A well-designed addition can have a stunning effect on your home. Ranging in style, color, and detail, outdoor decor is a fun way to create an extension of your favorite living spaces. Find ideas from stylish outdoor kitchens to intimate conversation areas.
Set the Scene
Surrounded by bright colors, stucco walls, and tropical plants, why bother globe-trotting? This Asian-island-inspired backyard oasis is the perfect spot to entertain guests and enjoy nature. An oversize umbrella ties the outdoor room elements together, providing guests a place to socialize in the shade.
Table for Entertaining
Between the seating and cooking areas can be an ideal spot for a dining table. This long table provides ample room for hosting a dinner party. A turquoise-stained concrete patio resembles cool water for an added tropical setting.
Give your outdoor room a style upgrade with these quick, easy, and affordable ideas.
Open Invitation
Make your outdoor room a fun place to entertain with all the amenities: comfortable seating, a cozy fire pit, natural plantings, and a food prep station. The layout of the room lets food go straight from grill to table while giving guests plenty of room to socialize.
Landscape Lighting Tips
Focus on Entertaining
The backyard includes a full outdoor kitchen. The L-shape concrete bar is equipped with space-saving under-the-counter appliances, including a refrigerator, icemaker, trash collector, warming and utility drawers, and a grill.
Elements of Style
Natural materials create a cohesive look from the front of the house to the back. Here, Abalone shells and river stones clad the fire pit and stylistically sync with the base of the bar.
Just-Right Shading
A canopy system and right-size furnishings turn this deck into an inviting hangout. Retractable shade panels on a sliding track are attached to the pergola and block the sun’s rays. The panels’ neutral taupe color makes them look like an extension of the home.
Perfect Size
For smaller spaces, a quaint outdoor dining table and chairs are perfect for enjoying a casual meal and taking in the great outdoors. Here, a modest-size dining set with armless chairs provides ample seating without taking up too much space. Playful chartreuse seat cushions add zip to the deck’s honey-hue stain, and potted plants embellish this outdoor oasis.
Versatile Outdoor Pieces
A low-profile cedar bench is perfect for in-the-moment needs; it maximizes seating on this deck and is easy to move around. Striped outdoor throw pillows cushion seating spots and add playful color that can be easily changed with the season.
Two-In-One Outdoor Room
Blend the rest of your backyard to stage a perfect space for outdoor living. A walk-out patio below the deck offers additional seating in the shade with a dining set and hammock swing. Fabric curtains give the option of creating more privacy or blocking sunlight.
Indoors to Outdoors
Turn a basic deck into a true living room by creating an inviting place to chat with friends and family. Here, a ready-made gazebo tent is integrated into the decorating scheme to offer protection from the sun and creates an intimate setting. A dining-height table does double duty as a coffee table and eating area for alfresco meals, while an attractive synthetic rug is an affordable option to ground the space.
Splendid Shades
Nature-inspired accessories and outdoor furniture create easy comfort in this outdoor space. Roller shades attached to the tent rails provide additional protection from the sun and privacy, making the vintage teak daybed a perfect spot for backyard lounging.
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Barely-There Storage
Pretty pillows and cozy throws make a space feel lived-in and homey. Use a wicker basket to store nonweather resistant pillows and throws. The basket can easily be transported outdoors, and provides a designated spot to toss items that need to go indoors when the weather turns less than favorable.
Blend into Your Surroundings
Weather-resistant fabric panels provide a romantic backdrop to this outdoor room, hiding the tent’s structure and giving the space an intimate, enclosed feel. An assortment of potted plants blends the room with the yard.