An insect free summer in style

I must say, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the unseasonably warm weather of late and revelling in how alive our garden is starting to look! Flowers, bulbs and buds are cropping up everywhere and it has been so nice having our doors open again and being able to entertain outside after months of winter hibernation. The downside, however, is that along with the warm weather comes flies and mosquitos, and we’ve had so many flies the last few days I’m reminded of how irritating summer can be in Australia because of the insects. Flies and mosquitos can really make things unpleasant, especially if you’re entertaining outside, and lets face it, summer in Australia is all about enjoying the outdoors and entertaining!

Image via skonahem.com

We have flyscreens on most of our windows and a set of flyscreen doors going out to our back garden, but all the french doors leading onto our undercover outdoor terrace and front yard, are screenless. Installing flyscreen doors WAS meant to be our first priority when we bought the house at the start of last summer, but somehow it got relegated to our non-essential “To Do” list and now all of a sudden the warm weather is upon us and we are back in Bugville: Population 3.

We are still going to get flyscreen doors, but given we’re also going to be hosting all my family for Christmas this year, plus we have a baby who’s on the verge of crawling and loves being outside, I’ve decided to go one step further and turn our expansive terrace into an insect-free zone by installing mosquito curtains!! It may sound slightly obsessive, but the idea of being able to sit outdoors on Christmas day with food uncovered, not having to shoo away flies every 11 seconds, total bliss!! And being able to carry-on entertaining well into the evening, without being eaten alive by mosquitos or having to slather yourself in toxic bug repellant, even better.

Image via problemsolvers.com

I’ve been searching for companies in Australia that do outdoor mosquito curtains and can’t seem to find many, but I have come across a company in America www.mosquitocurtains.com who make them and the best part is they ship to Australia!

Of course, it goes without saying the curtains need to be practical and effective, but they also need to be stylish as our terrace can be seen from the street so it’s very much apart of the visual appeal of our home. Our terrace is not as beautiful as this one below (well not yet at least!), but it is a similar size and look with doors and windows opening onto it, with one end open (where our BBQ is) while the length opens onto the front yard.

Image via Pinterest

I’m really excited at the prospect of being able to turn our outdoor terrace into a much more usable and enjoyable area in summer, whilst still keeping things stylish and allowing for fresh air, sans the flies and mozzies!! Below is some of my inspiration and great examples of what we’re hoping to achieve.

Top and below images via Corey Amaro’s blog Tongue In Cheek. The images are of a gorgeous house in Provence. Isn’t this just simply divine?!

Below four images from mosquitocurtains.com

Available in White, Ivory and Black. We’re leaning towards black as we’ll soon be painting our windows and doors a mid charcoal grey, and our brickwork and pergola is white. White netting gives a more dreamy, romantic look, while black adds a bit of drama, will give the effect of charcoal, and your view out is clearer through black netting.

Of course if you can’t have insect curtains, then why not create an insect free area in your garden? It makes the perfect spot for lunch, or a great place to sit and read a book without being accosted by insects! The below two images are via Desde My Ventana blog

If you don’t care for mosquito netting outside, then inside is the perfect spot to retreat, insect free, whilst still being able to enjoy the summer breeze. We are loving this gorgeous fishermans cottage on Shelter Island, NY, from SchappacherWhite Architecture