Jan Showers Notebook

OUTDOOR LIVING             I absolutely love outdoor rooms----and I do mean rooms----rugs, lamps, accessories, plenty of magazines---the works. Of course, it helps if you have a roof or awning over the area. We don't have a covered terrace at our house in Dallas, so when we are having friends over, I place the lamps, flowers and accessories out that day and bring them in the next.  French vintage garden furniture Everyone enjoys it---a great place for drinks before dinner.   At our house in the country, we have two large covered areas. Jim and I use the one closest to the house very frequently----to enjoy our morning coffee and read the papers, or to have lunch or dinner. There are lots of chairs so that when the entire family is there, we can all enjoy sitting outside. Because of the awning and the huge trees, the temperature is always comfortable. Vintage garden furniture This is a loggia we designed in Austin----it could be in Tuscany. Sutherland Teak / vintage coffee table My clients use this area for watching football games, having dinner and swimming since it is their pool cabana. Sutherland Teak / vintage leather deck chair This is a narrow loggia that is a perfect place for after dinner drinks in the summer---it has lamps and sconces which allow for great eye level lighting. Custom furniture & lanterns by Jan Showers Remember, there are no rules about outdoor living, other than to make sure you have all of the accoutrements you have inside.  Enjoying nature would be my only rule!           janshowers.com