Home
Blog
Designing your outdoor space with Italian Terrace

Designing your outdoor space with Italian Terrace

August 14th, 2024

Paint & Paper Library

From the colour of your front door to the surrounding greenery, there are many different elements that can be utilised to transform your exterior into a characterful, sophisticated aspect of your home, which delivers as much impact as your interior designs.

With over twenty-five years’ experience designing bespoke, handcrafted, traditional Italian clay pots, Italian Terrace are experts in the impact that plantings can have on your home exterior.

Read an interview with Italian Terrace Founder, Louise, as she shares the inspiration behind their timeless terracotta pot designs, and offers practical guidance for styling your exterior with beautiful plantings.

1. What is the inspiration behind Italian Terrace’s handcrafted terracotta pots?

“There are a mixture of different things that inspire our designs. Firstly, there is a blend of architectural elements of classical design, along with contemporary features. We look at nature, and how the designs will work amongst it. And then of course we have to be practical. Form follows function. Our pots are handmade and have to structurally support themselves. These creations have to also work with the plants that they contain; we want to make an environment that will allow the plants to thrive.”

Pot in image: Cantina

2. What impact can introducing a pot or planter have on your exteriors, especially an entrance?

“By introducing pots or planters to an entrance, you are giving it structure. Much like the pillars of Palladian entrances, the pots create a stage that transfigures the simple act of entering the building into a moment of performance. There is an element of stature that is created when you add a display to an entrance; whether it be theatrical and imposing, or graceful and quiet, there is so much you can do.”

Pot in image: Cantina

3. What are some key considerations when choosing accessories for your home exterior?

“In order to make your display look as good as it could possibly be, you need to take into consideration what you are working with, as opposed to simply going for what you have in your head. When a display looks good, it is because the elements work together. What might look good on someone else’s entrance, might not work with yours.

Start by thinking about the type of property: style, age, design. Select a pot that will work with these elements, rather than jar against them and look odd. Think about the layout of your entrance and what type of display you can create. Is there space for a symmetrical display with a pot either side, or will it just be the one?

Positioning and practical elements are important, so work within these parameters. Do you need to think about the size of pot, so you can get around it easily? Do you perhaps need a flat-backed or corner pot if you are short on space? Is the area exposed to wind? There might perhaps be some clever, fun elements you could add, for example, if the entrance is going into a kitchen, then could you display herbs or even vegetables.”

Pot in image: Stemma

4. Can you share your expert guidance for designing beautiful planting to complement exteriors?

“Regardless of season, one should always design a planting that doesn’t create a fight. Whether this be due to too many colours, or too many textures, etc, it should be pleasing and calming to the eye, not causing chaos and confusion.

If you plan on keeping the pot display in place throughout the year, it is a good idea of to think about using the ‘pot in a pot’ technique of planting. This is where you have a pot that fits inside the main ‘outer’ pot, that you can lift out and exchange for another one as and when you need to freshen up the planting. This technique works well whether you are using new plants every time, but also if you are reusing the plants and don’t want them on show when they are not looking at their best, so you can store them elsewhere in the meantime.”

Pot in image: Stemma

Practical considerations

“When it comes to what plants to choose, make sure to firstly think about the practical side – a running theme in everything we do. Is your entrance in a shady spot, or is it full sun? How diligent are you going to be with the watering? How long do you want the planting to look good for? Answering questions like this will narrow down your choice of plants, but will ultimately make a display that will look good and will last. One does not want to go through all this preparation if, in only a fortnight’s time, everything has withered.”

Pot in image: Colonna

Choosing colours

“At Italian Terrace, we like to create single colour plantings, with perhaps little flecks of a complementary colour mixed in. This can then be added to with other pots in the display, having either the same colour or different ones. But resist the use of too many colours.”

Pot in image: Vanvitelli

Creating balance

“As well as the choice of colours, it is equally as important to think about the different heights of the plants chosen, as well as other elements such as leaf size and different textures. When thinking about the planting and pot choice, consider it with regards to the entrance as a whole: the height of the door, the scale of the different architectural elements, etc. Choose pots and plants that work with the surroundings to create a harmonious and balanced display.”

Pot in image: Classico

Exterior inspiration

Combining depth of colour with a strong, hard-wearing, self-priming finish, the Architects’ finishes are ideally suited to update your home exterior. Use these finishes on your outdoor woodwork, masonry and metalwork to create a cohesive, considered colour scheme that works in perfect harmony with other elements, such as your chosen plantings.

Explore this gallery of schemes to find inspiration for your exterior refresh with Paint & Paper Library. The Architects’ finishes are available in four different sheen levels and the complete colour palette, so there are no creative limits on how you can use colour and finish to elevate your outside space.