Five Ways to Soften the Look and Feel of Concrete Furniture: Shopping Tips and Design Ideas
Concrete furniture is a great option for the patio, deck or any other outdoor space. It's durable and promises to withstand the elements. If you are currently thinking about adding concrete furniture to your outdoor living space, but you're worried that it looks or feels too hard, there are ways to soften it. Before you select your concrete furniture, take a look at these ideas:
1. Add cushions.
When shopping for concrete furniture, make sure that you are shop for cushions. Fun colorful pillows over a concrete chair or couch make a colourful splash, but they also lend softness to your sitting area. If you can't find any cushions, don't worry, you can easily make your own. You simply need a bit of foam and a durable indoor-outdoor fabric in your favourite colours. Cut the foam to size, cover it with the fabric, sew the edges of the fabric shut, and your cushions are ready to go.
2. Integrate textiles.
In addition to cushions, integrate textiles throughout your outdoor space. Even if you are not sitting or leaning against something fabric, its very presence helps to soften the look created by your concrete furniture. Try integrating outdoor panel curtains, rugs and other textiles into your space.
3. Use foliage.
Concrete isn't just great as furniture. It also works as a planter. It is porous and sturdy. When planning your outdoor living area, consider adding concrete planters and filling them with flowers, climbing vines or other soft-looking plants.
Alternatively, if you like, you can find concrete chairs and sofas that utilise soft grass as their seats or cushions. When you sit down, it's like sitting on a grassy knoll rather than a concrete chair.
4. Have your concrete pose as something soft.
As indicated above, if you are adding softness to your outdoor living area, it doesn't necessarily have to be soft to the touch. It can also just soften the look of your area. To this end, consider looking for concrete furniture that poses as something soft.
For example, instead of finding angular concrete furniture with sharp edges, look for concrete furniture that has been sculpted to look like a deep, comfortable sofa or an inviting ottoman.
5. Mix concrete and fabric.
In the realm of concrete furniture, there are many options available. You can buy furniture that is made by casting large pieces of concrete together, but you can also buy pieces that are made of both concrete and fabric, called concrete canvas. For example, you can find fabric that is impregnated with concrete and supported by PVC. This gives you the best of both worlds -- you get the soft look and feel of fabric and the durability of concrete.
Share