Five Favorite Simple Outdoor Decor Ideas

1. Define Your Outdoor Space With an Area Rug

Just like I use rugs to define large indoor rooms, rugs work really well for defining outdoor spaces too! Our North Carolina home has a covered patio which is amazing for enjoying the beautiful weather but kind of awkward when it comes to decorating it because it’s long and narrow. We added {this outdoor rug} last spring and it really helped to define the new space we set up for lounging:

Other Sources: 5-piece Wood Seating Group  |  Throws  |  Basket for plant

I plan to create an outdoor dining area next to it and will add a second rug to our porch to define my dining space too. Along with the rug I chose for our porch, these are a few of my favorites that I came across in my outdoor rug search:

Sources: 1. Blue stripe rug  |  2. Blue & gray geometric rug  |  3. Dark gray diamond rug  |  |  4. Black & white lattice rug  |  5. Buffalo plaid rug   |  6. Light gray ivied trellis rug  |  7. Navy diamond & stripe rug  |  8. Moroccan diamond rug  |  9. Denim patterned rug

2. Bring It Alive with Greenery

Whether it’s planters on your patio or lush landscaping around the perimeter of it, nothing livens up an outdoor space like greenery. It can be as simple as a vase of wildflowers for when you’re entertaining – I clip these blooms that grow in our woods every year and not only are they free but they can stand the hot sun without wilting like store bought flowers do:

I also love putting some plants in planters or baskets like {this one} that I had on our back porch last year:

3. Dress Up Tired Outdoor Furniture With Some Fresh Pillows

There aren’t many problems that a good pillow or two can’t fix 🙂 We finally got some new outdoor furniture last year but before that we were getting by with some old outdoor furniture that had seen better days. Every year we’d take the covers off of it in spring and say we really needed to buy some new furniture but as soon as I threw some pretty pillows on it, we’d decide it looked good enough to get through yet another year!

One of my tried and true favorites is {this banana leaf pillow cover} that’s a budget friendly find at under $25:

And for a little more you can get {this cute version of it} with pink piping. These are a few other outdoor pillow faves:

Sources: 1. Blue rope pillow cover  |  2. Medallion block print pillow  |  3. Blue arches pillow cover  |  4. Yellow & gray striped pillow cover  |  5. Green stripe pillow cover  |  6. Pair Bohemian diamond pillow covers  |  7. Blue striped pillow cover

4. Get Creative With Coolers for Entertaining

Galvanized tubs, buckets, and pails not only make awesome outdoor planters but they’re also the perfect shabby chic coolers! I have and love {this galvanized steel tub} (mine is the standard size):

And if you want to spend just a little more time to make things festive, a fun change-up is to use frozen water balloons instead of ice to chill beverages. I used white balloons but it would also be fun to do with colorful balloons such as blue, pink, and white for a baby shower:

You can probably hunt down something unique in your home that can do double duty as a creative cooler too! One of my favorites is using the giant faux clamshell that used to sit on the long dining room table in our old house as an “ice bucket” for wine (mine isn’t available anymore but {this clam shell} is similar): 

5. Garden Stools Are a Win for Outdoor Drink Tables

Garden stools are the best! You can use them indoors for everything from side tables, a spot to hold bath towels outside the tub, and even extra seating in a pinch. And since most are made for outdoor use too, in the spring and summer you can move them outside for use as drink tables. It saves you from buying extra porch or patio furniture for the few months a year that you’ll use it. 

The garden stools in our home that transition beautifully from indoors to out include {this diamond cut-out garden stool}:

Other Sources: Rattan chair  |  Fringed cream pillow on chair  | Honeycomb rug  |  Gray & white pillow on sectional 

and {this white medallion patterned stool}:

Other Sources: Rug  |  Similar table  |  Ceiling light fixture

These are a few other favorites:

Sources: 1. Brushstroke stripe garden stool  |  2. Geometric patterned garden stool  |  3. Medallion cut garden stool  |  4. Diamond cut garden stool  |  5. Classic blue & white garden stool  |  6. White cement garden stool  |  7. Blue floral garden stool  | 8. White squared edge garden stool