How to add Pizzazz to your Porch, Pergola, or Patio

When talking about home decor, the first places that come to mind are typically the living room, bedroom, kitchen – the interior of the home.  But out door living spaces count too!  The front porch, patio, garden, and even the backyard are extensions of your home, and they are absolutely, equally as important.

Your outdoor space is the first thing that your visitors see when they come to visit, what your neighbors see when taking a stroll down the street, it’s what makes an impression – so it should not be neglected!  With that said, we have compiled a few ideas to enhance your home’s outdoor spaces without spending a fortune.

Say it with us, “curb appeal.”

Add Seasonal Decor

Autumn is here, and it’s a perfect time to give your porch a seasonal refresh. Bright, summery flowers are no longer in season, but you can still style-up your porch for fall by using pumpkins, pampas grass, blankets and candles. Don’t forget to dress up your outdoor furniture with cushions and eye-catching throw pillows that are autumn friendly.  Think of swapping out your summery stripes for autumnal jewel tones, cottons for wools, you get the idea.

As temps dip further and winter approaches, consider replacing your porch decor with baskets filled with logs, arrangements of pine, or bowls of pine cones.  Not only does this create a wintery mood but nothing beats the smell of fresh pine in the winter.  If you’re someone that gets into the holiday cheer, toss up some white twinkly lights – we support you!

What’s Old is New Again

As previously stated, you don’t need to break the bank to transform your porch, patio, or pergola into something more stylish and welcoming. In fact, if you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty we have a never ending supply of DIY ideas so you can cut back on decorating expenses. Grandmas old chairs and table set?  Great!  Break out the sander and paint them a fun color to add a splash of color and make them look more modern. This right here will give your outdoor living space a new look instantly. Don’t be intimidated and don’t overcomplicate it.  New furniture for the price of a can of paint.  End of story.

Outdoor Fireplace

If you want to go a little bit fancy and add all the ambiance to your outdoor space, at RHD we LOVE an outdoor fireplace. Imagine yourself taking a sip of your coffee early in the morning while relaxing on a rocking chair. A glass of wine cozying up with your sweetie watching the sunset.  Hot chocolate with the little ones telling scary stories.

This project is obviously more involved and you might need to get the help of a contractor, but this one is a permanent change that will have lasting impact. Bonus points that it extends the time that you can entertain outside because of the added heat source!

Porch Furniture

If you’re lucky enough to have a porch, you likely spend a lot of time on it.  The porch is a social spot where you can entertain your guests, spend time with your loved ones, or maybe have a casual conversation with your neighbors. Therefore, it is only right that you make it as comfortable and inviting as possible. Again, it’s an extension of your home’s interior, so pay attention to how you mirror what is inside your home on the outside.

To avoid clutter and add ease-of-cleaning we like outdoor furniture that showcases simplicity and comfort at the same time. We love neutral colors like gray, black, and white as a base so you can add in pops of color and swap out seasonal decor as the seasons change.

Outdoor Lighting

Whether you’re entertaining, dining al fresco with family, or sitting outside at dusk solo, nothing sets the mood like lighting. We love bistro lights anytime, anywhere, to light up your outdoor space and add ambiance. We love adding candles as well to create a romantic atmosphere, add more light to your table, and even keep bugs away.

Change your Color Scheme

At RHD we recommend changing up your color scheme now and again – whether we’re talking interior or exterior choices. This is why we love choosing large furniture pieces with a neutral color-base.  Throw pillows, blankets, and accessories are the less expensive items that you can rotate in and out as you please.  Looking for a backyard revamp?  Change up your color scheme.  Obviously options are endless and this can be a bit overwhelming.  We recommend going to your local home goods store, choosing a pillow in a pattern that you absolutely love and building your accessories from there.  Pull colors out of the pillow and pick more pillows, throws, trays, candle holders, baskets etc based on that. If you’re working off of a central palette everything will all work together flawlessly.

If you are lucky enough to have a large outdoor space we love setting up different seating vignettes in in different prints, but coordinating colors.  This way you’re defining conversational spaces around your backyard but aesthetically they still work.   Additionally, if your outdoor furniture doesn’t all match, adding a common color throughout will tie them all together and make it work.

We love a small change that makes a big impact, and this is certainly one of those.

 

The Gazebo

Not just for 1990’s yards anymore!  Now more than ever with the pandemic, people are looking for new ways to extend the time they can spend outside together.  A gazebo is definitely a great addition to your outdoor living space as it provides protection against the weather and creates a cozy space for you to relax and entertain within.

You can be as creative as you want when decorating this structure. Outdoor furniture is, of course, a must-have, along with lighting, a heater, plants, even a ceiling fan, and dare we say it… an outdoor tv?!  If you intend to utilize this spot for relaxation, don’t hesitate to add some pillows and small blankets, too, particularly during the colder months.

Give your outdoor living space some love, and maybe you will actually use it!  It’s never been more important to have functional, comfortable, beautiful living spaces outside.  Go on… give that patio some pizazz.

 

 

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