The Home Front: Using Your Outdoor Living Areas Year Round

"I see more and more people with slightly covered [outdoor] areas," Leung says. "It won't be fully enclosed, but they'll have awnings or they'll have glass on top. Because it's not really the cold that bothers people; it's getting wet." Large waterproof umbrellas can also do the trick, Leung says.

"Combined with cosy pillows, blankets and maybe a fire pit or space heater, you're good to go in winter months," she says.

Fire pits, she notes, are proving to be more popular than ever.

"Even in November, when the months are getting a bit cooler, having a fire pit is a great asset, and something we make a lot of," she says. "It's like having a fireplace outside. It's great for warmth, it's a focal point for the space, and it really grounds things, because it makes it feel like the living room. It's communal and it's nice to have a glass of wine around." Round fire pits are currently trending and add to the communal "around-the-campfire feel" outdoor fires are known for, she says, adding that the latest fire pit designs are more bar table height.

"People always think of fire pits as lower like living room pieces" Leung says "But a lot of people like the bar height or counter height." These bar-height versions are particularly popular in cities like Vancouver because outdoor living areas are often small and people want to take advantage of views.

"When you're sitting down low, you can't get the view, and Vancouver is one of those places that's gorgeous and everyone wants to catch the mountain view, so a lot of people use countertop-height fire pits as well as bar-height fire pits." Outdoor furniture design is changing and becoming more sophisticated and detail orientated, she says.

"People really want to create the outdoor space as an extension of the indoor space," she says. "I think traditionally, outdoor furniture was woven, like wicker, and now we've really changed up the trends. We have a lot more upholstered pieces, we have upholstered platform pieces that look like indoor furniture, and they use fabrics like chenille that is a really indoor texture and feel, so it feels like you're sitting on a living room sofa, but you're outside." Ratana's new line is a good example of this evolution, she says, with its thick, woven, knitwear-like esthetic, which is currently trending in both home design and fashion.

"The Bogota collection is a very beautiful collection inspired by the indoors. It looks and feels like a woven material, but inside there's a rubber lining to create that thickness, and then the upholstered fabric is wrapped around it, so it creates that beautiful lush look, like a thick knitted sweater, but it's very quick to dry. Because we've been in the outdoor furniture industry for so long, we know you can't have furniture that takes days and days to dry." In a city like Vancouver, it's important to be realistic about the weather, Leung says, noting that Ratana recommends that outdoor furniture pillows be taken inside when not in use during the winter months. The frames of the outdoor furniture pieces, however, are fine to be left out year round, she says.

Because outdoor furniture is not something you replace often, Leung recommends people stick with neutral colours for the frames and add colour and pattern with cushions, throws and pillows.

"I think keeping your frame really neutral lets you focus on the actual materials, and how beautiful they are, and it also gives people an opportunity to keep current," she says. "And because we're using the same outdoor furniture all year round, you might not want the same throw all year round; you might want some cushions and throws for the spring. You want something different for the summer, you want something different for the fall, so those are things that are really easy to change up if you get bored or you want something more on trend or current."