Hanging out with Bob

Designed by Hella Jongerius, who you might know from her work for Ikea (I still love her Ikea PS Jonsberg vases), Bob is the latest in outdoor furniture from Spanish firm Kettal. I totally dig the indoor/outdoor feel the collection has, and seriously, how handsome does it look in that architecturally stunning raw wood space - Who knew knotty pine could look so mod? I'm also loving the two-tone metal frames on all three pieces, as well as the two-tone grey upholstery and lovely crafty wound yarn detail that shows up on the armrests of the chair and on handles of the footstool and table (oh, and that cool looking lamp is an outdoor piece too). In Canada, check in with BonaVista LeisureScapes if you fancy kitting out your deck with a set.

Jonesing over a table

I'm totally jonesing over smartypants Karen von Hahn's new outdoor coffee table upcycled from an old Simpson's-Sears department store sign (the lovely vintage script logo hails from 1953). Karen discovered the sign in a junk-filled emporium she dubbed 'the sheds' out in Bayfield, Ontario, and lugged it home. Her handy-with-tools other half then popped a piece of plywood beneath, and screwed on those fancy-schmancy metal legs she'd ordered from Hairpinlegs.com to create, if you ask me, the perfect spot for a tall and frosty glass of Pimm's. Love how the Kelly green of the sign picks up on the green in her outdoor furniture upholstery, and also how Karen so snappily whacks the nail on the head regarding al fresco style - "Everybody is so busy recreating either a Tuscan villa or a South Beach nightclub in their backyard that nothing has any real style." Check in on Karen's blog here, and be sure to check out her new Style Czar column for the Toronto Star's Weekend Living section. Oh, and you'll see inside Karen's home very shortly too, since she'll be gracing the August issue of House & Home along with little old me.