With the weather getting warmer, it’s time to get our outdoor spaces spring-ready! So today I’ve gathered together ten of my favorite outdoor decorating ideas to help you upgrade your porches, patios, and decks! Let’s get to it… (post includes commissionable links and is sponsored by Wayfair; for more information, see my full disclosure statement {here})
1. Define Your Outdoor Space With an Area Rug
One of the best ways to anchor or define a space, whether indoors or out, is with an area rug. A single large area rug will do the trick in smaller outdoor spaces while multiple area rugs can be used to define spaces in larger outdoor areas.
On our long and narrow back porch, I added a pair of {these outdoor area rugs} with one rug defining our two-person lounge space:
Other Sources: 5-piece Wood Seating Group | Throws | Basket for plant
and the second rug defining our conversation area:
Having the area rugs define the two spaces not only made our porch more functional, but it looks so much nicer too!
When I refreshed our porch last year, I swapped out my two patterned area rugs for a pair of {these blue framed rugs} which I love the look of too:
These are a few of my other favorite outdoor area rugs, many of which are available in several color options:
Links: 1. Green striped rug | 2. Pink patterned rug | 3. Diamond patterned rug | 4. Blue & gray herringbone rug | 5. Blue framed rug | 6. Beige & white geometric rug | 7. Denim patterned rug | 8. Ivory & blue striped rug | 9. Navy chevron rug
2. Dress Up Tired Outdoor Furniture With New Pillows and Throws
There aren’t many problems that a good pillow or two can’t fix 🙂 Similarly to how I decorate our rooms indoors, I choose neutral furniture pieces for our outdoor spaces and then add color and patterns with pillows and other accessories. These are some of my favorite outdoor pillows:
Links: 1. Palm leaves throw pillow | 2. Blue fish throw pillow | 3. Linen floral throw pillow cover | 4. Orange, pink, & red patterned throw pillow | 5. Green scalloped throw pillow | 6. Indigo throw pillow | 7. Light blue palm leaf throw pillow | 8. Block print floral pillow cover | 9. Pink palm lumbar throw pillow
Throws draped over the back of outdoor chairs are another great option for adding color and pattern to your outdoor space. {These striped tassel throws} that I have in my own outdoor space come in multiple colors and are currently on sale:
3. Create a Potting/Gardening Station
Do you love to garden? Instead of storing your gardening tools in the garage, consider setting up an outdoor gardening station. {This potting station}, which has a large work surface along with a drawer and cabinet for covered storage, would work beautifully:
Here are a few other highly-rated options (scroll and tap images to shop them):
Another option to consider, especially if you want a lot of storage space, is a large outdoor bar cart such as {this one}:
or if you’re just looking for extra storage space and don’t need a work surface, consider {this vertical tool shed} that has tons of storage space and is on big sale:
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 a galvanized steel tub similar to {this one} that I’ve used for many outdoor gatherings:
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:
You can use simple white balloons or change up the balloon colors for the occasion such as blue and pink balloons for a baby shower.
Wayfair also has several options for large outdoor rolling coolers, such as {this rolling cooler} or {this rolling cooler} (which comes in tons of color options) that would be perfect for large parties:
The elevated height makes drinks easy to grab, and I love that they have a drain plug, making them easy to drain and clean after your gathering is over.
5. Bring It to Life 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. If you have a covered outdoor space like mine, you can add interest by putting plants in baskets like {this one} that I have on our back porch:
or you can choose weather-resistant planters like one of these favorites:
Links: 1. White textured stripe planter | 2. Gray tapered planter | 3. Gray striped planter | 4. White ball planter | 5. Gray urn planter | 6. Blue & white ceramic planter | 7. Scalloped edge oval planter | 8. White curved cube planter | 9. Bust planter | 10 & 11. White fluted planters | 12. Black fluted planter
You could also create a “wallscape” of greenery with a grouping of planters, such as I did with {these self-watering planters}:
6. Create A Conversation Area
The arrangement of your outdoor furniture is key to creating a space that encourages conversation to flow. A conversation set of two chairs, a loveseat, and a coffee table is perfect for a small outdoor space. For larger spaces, adding a second pair of chairs and a loveseat gives you seating on all four sides.
Conversation sets are available in a variety of price points, including budget-friendly sets like {this 4-piece set} that’s currently on sale at an amazing price:
Some highly rated, moderately priced, on-sale favorites include {this eucalyptus wood conversation set}, {this gray wood set}, and {this black wrapped wicker set}:
7. Add Shade to Your Space
Our current home is the first where we’ve had a covered outdoor space and we’re lucky that due to the direction it faces, it stays shaded for most of the day. But if your outdoor space gets blasted by the sun, consider an outdoor gazebo such as {this one} that has both privacy curtains and mosquito netting:
It also has built-in battery-operated LED lights to illuminate nighttime gatherings.
If your outdoor space is already covered, consider semi-sheer outdoor curtains such as {these striped grommet curtains} that you can hang on rods across the opening of your space:
Not only are they perfect for providing shade when needed, but they add softness and style too.
An even simpler solution is to use an umbrella or two to provide shade where you need it! You’ll find that you use your outdoor space so much more often. There are a ton of stylish umbrella options to choose from – I especially love umbrellas with scalloped edges:
Source links: 1. Scalloped umbrella | 2 & 3. Layered scallop umbrellas | 4 & 5. Greek key edge umbrellas
If you have a large seating or dining space that you’d like to be shaded, look into a large cantilever umbrella like {this one}. They’re awesome for shading large areas!
8. Consider Foldable Furniture
Do you like to eat outside occasionally but have a small outdoor space that you don’t want taken over by a permanent table and chairs? Consider foldable outdoor furniture! There are tons of good-looking foldable furniture options that make it easy to tuck furniture away when you don’t need it and bring it out when you do.
For dining on our back porch, we have a 48-inch folding table similar to {this one} and four of {these outdoor-friendly folding chairs}:
They’re quick and easy to set up when we want to dine outdoors, and just as easy to fold up and store away in our garage when not in use so we have more space for our outdoor lounging area that we use almost daily.
9. Use String Lights & Lanterns to Set the Mood
Create instant ambience in your outdoor space once the sun goes down with outdoor string lights such as {these}! If you have a covered outdoor space, you can drape two sets diagonally from corner to corner so they criss-cross in the middle. Or you can simply outline your space with string lights like we did with ours:
It truly transformed the feel of our space at night! If your outdoor space isn’t covered, drape string lights from your house to string light poles such as {these} placed on the far side of your patio.
Want more details on using string lights? Check out my post with simple tips for hanging string lights on your covered patio.
Lit lanterns can make an outdoor space feel special at night too! In our previous home, we placed a pair of gold wire lanterns similar to {these} flanking a planter of flowers (snagged from my outdoor hanging basket) down the center of our rectangular outdoor dining table:
During the buggy season, we use lanterns outdoors with citronella scented pillar candles to help keep mosquitos at bay while we dine. You can also buy flameless outdoor candles such as {these} to make “lit” candles worry-free.
These are other favorite lanterns that would be perfect for adding outdoor mood lighting (note that most of these lanterns need to be brought indoors after use):
Links: 1. Natural wood lanterns | 2. Open iron lanterns | 3. White wood lanterns | 4. Classic black iron lanterns | 5. Silver lantern | 6. Gold wire lanterns | 7. Wood bottomed white metal lanterns | 8. Classic gold metal lanterns | 9. Large handled black iron lanterns
10. Grab a Garden Stool (or Two!)
Garden stools can be used indoors for everything from side tables, spots to hold bath towels outside the tub, or 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 them.
The garden stools in our home that transition beautifully from indoors to outdoors include {this diamond cut-out garden stool}:
and {this scalloped concrete stool}:
These are a few other favorites:
Links: 1. Geometric patterned garden stool | 2. Brushstroke stripe garden stool | 3. Medallion cut garden stool | 4. Diamond cut garden stool | 5. Diamond patterned garden stool | 6. Blue floral garden stool | 7. Blue and white plaid garden stool | 8. Black and white patterned garden stool
I hope you found an idea or two that you love for dressing up your outdoor living space!
XO,
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