For Elizabeth Przygoda, founder and designer at Marana, Arizona-based Boxhill & Co., the best part of designing outdoor spaces is that they are outdoors.
“I love how it is ever changing, and I love creating places for people to go and enjoy outside — to give them reasons to create moments and memories in nature,” says Przygoda.
Przygoda has been designing outdoor spaces since 2002 — and she says each outdoor design project represents the same thing.
“I think getting people, whether it is residential or commercial, to look at their spaces as an opportunity, big or small, there is always an opportunity to lure and create a place for people to be and enjoy,” she says. “Getting people to think differently about existing spaces, that perhaps they have yet to envision, can get them to go on that journey with me, using design and furniture placement. Especially for hotels, there is so much wasted money left on the table by not making full use of their outdoor spaces.”
Pryzgoda says she has seen an increase in interior designers taking on exterior design — and she says she loves it, particularly since Boxhill & Co. both provides design and curates its own collections of outdoor furnishings.
“We love it and often can help them pick sustainable pieces for their region, especially furniture and fire elements, and (we can help in) navigating outdoor material,” she says. “We are here as a shoulder to lean on in the outdoor product specifications for interior designers. They can call upon us to help them with what can survive the elements of the region they are in.”
Accordingly, designers depend on manufacturers to provide furnishings that look good and withstand the elements because no one wants returns.
“Not me, not the designer and certainly not the manufacturer,” she says. “We really try for the ‘buy once, cry once’ mentality. We don’t want to keep replacing things and adding to the landfill — timeless and bulletproof.”
Outdoor suppliers can help designers, Przygoda says.
“It depends on the manufacturer and that’s why you need a company like Boxhill, who knows the outdoor manufacturers. With over 75 of the manufacturers that we work with, we really know who does what well and how to help you spec properly for the project. We work behind the scenes to support landscape designers, interior designers, architects and procurement companies.”
For their part, she says, manufacturers need to provide good photography, sample kits, be responsive and make high-quality goods.
For designers to learn more about what’s offered, Przygoda suggested booking a lunch-and-learn with Boxhill and its design team — and the company will go over its product details. And for those interior designers just beginning to take it outside, she says it can be challenging and rewarding at the same time.
“Outside is a different beast, but it is a beautiful forgiving world where nature and structure straddle and support an interior world. Outdoor design is more forgiving than interiors and shouldn’t be totally controlled and not to ignore the other living and breathing things that make the outside gorgeous; think about flora and fauna.”
