On Monday 23 March, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation (full transcript here) and urged us to stay at home in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The days since then have mostly been warm and sunny, but instead of going to the seaside or congregating in local parks, conscientious homeowners have been forced to make the most of their own back gardens and patios.

Pictured: Bolzano White Porcelain Paving

Am I allowed to go out on the patio?

Yes - the current coronavirus guidelines state that you should only go out in public if it's absolutely essential (e.g. if you need to provide care for somebody or purchase basic necessities), but you're free to enjoy your own private outdoor space as long as you don't go within 2 metres of anyone from a different household.

This means that you can still tend to your garden, have a kickabout with the kids, or sit in your favourite lounger and soak up the sunshine.

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Porcelain paving is very durable and will not be impacted by the heat that a fire pit generates. Just another reason why PrimaPorcelain paving is such a great choice for the patio!

Spring is in the air, and with the weather getting warmer and the days getting longer, the garden is the place to be.

The opportunity to spend a sunny afternoon on the patio is one of the best things about this time of year, and if you're keen to stay outside long into the evening, you may have thought about purchasing a fire pit for your outdoor space.

A fire pit is a great way to stay warm and add a bit of extra ambience to your outdoor activities. But is there a chance that having an open fire on your patio will permanently damage the paving?

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Though our exquisite range of Italian porcelain tiles can transform your outdoor space in an instant - their beauty can be accentuated in many ways. The British weather appears to be slowly improving and we all look with anticipation towards warmer months where we can really make the most of our gardens - especially those who have Refin tiles already in place!

Our stunning outdoor tiles come in a range of beautiful neutral colours, and their aesthetic beauty adds panache and sophistication to any outdoor space, however, it is how you decorate the rest of your garden which will really have an effect on your home. We like to treat the garden as if it were any other room in the home, choosing the design, colour scheme, layout and accessories with extreme precision to create a stunning finish - and you can do the same! We've scoured our Pinterest account to find 5 of our favourite outdoor accessories that will really accentuate your Refin porcelain tiles and transform your garden into the best feature of your home. 

1. Lanterns 

Lanterns are traditionally seen as a Moroccan-themed garden accessory, but they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours and designs. A lantern not only adds some interest to your garden, but you can choose to add pops of colour, a rustic element or even practically fill them with candles to light for a romantic look! We love the teal lanterns pictured above. Paired with our Limestone Champagne tiles you have a colour scheme to dream about! 

2.  Hammocks

A hammock adds a really boho-chic vibe to any outdoor space, as well as being a completely comfortable and relaxing swinging seat for you to curl up in and enjoy the warmer weather. You can tie hammocks to trees or buy some gorgeous standalone ones - but they really add some character to your garden as well as being practically a comfortable seat you'll never know how you lived without. We like the stylish fringed one pictured above, but they come in all manner of shapes, sizes and patterns! 

3. A Fire Pit 

A fire pit will add warmth, style and sophistication to any garden. We love how they can create such a cosy atmosphere, allowing you to make the most of your Refin tiles and indeed your garden ever in the cooler autumn/winter months. The example above is a DIY boulder pit with suppllies purchased from a local hardware store, and the information on how to recreate it can be found here. 

 4. A Vibrant Flower Arrangement

Flowers and plants provide the most simple way for you to introduce a colour scheme to your garden. You can add some stunning and vibrant flowers in an interesting plant pot and it will really bring your outdoor space to life. We like the vintage wooden wheelbarrow pictures above with an assortment of feminine pink and purple flowers. It really adds interest and maintaining your flowers and plants can become a great hobby too! 

5. Comfortable and Attractive Seating

And last but not least, what is the point of implementing beautiful Refin Italian porcelain tiles into your outdoor space if you don't have somewhere to sit and enjoy them? Comfortable and attractive seating is the finishing touch to any outdoor space. It provides an area for you to entertain, relax, eat, drink, read - indeed if your outdoor space will allow it then seating should be an essential element of any garden. The best bit about it is you can carry on a colour scheme or theme and then sit back and enjoy your work when it all ties in together. 

Why do people spend more time in the living room than in the garden? The answer is obvious – because the garden is outdoors, and therefore exposed to all the grim nastiness with which we’ve come to associate our British weather.

We’ve said time and again that the garden ought to be treated as another room of the house – just like the lounge or the dining room – but if you’re serious about enjoying your outdoor space, you’re going to have to think tactically. Here are a few tips for getting the most from your garden:

• Never waste an opportunity! Unexpectedly sunny afternoon? Why not have dinner in the garden? Surprisingly warm weekend in the middle of autumn? Get the barbecue out and invite your friends over! Sunny days are meant to be spent outdoors, and the rainy days won’t be so disappointing if you make the most of dry ones.
  
  
• Do something with it! There’s little point in having a barren, empty patch of lawn behind your house. Add some chairs, add a swingball set, add something – just don’t let it go to waste.
  
  
• Keep it low-maintenance! Imagine a pie chart and split it down the middle. One half represents the days when you simply can’t go outside – maybe it’s raining, or maybe you’re just too busy. The other half represents the days that you could spend in the garden, but beware – if you make the wrong choices, you could end up spending a lot of that slice on maintenance when you could be relaxing. Go for low-maintenance outdoor products (like, say, Refin’s garden paving) and make sure you spend your garden time in the best possible way.

Both decking and paving are extremely popular choices for the back garden, but it's somewhat rare to see a garden design that utilises both. A lot of landscaping enthusiasts think of this as an either/or decision, but deck boards and paving slabs will quite happily go together, and if you're after a stunningly unique look for your outdoor space, this is definitely a tactic worth considering.

But how best to combine these two contrasting materials? Here are a few ideas...

Multiple Levels

This is the strategy that our architect deployed when designing the garden in the photo above. The doors open out onto a stylish paved patio, with a raised deck just beyond. This two-tier look is very appealing indeed, making the whole garden feel larger and, in a way, giving you two equally beautiful outdoor spaces for the price of one.

Keep 'Em Separated

If you've got a reasonably big garden, you may consider splitting it into different sections. Instead of sticking with that large, blank patch of lawn, you could install a small seating area at one end of the garden, and a nice little patio at the other. You could even have a hot tub in the corner - both composite wood and porcelain paving make great slip-resistant tub surrounds!

Blended Together

This approach is a little trickier, but the results are well worth the effort. We found the above image on Pinterest, and it's the perfect example: the duality of that design makes for a smooth, elegant outdoor living space. Mind you, you'll have to cut your boards and pavers quite precisely if you want to create that flawless transition between them.

No matter what you have in mind for your outdoor space, we at PrimaPorcelain can help. In addition to our spectacular porcelain paving products, we are also able to supply low-maintenance deck boards, and if you want to use one or both of these materials in your garden, our experienced in-house architect will be more than happy to help with the design.