Outline in advance what you want to use your terrace for. Will it become an extension of the living room? A dining area? An lovely lounge area? Or perhaps a bar? You’re already off to a good start with your interior design job.

Generally, you want to make the most of every living space. Therefore, it is important to think carefully about the furnishing. Whatever you choose, always make sure functionality and appearance are in harmony. Personalise your interior. This will ensure the overall picture is right.

Sightlines from inside the house
The next step is to think about the layout. Think about where the lounge sofa, dining table or other furniture will be placed. Take the sightlines from inside the house into account. You don’t want to obstruct the view of the garden with furniture.

Lighting

Take into account the light in the garden. Do you prefer to sit in the shade or in the sun? With automatic sun shading, you can easily control the light under the veranda.

It is smart to determine the lighting points in advance. Think of floor spots, wall lights, pendant lights or floor lamps. Provide enough connection points and avoid running all kinds of loose cables across the terrace later.

“Pinterest becomes your best friend”
For inspiration, you can browse through many home magazines and watch TV programmes on interior design. During the inspiration process, Pinterest is also a good resource. “Pinterest becomes your best friend,” explains Colien van Duijnhoven. “Be sure to use different search terms for a broad picture of all the possibilities. It also helps you discover your preferences”

The beauty offered by nature

In recent years, everyone spent a lot of time at home. This has influenced interior design trends.  There has been more respect for the beauty that nature offers. Flowers and plants give a warm and calm feeling, which makes them great to use with any decor. Organic shapes are used a lot as well. This way, the furnishing perfectly matches the nature in the garden. Enjoying yourself at home has also become increasingly important. A veranda with glass sliding doors allows you to enjoy the garden comfortably all year round.

Make furnishing personal

Create a mood board before moving on to buying furniture and accessories. Collect pictures with your favourite colours, styles and materials. This acts as your guideline for the furnishing. Impulse purchases are often not a good idea for interiors. Always think about what you want to use it for and whether it fits with the rest of the decoration. Avoid the interior becoming a carnival of random stuff gathered together.

Everyone's taste is different. “Make your furnishing personal. Nobody wants to live in a showroom,” Colien stresses. “Buying new products is not always necessary. Your grandmother's old cabinet can look very nice and add a personal touch to your decor.”

Match your furnishing with the seasons.

You can easily match your interior to the different seasons. You can do this by playing with the colours of accessories. In winter, use lots of warm colours, and in summer, cheerful light colours are popular.

Need more inspiration? Check out our Pinterest board.