04 David Dalton
Several years ago, Los Angeles-based interior designer, furniture manufacturer, and frequent HGTV guest David Dalton was asked to participate in a Pasadena Showcase House of Design and was completely caught off guard by the space he was asked to remodel - an outdoor patio. Having never conceived a room for outdoor living, Dalton wasn't sure he was up to the challenge. And after surveying the cookie-cutter outdoor furniture collections already on the market, he thought his instincts just might be right.

"There is a lot of outdoor furniture [available], but there really wasn't anything as luxurious and beautifully constructed as one would find indoors," offers Dalton, who ended up creating his own line of aluminum furniture finished with a powder-coated bronze that mirrored his personal predilection for opulent, neoclassical-inspired design. Now those prototypes have become the inspiration for a signature 21-piece collection of indoor-­outdoor furniture that has so far caught the attention of everyone from Janet Jackson and Denzel Washington to Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez.

"There seems to be a trend now to bring the degree of luxury that would typically be found indoors to the outside, and that extends to everything from furnishings and fireplaces to chandeliers and [waterproof] carpets," says Dalton. His collection, starting at $1,600, encompasses dining tables, lounge chairs, and love seats, as well as bar stools, chaises, and benches. The quality of Dalton's designs clearly resonates in the designer's attention to ­details: deep-seated, button-tufted cushions covered in waterproof, velvetlike fabrics, resin-cast tassels, and individually hand-hammered nail-head trim, hand-painted with water-­resistant gold epoxy. "Other people have referred to the collection as California Regency style, and that name seems to fit," adds Dalton. The Arroyo Collection by David Dalton Associates, (323) 525-3155, www.daviddaltoninc.com Pictured: Arroyo bar cart, lounge chair, and chaise