Outdoor Living – Summer Patio Decorating Ideas

Get your patio looking its best with these simple summer patio decorating ideas.  Outdoor living tips and tricks to make the most out of your space and create the backyard paradise you’re looking for!

Seasonal Simplicity Summer Series

I’m back again for another week of Krista’s Seasonal Simplicity Summer series! This time we’re all about simple summer decor in our outdoor spaces. Patios, decks, backyards… bring them on! You can find everyone’s gorgeous outdoor inspiration at the end of the post, so be sure to visit around.  It will definitely make you want to get outside and start decorating!

Summer Patio Decorating Ideas

Today, I wanted to take you on a little tour of our backyard patio. In case you missed it, last summer we did a BIG patio makeover.  We completely tore down our old wooden patio and put in a much larger, partially covered deck. With the new design, we’ve been able to use it so much more and I could pretty much live out here all summer long. {If only I could get rid of those pesky mosquitoes!}

Outdoor Living

We have a lot of rainy months around here, so when the warm weather hits, I want to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  The whole outdoor living thing is definitely my jam.  During the summer months, we eat most of our meals outside and we’ll often watch movies or shows outside during the evening.  We don’t have air conditioning in our house, so the patio is so much cooler!

Define Your Zones

The first thing you want to do when designing your patio space, is to decide what functions you want it to serve.  Do you want a space to eat?  A space to relax?  A spot to entertain?  If you’re short on space, prioritize your needs.  You want to think about how often your would use a space and pick those areas that would have the biggest impact on your outdoor enjoyment.

Eating Area

Our patio is east facing, and I love having breakfast out here in the morning sun before it gets too hot.  By the time dinner rolls around, the table is in the shade and a cool spot to eat. I wanted the table right off the patio doors for easy access from the kitchen, and the round table helps to open up the space a bit more to allow for better traffic flow.

 

Sitting Area

You’ll want some kind of sitting area on your patio to sit and relax, chat with friends, or read a book.  Since we have the sofa in the covered area, we went with two oversized chairs {and a table that doubles as a foot rest!} for our little sitting spot.  This is usually where I sit for breakfast or an afternoon rest with a good book or magazine.

We also have one lounger in case an afternoon nap is needed. I prefer the sofa in the shade, but my husband likes to lay out in the sun.  You can find all of my tips and tricks for cleaning patio cushions HERE.

Add Some Privacy

Since our patio is fairly low to the ground, we decided not to add a railing to it.  Instead we added a simple wooden privacy on each end of the deck to help separate the space from our neighbours’ yard.  The creeping virginia vine adds some extra priavcy and a pop of green {and it grows like crazy!!}

Beverage Bar

I showed you our drink station a few weeks ago.  It gets pretty well used when we’re entertaining and I’ll often use it even when I’m out on the deck on my own.  I like to fill the drink dispenser up with some infused water and drink it during the morning while I’m outside working.  In addition to being used as a drink station, we also store napkins, coasters, and extra BBQ supplies here.  You can read HERE for tips on setting up your own outdoor beverage cart.

Flowers

I love container gardening and have quite a few planters and a couple of hanging baskets spread around the deck. Be sure to add only what you know you’ll be able to take of.  If you’re not a big fan of gardening, you might just want a couple of planters to add a little color and life to your space.  Just a few flowers looks a lot better than a bunch of dead ones! You can find all of my tips and tricks on how to care for hanging baskets and planters HERE.

I also like to add some solar lights to our larger planters for some extra glow at night. There’s just something magical about twinkling lights under the summer skies.

Shady Spot

Even if you really like the sun, you probably still want to have some area that you can escape from the heat and cool off.  If you don’t have a covered area, look for a large tilting umbrella or other sun shelter to use in your space.

We covered half of the deck with our patio renovation and it’s really allowed us to use the space so much more.  We have somewhere to go when it’s too hot, and can also still spend time out here if it’s raining. The covered area is also awesome for storing the patio cushions when the weather is bad instead of having to lug them all into the house.

The coffee table is actually a fire table that’s run on propane gas.  We’ll just take off the table runner if we’re needing some heat or are craving some roasted marshmallows.

BBQ Zone

One of the best parts about having the covered patio is being able to have the BBQ out year round.  This is Dave’s little spot and he’s quite the BBQ master {despite being vegetarian!}. Since the sofa is right there, his friends can hang around and have a drink while he’s BBQing – even if it’s raining.  If your BBQ is in need of a good cleaning, check this tutorial on How to Clean a BBQ.

I hope you enjoyed the tour and can use some of these simple patio decorating ideas!

 

More Outdoor Summer Decor Ideas

For more outdoor decorating inspiration, check out these posts from some of my talented blogging friends. There are so many beautiful outdoor ideas that I know you’ll LOVE!

The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Rooms for Rent / Bless’er House

Shabbyfufu / Summer Adams / Making it in the Moutains / TIDBITS

Confessions of a Serial DIYer / Clean and Scentsible / Just a Girl and Her Blog / Stacy Risenmay

Zevy Joy / Finding Silver Pennies / Deeply Southern Home / A Pretty Life

Southern State of Mind / Amber Tysl / Newly Woodwards

You may also find these posts helpful…

DIY Wooden Holder with Lantern

How to Clean Outdoor Patio Cushions

Summer Kitchen Decorating Ideas