Just recently I worked on a meadow retreat and the goal was to achieve a calm space for all year round relaxation for the client and their airbnb guests. A really fun thing for me to do as I am usually working on the interiors of homes.

Luckily, the meadow is far away from the house so my first thought was adding an outdoor log burner – of course you need to follow regulations and check them first.

It really does warm up the Retreat very quickly so anytime of year Winter or late Summer evenings it is perfect.

This is the before. It was called the Gin Palace and had certainly seen some good times with previous owners.

My intention really, was to make the retreat feel homely, colourful and of course comfortable. Like an outdoor living room except who needs a tv when you have Muntjac Deer passing by. I was very happily blown away when one passed me by  –  and to set the scene further, you can hear all the majestic trees very gently rustling while you cosy up inside.

Speaking of which, I made the seating pads, as I sew and love being part of the process, The fabric was lovely to work with and the only thing I would recommend bearing in mind is the width of seating vs the width of fabric. As you can see I split the pads because the pattern wouldn’t work sideways – if that makes sense ?

I wanted to create something very rustic. Just a place to kick back and feel like you are in the middle of nature.

My client loves bold hues so chose the red stools and I think a great choice. They can spend hours dining with friends and use the burner also to heat food.

To keep the budget tight, we kept the roof and as you may know … is on trend anyway and a really popular choice these days for outdoor areas.

They will just need to fill up with some more logs for the next few months. I’m hoping to get an invite soon to toast some marshmallows and enjoy some bird watching.

Do you like to spend time in the great outdoors too ? What would be important factors for you in a Retreat ?

Don’t forget as well designing myself I offer a course to learn all the basics yourself, from colour psychology and defining your own style,  how to make mood boards right through to learning professional tips and implementing them in your home. You can find it here.