As we enter the summer season, it’s the perfect time to create a cozy outdoor space to spend your days and nights. Whether you have a spacious backyard that hasn’t been fully utilized or you want to maximize the space on your balcony, creating an outdoor space can be a meditative and relaxing experience.
Design for Your Specific Space
Many factors come into play when designing your ultimate outdoor living space, including the amount of space you have, your budget and local climate. Any space can be beautified to create a comfortable outdoor escape.
Create a Cozy Backyard
Beautifying your backyard doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve compiled a variety of ways to decorate your backyard on a budget.
- Make Wood and Metal Furniture More Inviting — Metal and wood patio furniture isn’t always the most comfortable seating. Covering these pieces with pads and pillows made from durable outdoor fabrics allows you to add color and style to your furniture, while making them more comfortable.
- Build a Fire Pit — Enjoying a fire from the comfort of your own backyard offers a dreamy ambiance and centralizes the focus of your group. Pavers and bricks can be stacked in a staggered pattern to create a beautiful, custom fire pit without an expensive price tag.
- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Lights — Adding a string of twinkle lights is a simple and cost-effective way to decorate your backyard space and make it feel brighter and cozier. Edison lights have been especially popular.
- Create Shade with Umbrellas — Umbrellas have dual functions in a backyard living space. Create shade by adding decorative umbrellas to protect your skin from the sun as well as keeping food and beverages out of the direct sun. Umbrellas also allow you to still enjoy the outdoors while it’s raining.
- Plant Perennials — Fill your backyard flower beds with colorful perennials, and watch as they bloom year after year. Perennial plants come back every year, unlike annuals, which have to be replanted every year.
- DIY Backyard Furniture — Buying brand new outdoor furniture may not be in the cards this summer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t repurpose and revive your existing pieces. A little clean up and spray paint can go a long way in revitalizing your patio furniture.
- Space Out Wood Slats — When building a privacy fence or divider for your backyard, spacing out your wood slats helps you save money and create a modern look. Think a pallet wall, but made from more refined materials — or, actually make a pallet wall!
- Create a Movie Theater at Home — With some movie theaters still closed, you can create your own outdoor cineplex at home with a sheet and a projector. Hang a white sheet on the fence or the side of your home, set up the projector, add cozy outdoor seating and you have your very own outdoor cinema experience.
Beautiful Balconies
When you live in an apartment, sometimes finding an outdoor space outside can be tough. Your balcony or patio, no matter how small, can be decorated to give you the outdoor retreat you need to relax in style. Here are a few tips and tricks we like for enhancing your balcony:
- Fake a Campfire — Open flames on a balcony are a no-go at apartments, but you can still enjoy the ambiance of a faux fire. Obtain a bundle of decorative firewood and wrap string lights around them. Place the bundle in a faux fire pit and enjoy the glow while hanging out on your balcony.
- Hang a Hammock — Depending on the size of your balcony, you may be able to hang a hammock from one end to the other with some alterations. A hammock provides for hours of suspended leisure time.
- Use the Floor Instead of Furniture — Most small balconies and patios don’t have enough room for big furniture, but that doesn’t mean you can’t customize your space with comfy floor seating. Choose outdoor seats or chaise pads in a range of sizes and styles. Add decorative pillows and machine-washable fabrics to create a relaxing space.
- Go Green — Think you can’t have a garden on a balcony? Think again. Small flower pots and narrow garden beds help make your space more attractive and can provide herbs for your favorite meals.
- Primed for Privacy — Adding curtains or bamboo fencing add privacy to your balcony or patio, allowing you to enjoy your space without your neighbor’s view.
- Add a Small Table and a Chair — Choosing a table and chair that folds allows for quick storage if necessary. Adding this small element to your balcony creates a relaxing space to enjoy your morning coffee and the view.
- Stand Out with an Outdoor Rug — Choosing a patterned outdoor rug or runner that stands up to the elements is a great way to add patterns and texture to your balcony.
- Extend Your Living Room Outside by Using Wall Space — Hang weather-resistant art or planters on your walls to make your balcony feel like an extension of your apartment. Talk about an outdoor living room!
- See the Light — Hanging string lights or outdoor lanterns help add enough light to your balcony for late-night hangouts during the upcoming crisp fall evenings.
Every outdoor space, no matter how small, can be transformed into an area where you’ll love spending time.
Create Your Outdoor Space
Whether you live in an apartment or house, your space can be utilized to create a relaxing outdoor escape. Going outside provides many benefits including stress relief, sharper thinking and creativity, restored mental energy and more. Boost your energy while enjoying quality time spent in your outdoor space, no matter how small.