HOW TO STYLE YOUR PARASOL
"Embrace colour! I love discovering new combinations of colour and pattern, there’s nothing better than travelling in different cultures or looking at the wonders of nature to inspire you."
COOL TONES
"This year I’ve found myself drawn towards darker blues, greens and teals "
Blue and green shades are remarkable together and create a surprising and chic aesthetic, greens and bright blues together mute each other. These are brilliant combined with both bright colours and pastel shades. The glory of these lovely hues is that they also work well with patterns and neutral settings. Adding some blue or green to a dark or light colour theme is a very elegant way to introduce colour, they’re a stylish and safe option in the best way. Blue and green shades are remarkable together and create a surprising and chic aesthetic, greens and bright blues together mute each other. These are brilliant combined with both bright colours and pastel shades. The glory of these lovely hues is that they also work well with patterns and neutral settings.
If you have a smaller garden or lots of foliage then a cool toned parasol will blend with the natural colours, and can make your space look larger, or they can contrast beautifully against red brick. Dark tones look fabulous against pretty much any backdrop. Our darker blue and green parasols have lighter interiors so sitting underneath them feels expansive.
WARMER SHADES
"I wanted to inspire people to embrace colour and theatricality. And what is more cheerful and fabulous than a flamboyant sun parasol? Be brave with colour, summer light is stronger and bright colours look more vibrant in sunshine"
Pinks, oranges, yellow and red tones are the ultimate summer look. A combination of these vibrant shades looks stunning against a garden, pool or patio. They create an enticing scene and are very easy to style together. Don’t be afraid to combine red and pink, this colour pairing opens doors to the additions of muted green, most shades of blue and even burnt orange. We advise choosing one or two warm shades and either a cool colour like blue or green or a neutral like cream or taupe. Terracotta is very elegant and looks beautiful against tonally subdued backdrops with shades of olive, eucalyptus, stone and cream.
A riot of coloured cushions can anchor and enhance your parasols. If you are creating a look using warm toned parasols, placing patterned and cool coloured accessories underneath looks very inviting.
COLOURFUL PRINTS
"Nothing says summer like cheerful prints."
Patterns bring a focal point to a scene. They can add colour and texture to complement a busy backdrop like wisteria or brick, and bring eye-catching variety in a plainer space. Prints, whether they’re zig zag, animal or floral, open up styling options. If you’re going for a maximalist look then more is more, we recommend styling your parasol with a variety of patterned cushions and accessories using tonally similar colours. For example, our Poppy Octagonal Parasol looks fantastic with bright shades such as lime, pink, green, yellow and turquoise. Our Daisy Octagonal Parasol would look fabulous with more muted shades of green, taupe, lavender and even a hint of dark red (brave I know, but certain shades of dark green and dark red look wonderful)
I collaborated with Natasha Coverdale, a Brighton-based artist, who creates vibrant otherworldly pieces. We created the Natasha Round Bamboo Parasols in 2 colourways- pale and dark. They’re magical and whimsical with a floral design which is so vivid that it almost feels like a coral reef. These parasols would look magical styled with a mix of dark blue, shades of pink, golds and coral.
WHITES & NEUTRALS
Clean and bright, white parasols conjure an instant feeling of summer. As well as a classic plain white sunshade, we also create parasols with a variety of printed patterns inside the canopy- a hidden secret. Our parasols have beautiful wooden frames and brass fittings which, combined with a white canopy, bring a feeling of luxury and elegance to an outdoor set up. They’re airy and light, perfect against foliage, brickwork, masonry or poolside. A white shade can be styled in any way.
For a classic Hampton’s look we recommend choosing one colour to accessorise with, such as blue, green, red, beige, and one more second colour to break it up. Use white or cream as a base, add cushions in your dominant colour choice, and table accessories in a mixture of the dominant colour and second colour. For a more bohemian style we recommend a riot of colourful cushions, napkins, table accessories, colourful glassware and jars of seasonal flowers from the garden. Pick at least 3 colours, such as pink, lime and yellow- or lilac, yellow and orange- and enjoy seeing how easy it is to add more colour and pattern to these combinations.
pastel TONES
"Our pastel tones are summery classics - easy to style and timelessly pleasing in a garden, influenced by the 1950’s images of Hollywood high society taken by Slim Aarons and the Harajuku fashion movement in Japan."
We love pastels, they are magic shades that can make everyone and everything look happy. Blush pinks are subtle and chic, they’re set off by glorious foliage. Pastel blue is a beautiful contrast to the warm colours of summer flowers, and it looks fantastic against wisteria and any climbing plant. The sympathetic pastel colours work with similar tones, can balance out a more vibrant scene, and bring graceful hints of summer to neutral settings. These are particularly adaptable parasols as they work wonderfully in any garden. Modern gardens can be hard to style as they have a lot of grey in their structure and these colours can lift and complement them. They’re easy to style with cushions and accessories in similar tones, our suzani cushions in yellow, sky blue and coral are designed to complement our pastel parasols.
GET CREATIVE WITH CUSHIONS
"This year we’ve gone for a cottage feel with fine stripes, floral patterns and frilled edges. The cushions are block printed by hand in Jaipur, India on beautiful quality cotton. They have a frilled edge, a pattern on the front and a striped back so you can flip them over to change the look."
