Decorating Your Outdoor Living Space

Whether you have just had a deck or patio installed, or moved into a home with an existing outdoor living space, the question remains, how do you decorate the space? Here are several tips on decorating your outdoor living space, while staying true to the style and your personal preferences. Let’s take your outdoor space to the next to the next level using theme, color, and the addition of foliage, shading elements, and lighting fixtures.

It is important to play into the style or theme of your outdoor space, whether that is contemporary, traditional, industrial, rustic, or your personal preference. You want to make sure that all of the decorating you apply to the space agrees with the style of your deck. For example, a contemporary deck requires modern furniture and most often has cleaner lines and sharper angles. A rustic style deck on the other hand, would feature earthy tones, softer lines, and possibly woven furniture for an organic feel.

Example of a contemporary deck (Picture from timbertech.com).

A more traditional deck (picture form timbertech.com).

Try accenting your space with pops of color! Neutral, (waterproof) furniture with accent colors will add unity and definition to the space. This extra touch can make the difference between a “nice” outdoor space and a “stunning” one. The color can come from flowers, chair cushions, or even throw pillows. Using neutral furniture also allows you to change up your accent colors easily and affordably so that you don’t have to replace all of your furniture when you want to change your accent colors!

Accenting with light colors, on top of neutral furniture (picture from timbertech.com).

Using bright accent colors (picture from timbertech.com).

Adding potters or a container garden to your space serves multiple purposes. Flowers and other plants lend those unifying pops of color described previously. Potters can also be arranged around your deck or patio in a way to define the space. A container or potter garden also creates the potential for a large variety of plants in a small space. For example, someone living in an apartment with a small deck and no yard has a limited amount of space to work with and potters add interest and color without taking up a lot of space. Larger or taller plants can also be arranged to create privacy. Choose the material and color of your pots carefully, acting as a continuation of the style you are creating. Terracotta, wood, concrete, polyurethane foam, and even metal are all options for pot material. Polyurethane is very light-weight and easy to move around. Terracotta is warm and pretty but fragile. Wood can have a very versatile look. Concrete and Metal can carry multiple themes, so make sure you have a theme in mind when using these.

Using potted plants for color and space definition. Picture from beeyouifullife.com).

Using tall grasses for privacy (picture from pinterest.com).

Adding an umbrella or some type of canopy to your outdoor living space is another great feature. This is not only useful but also visually appealing. It will add to your color scheme, and the additional shade provides you with the ability to spend more time enjoying your deck or patio, even on a hot, sunny day. Umbrellas are easy to set up and take down and can be moved almost anywhere to accommodate your outdoor activities.

An umbrella lending a pop of color (christysports.com).

If you are looking to add that “extra something” to your patio or deck, consider installing a small water feature, fire bowl, or lighting. A fire bowl or small water feature adds a unique and luxurious feel. Adding lighting fixtures such as solar lanterns looks beautiful and is practical for night time use of your outdoor living space.

Example of a small, easy-to-install water feature (overstock.com)

In the end, it is most important that you love the look of your deck or patio. Hopefully these tips aid you in your decorating decisions and help you achieve the look you want! To learn more from a local interior design and architecture professional check out L’IMAGE Design Studio’s website. Don’t forget to contact Cedarbrook to create the outdoor living space of your dreams!