First of all, it’s important to zone off an appropriate space to use. Where is up to you, but you’ll need to balance between the kind of atmosphere you want to create with the limitations of your space.

Corners are useful for outdoor space because they are inherently cosy and help ensure that your outdoor space doesn’t dominate your garden. Plus, the closer your outdoor space is to your back door, the more of a sense of continuity you can create with your interior aesthetic.

By all means make your outdoor space beautiful and a reflection of your own personal style. But you should also carefully consider the intended function of the space. Is it somewhere you intend to be able to relax in solitude with a good book after a hard day’s work? Is it intended as a social space? Will it be a site for relaxed family dinners or opulent garden parties?

There are no right or wrong answers here, of course, but it will have an impact on what furniture you use, how you place it and the spatial relationships between pieces. You’ll need to balance your creative and aesthetic desires with the needs of the space.

While your outdoor space should certainly have its creature comforts like furniture, partial shelter and perhaps even a patio heater for overcast days or chilly nights, it should also embrace the natural world. After all, that’s what the great outdoors is all about.

So, while your outdoor space will inevitably contain man-made items like furniture, ornaments and other decor, try and combine it with natural beauty. Use all-natural materials like mood, stone, cotton and wool. Add outdoor plants to your space or try growing climbers on your patio or pergola.

The natural world, as evidenced in the garden around you, has its own visual language which is rich in colours, hues and textures. Think about the relationship between these in your garden and the pleasing juxtapositions that they can create. Think about how the vivid purple of your geraniums contrasts with the lush green of your lawn.

Now think about how you can incorporate similar relationships in your outdoor space. For example, contrasting neutral shades of your furniture and coverings with the vivid colours of your garden. Think about contrasting wood with metal, or a textured rug with smooth throw pillows. These will make your outdoor space more visually intriguing yet comforting and cosy.

Everything about your interior decor is specifically chosen to reflect your personality and unique sense of style. It’s what makes you so able to feel at home when you are, indeed, at home.

So, given that your interiors are an expression of who you are, why not extend your interior design concept into your outdoor space. Use similar colours, textures, shapes and materials to create a unified aesthetic that brings the inside out.

Part of what’s great about an outdoor space is that it provides a charming interstice between the indoors and the outdoors, offering the cosiness and comfort of the indoor with the natural beauty of the outdoor world.

Having some shade, whether it’s an actual ceiling or merely a canopy of overhanging plants or trees, is a great way to compartmentalise your space and give it that “best of both worlds” feel. Plus, if the rain should start falling (or a magpie goose should decide to drop something while flying over your home) a ceiling will provide some much-needed cover and protect your furniture and decorations.

Your outdoor space is a wonderful place in which to sip white wine on sunny days, enjoy lunch al fresco with your family or entertain guests at one of your famous garden-based soirees. But when the night draws in and your space starts to get a bit chilly, make sure that you have the means to keep warm.

A patio heater is a great way to do this, but in lieu of one of these big imposing machines, there’s nothing wrong with making sure that you have plenty of blankets and throws which you, your family or your guests can wrap up warm with so you can enjoy your outdoor space long into the night.

Lighting can make all the difference to a space, whether it’s indoors or outdoors. And when it comes to your outdoor space, you have so many opportunities for beautiful lighting that will add to the magical ambience of your space.

Candles, fairy lights, tealight lanterns. They can all lend your outdoor space a magical and whimsical sense of ambience while making it extra cost at night.