An olive corner sofa and wine-finished round coffee table in a cream garden room with terracotta tiles, oxblood glazed doors, an oak reading chair and mineral artwork.
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ROOM 94 · Living Room

The garden room after the wicker

Published

An enclosed, solid-roof rear veranda in a modest coastal house

A room beside the garden can end up furnished as though nobody plans to stay. Here, olive upholstery, a weighty round table and a proper reading chair give the enclosed veranda a life of its own.

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THE DESIGN

The view is already doing plenty. Instead of adding an indoor version of the patio set, this scheme begins with the way people sit: a long upholstered sofa, somewhere to put a cup, and a separate chair that can join the conversation. The room feels inhabited even before anyone opens the doors.

Yellow olive is a useful bridge between the cream plaster and the red-brown floor. It suggests the garden without requiring a roomful of botanical prints. The coffee table goes darker, its wine-coloured finish echoed in the painted glazing. A photograph of fractured rock introduces a different scale of detail on the solid end wall.

This is an enclosed interior with a solid roof, not an open veranda. The furniture and floor lamp are indoor pieces. For a real conversion, insulation, ventilation, shading and the suitability of finishes need resolving as part of the building work; comfortable furniture cannot make those decisions for you. Within that properly enclosed room, the clear route beside the glass is what allows the seating to stay generous.

WHY THE ROOM WORKS

Furnish for the hours spent inside, and let the garden be the view.

Colour palette

  • Yellow olive
  • Cream
  • Oxblood
  • Terracotta
  • Dark wood
01

Make a seat worth staying in

A proper corner sofa changes what this room is for. Its chaise offers a place to stretch out, while the separate oak chair turns towards the conversation rather than lining up with the view.

02

Put some weight in the middle

The Clara table has a broad circular top and three substantial supports. Its dark wine finish gives the pale walls and light upholstery something firm to gather around.

03

Leave the route beside the glass

The chaise occupies the sofa side of the room. The passage to the garden stays beside the glazing, so going outside does not mean squeezing between the table and someone’s knees.

04

Repeat the ground, not the planting

Terracotta tiles and oxblood joinery pick up the earthy colours in the rock image. The connection to the garden comes through materials and colour, with enough plain wall for the room to hold its own.

05

Give the solid wall a job

The chair, artwork and shaded lamp make a smaller destination at the end of the room. When the garden becomes a dark reflection after sunset, there is still something indoors to turn towards.

WHAT TO BORROW

Plan the seating before styling the view. Give a garden room a comfortable centre and an indoor focal point for the hours when there is little to see outside.

THE PIECES BEHIND THE DESIGN

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