Getting intimate: consumers are more interested than ever in creating cozy, intimate backyard settings. Savvy retailers not only carry the products that help them do it, but also show them how

Pool & Spa News, April 5, 2002 by Pamela Mills-Senn

Pay careful attention to the fabrics, she adds. Granted, they do have to be appropriate for the outdoors, but within these parameters, think rich, textural cushions that welcome the touch.

Other intimacy-encouraging furniture includes double chaise lounges, club chairs, gliders, outdoor sofas, bistro sets, love seats and benches with planters for foliage, Duckett says. "What you have to do is take a decorator's approach to the backyard," she advises. "Create small seating areas and little pockets of security with the furniture and plants. Set the mood with music (rock speakers are very popular) and lighting.

"Remember to think not just of looks, but of comfort as well," Duckett says, "because above all else, intimacy is and comforting."

RELATED ARTICLE: Bringing back the romance.

To be sure, the difference between intimacy and romance is subtle at best. In fact, many of the same elements that make up an intimate setting also play into romance. But the difference between the two is simple: Intimacy describes a space, whereas romance describes a state of mind.

"Romance is a frame of mind. An intimate setting becomes romantic when you blow out a few candles and open a bottle of wine," explains Ann Duckett, marketing director at Paddock Pools, Patios & Spas, a pool and spa building company and backyard retailer in Scottsdale, Ariz.

But the design of the space can definitely help sparks fly. An entryway to something secret and hidden is one way to create a sense of romance in the backyard, says Dan Pestretto, sales designer with Ireland Gannon & Associates, a landscape design firm in East Norwich, N.Y.

"When I think of romance, I think of a hidden garden, with a little secret way in," he says. "Once in, you shouldn't see the entire garden all at once, but it should reveal itself as you move through it. Throughout the garden should be romantic statuary, benches, perhaps a fountain or pond."

This type of private space can be created from almost any type of landscape via hedges, planters, other types of screening foliage and structures such as gates or arbors, Pestretto says.

Just as with intimacy, people's ideas of romance are open to interpretation, he continues. Consequently, the worst thing a retailer helping a customer can do is to have a fixed idea about backyard romance.

Consider plants, for example. "I like very contorted, weeping kinds of things, but my idea of romantic plants might be very different from someone else's," Pestretto says. "You have to consider the environment and use plants that are appropriate for it. For example, if you love irises, but you live in Arizona, well, there's nothing romantic about a shriveled up, dead iris. Cactus might be better instead. I don't find them especially romantic," he laughs. "But I'm sure there are those who do."

When designing a romantic setting, you can start with the elements essential for intimate settings--namely, lighting, music, running water, richly textured fabrics, statuary and other ornamentation. Then add furniture that invites snuggling, private cuddle areas and--voila! A romantic spot has been created.