Outdoor decorating Ideas: My Summer Porch and Patio

Summer is here and it’s time to spend more time outside! Here are some outdoor decorating ideas to help you turn your patio or porch into a welcome retreat for your family. 

I am also joining Marty from A Stroll Thru Life and 30 bloggers to share our spring decorating ideas! If you came over from Our Fifth House thank you for coming by! Doesn’t Carmel have the best ideas for summer? I just adore her decorating style.

If you are new here, welcome! I am Ashley, wife and mom to two young kids. We live in the suburbs of San Francisco and we have been updating our California ranch since we moved in 9 years ago. My husband is a contractor – follow along as we tackle our home renovation one project at a time!

Outdoor Decorating Ideas

It can seem daunting trying to get your space ready for the warmer months. Winter weather can wreak havoc on our yards and patios. And once you have your outdoor space cleaned up, you may feel at a loss on how to decorate it so your family can make the most use of the space.

Here in California we have about 7 months of the year where the weather is nice enough to spend most days outside. So, I consider myself a bit of an expert in making the most of our yard and patio for outdoor living and entertaining! Our house is small so it’s important to have an extension of our living space outside. And it’s also great for summer get togethers and parties too!

Outdoor decorating tips

Here are some ideas for decorating your outdoor patio

• Choose a simple color scheme. Because most outdoor spaces are set amongst beautiful green foliage, you don’t need to go overboard on colors. Now that doesn’t mean you can’t choose happy and bright colors, but rather you may not need as many colors as you would indoors. Choose one or two colors for your overall theme and add texture and flowers in for interest.
• Think of each space as an extension of your home. Decorate your outdoor living room as you would your indoor one. Place throw pillows on the couch for comfort. Have blankets on hand for chillier nights. And make each space inviting for guests and family to enjoy.
• Outdoor rugs are a great way to create different living areas. Because the outdoors doesn’t have walls, like the inside of our homes do, rugs are a great way to differentiate spaces for different uses. Place a rug underneath two chairs to create a small conversation area. Or use a rug under an outdoor sectional to ground the space.

And if you are planning on hosting a backyard party this summer be sure to read my guide to Backyard Party Ideas and Recipes!

Now, let me give you a little tour of what our summer outdoor areas look like this year.

My Summer Patio

This is our backyard where we spend the most time. I have created a large seating area just outside our great room. The sofa we have had for a few years now. It was a great find from the Restoration Hardware outlet. I love that the cushions are a soft gray that make them completely versatile to new color schemes!

Remember my outdoor decorating idea about colors? Here I have a palette of blue and white with a pop of yellow. Really the greenery makes the biggest impact here, which I love.

If you have been following along for awhile now, you know that my biggest design tip is to choose furnishings in a neutral color so that you can easily and affordably change the look and color in a room through accessories.

I purchased a few new items for this outdoor living room. New chairs from Target were affordable and are so stylish! The egg chair and two club chairs are from Target’s Opalhouse line. I think they totally nailed it this year with their outdoor collection! You can find all sources at the bottom of this post.

I also found this beautiful blue and white striped ottoman at our local Serena & Lily outlet. Shopping outlets or second hand is a great way to stay on budget when updating a space.

And another outdoor decorating idea is to bring a little bit of the indoors outside. Here I have my favorite candle onto of the ottoman. It really sets the mood in the evenings and I love the way it smells. By placing it inside a large glass vessel, it is protected from the wind blowing it’s flame out.

My Summer Front Porch

Now, let me show you our front porch! This is where we love to sit in the mornings drinking coffee and in the afternoons when the kids are riding their bikes up and down the street. Our porch gets a lot of action, so updating our two hanging chairs with comfortable cushions and cute accessories is something I love to do.

A simple outdoor decorating idea is to update your pillows for a totally new look for a little amount of money. It makes such a big impact!

I added a small table out here for setting drinks on and used an affordable circle rug from Target to ground the space. New pillows and cute beach towels bring this space to life.

Don’t be afraid to use items for something other than their intended purpose. Think outside the box when decorating your outdoors! This year I had a great idea: rather than use blankets on these chairs, I decided to place cute beach towels here for easy washing and cleaning. And I think they add the perfect pop of color to the space.

Sources

More Summer Decorating Ideas

Next on Summer Home Tour is Designing Vibes.

And be sure to check out all of the home tours that are happening this week!

 A Stroll Thru Life , Southern Hospitality,  Far Above Rubies,  Cuckoo4Design

 Setting For Four,  Pink Peppermint Design

 Remodelando La Casa, Inspiration For Moms,  ZDesign At Home, House By Hoff ,
Duke Manor Farm,  Decor To Adore

Haneens Haven, Monica Wants It, The Chronicles Of Home,  Follow The Yellow Brick Home
Thrifty & Chic Hymns & Verses

Clean &Scentsible , Sincerely Marie Designs ,  11 Magnolia Lane , Thrifty Decor Chic 

Seeking Lavender Lane,  Our Southern Home 

 White Arrow Homes, Our Fifth House, Modern Glam, Designing Vibes
Decorating Delirium,  Life On Cedar Lane

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ashley

Hi I’m Ashley, wife and mom of 2 young kids. Here, I hope to inspire you by sharing my favorite home decor ideas, easy DIY projects and simple but delicious recipes (sometimes they are pretty healthy too)!

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