I'm probably not the only one who grew up with Star Trek and E.T.and Close Encounters of the third Kind and Star Wars and all those other late 20th century classics about space travel that left so many of us optimistic and hopeful about a peaceful,benevolent future with tons of awesome gadgets and wicked cool furnishings.
If so,you'll be as happy as I am to discover that finally,the time has come;now we too can decorate our outdoor spaces with space itself.
Not literally space that is,but space age patio furniture,which is no longer the fanciful dream of wide eyed kids who wondered aloud'Why don't WE have an inflatable couch?'but rather a funky cool reality.
The volume and variety of manufacturers that are producing innovative,eclectic and downright far out designs seems to be growing exponentially,as a quick search online for'Space Age Patio Furniture'confirmed.
New materials and technologies,many interestingly evolved from space exploration itself,have rapidly made their way into mainstream consumer products,with outdoor furniture designs leading the way in both fashion and form.
Plastics,synthetic fibers,graphite and even recycled materials are all being utilized in some of the most beautiful and ground breaking styles and concepts that offer a glimpse into their designer's vision of the future.
Sharp,minimalist geometric forms of slender light weight metallic composites offer crisp elegance,timeless sophistication and metaphysical relaxation that can really help take the edge off when they run out of Soylent Yellow.
Curvaceous,rounded lines of incredibly durable plastic(either new or recycled)offer a softer,more sedentary option,inviting leisurely comfort with just a hint of Clockwork Orange indulgence.
Who would've thought that wood could retain its longevity in 21st and beyond patio furniture design?Thanks to reusable technology that has led to new processing and treatment techniques however,wood is now as flexible a patio furniture material as any synthetic,and can be found in a mind blowing array of shapes,styles and colors that once might only have been seen only on the Holodeck.
Frankly,most of these futuristic designs have to be seen to be believed,as they really do seem from another time and place.
Whether it's a two-seater wicker-ball chair that hangs from a tree,or a complete set of outdoor furnishings that each fold themselves up into a small cube for storage,the variety of forms and materials available to patio furniture manufacturers is literally out of this world,and fortunately they're taking that opportunity and blasting out into space with it.
