Creating Outdoor Spaces That Feel Like Indoor Rooms Is All About the Details and Accents

If you’ve been browsing home décor magazines, catalogs or websites over the last several years, you’ve probably noticed the trend to create outdoor patio and porch spaces that rival your favorite indoor rooms.  When it’s done right, an outdoor “room” can almost make you feel like you’re on vacation. Did you know that studies have found that spending time outside can lower blood pressure, stress and anxiety and boost your immune system, improve your mood and increase your self-esteem.

You might think that creating vacation worthy outdoor rooms depends primarily on the furniture, but we believe it’s really all about the details and accents: pillows, throws, rugs, tablecloths, table runners, placemats, wall décor, lights, curtains, lanterns, candles, pots of all different sizes filled with a variety of plants and flowers . . . These create a layered look that invites you to sit down and stay awhile.

We have a lot of fun accessories in the store right now that will easily bring life to your porch, patio or pool area. Add a “Porch Rules” or “ a summer place” pillow to your seating arrangement, a “Welcome to Our Porch” wall hanging to that blank area and a sisal rug like this one created just for “The Porch.”  Place a pair of oversized wood lanterns/candle holders next to a side chair or mixed in with some of your flower pots, or you could hang them from a hook if you have a place for that.  Create a center piece for your cocktail or dining table and mix some of our faux greenery in with your live plants or flowers.  They won’t require any watering and will always look great.  When company is coming over, drape a few throws over a few of the chairs, especially if you’re gathering in the evening or at night, when the temperature falls just enough to create a chill.

Add ambiance by hanging a few strings of solar-powered lights on deck posts or in the trees, placing a set of solar-powered lights among your landscaping (or even in a flower pot or two!) and positioning an up-light under a large tree. So on nights when it’s too hot to be outside or it’s raining, you can appreciate the beauty of the outdoors from the inside.

If you’re hosting a pool party, our galvanized “Party Boat” makes a fun centerpiece for your drink station. Fill it with bottles of water, wine and more. Add some color to your party with these stemless silicone wine cups, woven round “beach towels” that look even better as table cloths and a lumbar pillow featuring flip flops.  Prop a “Pool Forecast: Sunny” or “This Way to the Beach” sign among your flower pots or hang it off the back of a chair. 

So what are you waiting for? Call up a few friends and invite them over for a summer celebration. Or just make a point of spending more time outside with your family — serve dinner on the patio one night a week, take your morning coffee out to the porch, relax pool side with your book at sunset, set up an outdoor movie night on the lawn or driveway. Or, better yet, do all of these and more. Summer is just getting started.