This summer may look a bit different than past summers. We will most likely be spending more time in our own yards rather than at the beach, park, or playground. Here are some of our favorite tips and tricks to create a cozy, comfy outdoor living space for your family to enjoy all summer.

Lighting

Don’t let the setting sun mean that it’s time to move indoors, add some lighting to your patio, deck or backyard to make your outdoor space usable at night. On a deck or patio, string lights are a great way to add a soft glow and warmth to the space. In an open backyard, consider adding solar lights or lanterns on the ground.

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Seating

Think about how your family plans to use the outdoor space - will you be dining, lounging, playing? To accommodate all of the different activities you may end up with a few different zones for seating – a table and chairs for dining, another seating area with softer, comfier lounge furniture for reading and chatting, and maybe a third seating area if you have a fire pit in the yard.

Traffic Patterns

You’ll want to establish walkways and traffic patterns for your outdoor space just as you have traffic patterns inside your home around your furnishings and from room to room. These walk spaces and zones could be created with formal walkways such as pavers or crushed stone or by planting shrubs and trees to establish borders between the sitting areas and walk areas. You could also use outdoor rugs on hard surfaces to define different seating areas.

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Play with Color

Your outdoor living space is a great place to experiment with bold pops of color that you might otherwise shy away from in your interior environment. Maybe a bright yellow sofa wasn’t right for your living room but a couple of sunshine yellow lounge chairs might look awesome against the green grass in your backyard.

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Double Duty

If you have a small backyard or small outdoor space, find furnishings that can pull double duty. For example a dining table with a fire pit in the middle, a storage bench that can double as extra seating, or a small end table that doubles as a planter.

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Other Considerations

Make sure the items you’re putting on your patio or deck are meant for the outdoor environment. Outdoor fabrics and furnishings are designed to be fade resistant and quick drying. They may be more of an investment up front but they'll last through many summer seasons. 

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Here are some of our favorite furnishings and accessories for outdoor living spaces.

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