Those of you who know KWD’s work will be familiar with the beautiful outdoor spaces we encourage our clients to create for their homes. After all, with the beautiful Australian climate, enjoying our front gardens, our backyards, our swimming pools and rooftop terraces all year round is so important. A well thought through outdoor space creates a haven for rest and relaxation as well as joyful places for entertaining.
Designing your outdoor space is about carefully considered landscaping and space planning. And having the perfect outdoor furniture adds so much pleasure both visually and for comfort and practicality. We love working with the team at Classic with a Twist. Their range is not only beautiful with so much variety, it is also such high quality that it lasts for years. Their team is very clever at helping us create a unique look for our clients.
Classic with a Twist was launched in 2013 by Mandy de Steiger, who has always had a keen eye for beautiful furniture and homewares. Having travelled the world Mandy found that many high street stores were lacking originality, so she was determined to source products that were unique, original, vibrant and of superior quality. Explains Mandy, “I found that the monochrome look was everywhere – black, white, grey and off-white – so I decided to create Classic with a Twist to offer discerning customers outdoor furniture in a wide range of colours that they would love for years to come.”
Mandy has had a long association with French manufacturer Fermob, one of the most exciting and innovative outdoor furniture companies in the world. She saw untapped potential for the range in Australia and explored setting up an association as a distributor. “I became an official partner of Fermob in 2015 and now have the largest Fermob showroom in Australia. I have a network of resellers in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania as well as selling nationally online,” says Mandy.
Classic with a Twist is predominantly an outdoor furniture expert, with Fermob and now Tectona as their two leading brands. “Having such a large selection of beautiful quality products means we can supply items for a wide range of outdoor living spaces. From large gardens to poolside to alfresco areas to rooftop gardens, we have a collection that is able to cope with a variety of designs and spaces. And with Fermob available in 24 colours we can meet everyone’s needs. Clients can create their own unique look with a colour palette that suits their home.”
Mandy discovered the stunning Tectona range during her last trip to Paris and was completely captivated by the quality, workmanship and the classic contemporary designs. Originally inspired by British Colonial style furniture, Tectona began collaborations with talented designers which resulted in a timeless, elegant and innovative range. Specialising in teak, aluminium and woven resin, Tectona can be found in the finest public buildings in France, notably Chateau de Versailles, Musee Rodin and Musee Picasso. Mandy formed an immediate bond with the owners and is now the sole distributor of Tectona in Australia.
“The key to a successful outdoor area is ambience,” says Mandy. “You want to create a space that draws you outside, and that’s exactly what our furniture from Fermob and Tectona achieves. It needs to be comfortable, you want to be able to move it around and ideally if you have the space you want to create zones.“
An outdoor space needs large comfy chairs to relax and read in, a table and chairs for dining, occasional chairs and tables that can be moved for entertaining, garden benches, sun lounges for beside the pool, fun elements like outdoor rocking chairs and high tables with bar stools.
Adding furniture with colour can create ambience in a subtle or striking, sophisticated way. And, with colour, you can tie in the colour theme with your garden planting.
“We love working with Kate and the KWD team. Kate has such a creative eye and she’s not afraid of colour. We met with her to talk about her new property, Biscayne, and had a lot of fun selecting the perfect outdoor furniture for her. She has chosen some beautiful, stylish and great fun pieces from Tectona and some stunning pieces from Fermob as well.” says Mandy.
In terms of outdoor living trends, Mandy says that the rooftop garden is on the rise. “It’s a huge trend where people are making the most of their rooftop spaces in houses and apartments and our range really caters for this look. There’s also a real trend toward colour. With outdoor tables we have found that customers typically buy white, black, anthracite, cactus and rosemary. They are the five most popular shades.“
“And then they will bring in pops of colour in other ways – side tables, occasional chairs, table mats, balad lamps and trays which all add a different element to an outdoor setting and create character. Kate has ordered a Luxembourg bar trolley which is such a fun, stylish element to add poolside. That’s what’s so wonderful about Fermob, you can keep adding to your outdoor space with innovative designs.”
Classic with a Twist has a showroom and warehouse with a large collection of furniture and homewares, and they carry a wide range of bistro chairs and tables. They recently relocated to a stunning two storey showroom in High Street Armadale. Pop in and have a chat with their talented team who can help you create your own unique outdoor space with much joie de vivre, to enjoy for many years to come.
