Backyard Design Ideas: Creating Celebrity Style with World Market

Disclosure: This post, featuring backyard design ideas and makeover inspiration, is sponsored by World Market and includes affiliate links. But I only recommend products and companies I love. Read my full disclosure policy here.

I have been keeping a huge secret about a project I’ve been working on with one of my favorite stores and one of my favorite celebrities from one of my favorite shows!

Finally, today I can spill the beans…

I had the opportunity to design a backyard oasis for the actress Lesley Nicol and her husband, featuring outdoor furniture and decor from World Market.

Do you recognize Lesley out of costume? This might help…

She portrayed Mrs. Patmore, the cook, on Downton Abbey, and you know how much I love that show.

Lesley and her husband, Da’aboth, moved into Los Angeles home in 2014. One of the things they love about their new home is the lush, secluded backyard. But they rarely spent any time there because the space wasn’t furnished or cozy.

But World Market and I took care of that, creating a backyard oasis with separate zones for dining, conversation and lounging.

I’m pretty thrilled with how it turned out, and so are Lesley and Da’aboth. “Because the weather here is so good much of the time, we are just loving spending many hours when we are at home in our stunning ‘made over’ backyard,” she told me in an email.

Before we get to the big reveal of the space, I want to talk a little bit about the design process and show you some before photos.

As you can see, the house has a great brick patio and lots of natural vegetation.

But there was limited seating — a lone chaise lounge.

The yard also has a pretty little gazebo that I thought would be perfect for outdoor dining.

Lesley told us that she wanted a seating area, and that she liked the Praiano Outdoor Occasional Furniture Collection and the Seaside Modern seasonal collection from World Market.

Armed with that information, and the before photos, I got to work picking products and creating mood boards with my backyard design ideas.

This was my plan for the conversation area.

Those gorgeous Gabriella Tile outdoor pillows helped define the color scheme for the entire backyard oasis. As you’ll see, we used aqua, navy and turquoise throughout.

This was my design plan for the lounging area.

I really wanted Lesley and her husband to have a cozy and relaxing outdoor room, and so I included a lot of the same comforts you’d find in an indoor room.

For the gazebo, I wanted to create a spot where Lesley and Da’aboth could enjoy romantic dinners together and also entertain friends. So I used lots of outdoor lanterns and outdoor candles to create that ambience.

Do you want to see how the space turned out?

“I can’t tell you how (this makeover) has brought this space alive,” Lesley told me.

It’s always exciting to see a “finished” room or space I’ve designed. But the bigger thrill comes from knowing people are enjoying the space and feeling at home there. So, I’m really delighted to know that Lesley and Da’aboth and their adorable pups are enjoying it.

Unfortunately, because of timing and distance, I wasn’t able to be at Lesley’s home for the design installation. A team from World Market and a fellow blogger who lives in California did all the on-site work.

I’m indebted to the World Market team and Laura of Make Life Lovely for making my design vision come to life. Laura also graciously provided all the after photos since I couldn’t be there to shoot them myself.

She’s also sharing more about the makeover experience on her blog today. Be sure to check out her post. (I’m only a tiny bit jealous that she got to meet Lesley and Da’aboth.)

Lesley and I did chat by FaceTime after the space was finished, and she gave me the grand tour. While we were talking, her husband was napping in this chaise lounge. So I think it’s safe to say they’re already enjoying their backyard oasis.

“It’s such a nice place to snooze,” she quipped.

It looks like the entire family likes it!

I’ll be sharing a complete source list of the all the products used in this backyard makeover at the end of this post.

But I wanted to show you a few details that I hope might inspire your own backyard design ideas and plans.

Don’t these seaside colored bulbs look great hanging from the Gabriella umbrella?

This pretty flower pot is actually a hand-painted utensil holder.

Because this space is designed for entertaining, I wanted to make sure there was plenty of seating for guests, as well as lots of side tables where people can set their drinks.

This peacoat blue drum stool serves double duty.

In the gazebo, we kept Lesley’s “shabby chic” round glass table, but topped it with a Gabriella Tile oilcloth tablecloth. We also swapped the chairs for four dark navy Kaliko French bistro chairs. (I’m so in love with these fabulous outdoor chairs that I had to buy some for my own patio makeover, which I’ll be unveiling soon!)

There’s also a pretty new rug underfoot that is actually reversible!

The table is set for a dinner party.

But I’m pretty sure that Da’aboth, and not Lesley, is the head cook in the family.

What would Mrs. Patmore say about that?  (I’m pretty sure Daisy and Edith would approve.)

World Market has some gorgeous outdoor lanterns, and I couldn’t resist using a collection of them in the gazebo. I bet they’re magical at night!

If you want to read more about how this World Market outdoor makeover came together, be sure to visit Laura at Make Life Lovely for the behind-the-scenes story.

Backyard Design Ideas Source List

As promised, here’s the full list of products we used for the patio and gazebo makeover:

Gabriella 9 Foot Umbrella Canopy
40-pound Metal Umbrella Stand
5×8 Santiago Paisley Reversible Indoor Outdoor Rug
Wood Praiano Outdoor Occasional Chair
Wood Praiano Outdoor Occasional Bench
Wood Praiano Outdoor Storage Coffee Table
Wood Praiano Outdoor Storage Side Table
Peacoat Punched Metal Dimitri Drum Stool
Blue Metal and Wood Tristan Stool
Seaside-Colored Bulb String Lights
Blue Stripe Cotton Outdoor Throw
24-inch Peacoat Blue Outdoor Throw Pillow
Gabriella Tile Outdoor Throw Pillow
White Cruz Embroidered Outdoor Lumbar Pillow
Large Antiqued Zinc Latika Tabletop Lanterns
Lagoon Rectangular Lacquer Tray
Rope Wrapped Citronella Jar Candles
Hexagonal Mango Wood Lantern
Rustic Aqua Flameless LED Candles
Cast Stone Dewi Sri Head
Mint and Gray Ombre Glass Tealight Holders
Diamond Glass Josie Tealight Candleholders
Blue Cruz Embroidered Outdoor Lumbar Pillow
18-inch Blue Canton Outdoor Throw Pillow 
Peacoat Blue Outdoor Chaise Lounger
Light Blue Cadiz Accent Table
Small Aqua Colored Glass Raya Tabletop Lantern
Blue/Green Large Multicolored Glass Hanging Ball Raya Lantern
Stamped Glass Teardrop Clear Raya Lantern
Dark Navy Kaliko French Bistro Chairs Set of 2
11-inch Blue Aegean Melamine Plates
Coastal Melamine Dinner Plates
Ribbed Acrylic Stemless Glasses
Coastal Melamine Bowls 
Blue and White Striped Napkins
Pacifica Hand Painted Ceramic Utensil Holder
Driftwood Chargers,
Blue and White Pacifica Reversible Rio Floor Mat
Round Gabriella Tile Oilcloth Tablecloth