometric, vegetal and handcrafted patterns of the region.
Made of polypropylene, it will work really well on outdoor loungers and seating.
The two prints shown are Montserrat, €148 and Orchila, €194, excluding delivery, and are available from the online site Etoffe.com.
Prices in the range start from €121 per linear metre.
