Outdoor Lounge: How One Piece Can Pull Your Patio Decor Together
In this post: Want to create an outdoor lounge at home? Here’s how one single piece can pull your entire patio decor together, creating a cohesive outdoor room.⇒
I’ve wanted a proper outdoor lounge space for as long as I can remember.
Not a dining table and umbrella or a few basic lounge chairs. Not a smattering of mismatched chairs facing in various different directions. Not an assortment of disparate planters that look like leftovers from all our past homes.
I wanted a cohesive designed patio space that looked distinctly like an outdoor room.
For some reason this goal has been elusive to me until now. In our old home we never finished fixing the patio so the decor wasn’t even a thought.
But since moving to our new home, I’ve had a few attempts at decorating the space. I started with some key neutral furniture pieces that would function for our needs. I attempted to add color with pillows but the result was underwhelming and never made the right impact.
I tried several styled displays which were lovely for the given moment (and are linked at the bottom of this post if you’d like a peek) but were temporary for a day of entertaining and were never meant to be permanent decor.
I wasn’t quite sure what was missing to pull the elements together and make a bold statement that this was indeed a “room”.
But then I found it…
The answer was, of course, so simple and something I’ve been meaning to get all along. What my space really needed was a beautiful outdoor rug!
I had decided on a blue and white color palette when I bought that first grouping of pillows. But the pillows didn’t go far enough in defining the look and I was afraid to commit to the color. Were they too royal a blue? Should I have gone for a darker navy?
Had I bought the planters right away, I likely would’ve completed the space two years ago. But instead I waffled back and forth and tried a variety of different things. Finally this year I decided to commit and as soon I saw the planters, I knew the original pillows would be workable.
With a blue and white chinoiserie patio, I stay neutral with my serving pieces, favoring whites or gold and silver.
Florals are easy in blues or even touches of lilac.
And to add a note of complexity I added a few new patterned pillows this year. The chinoiserie pattern above and the tonal floral below. (See bottom of post for resources.)
The blue and white planters I filled with white petunias and I love the way they drape over the side. I wanted to stay very classic and ensure the flowers enhanced the vessel.
The tiny blue planter above is a vintage piece I found online and the touch of little purple flowers adds just enough color without clashing.
But in the end what really makes this a room is the gorgeous outdoor rug that perfectly captures the mood I was going for. Finally the pillows have their raison d’être, and everything blends as cohesively as it would if it was designed for an indoor space.
I’m now committed to this color palette but I think I can live with that for a while. An outdoor rug is not as expensive as a sectional so it wouldn’t be impossible to have a small collection of rugs and pillows to change out from year to year.
But for this year, I’m delighted with my blue and white outdoor lounge… 🙂
Outdoor Lounge Shopping Guide
To get the look, click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. If an item is out of stock but may be restocked, I left it on the list.
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
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- Updating The Patio With Summer Color
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What a gorgeous outdoor room, Lory! The new rug really does make the space. I am sure you will be out there a lot more now.
Shelley
Thanks so much, Shelly! It’s funny, but it does feel more like sitting in my living room now… 🙂
Another winning combination! The rug looks great. A fan of blue, white and yellow, I would be tempted to use it inside. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Thanks, Elizabeth! I wasn’t sure whether to make such a commitment since I’m such a pink and green girl, but I’m really glad I went with it because it was lacking an identity up until now… 🙂
Lory, it looks great! I’ll be there shortly. Chill the wine!
Ginger
Haha, come on down!!
Lory, your deck ensemble is just stunning!!!!! I am a big fan of blue and white so I love all your choices. Sorry I haven’t commented in awhile. I always check out your wonderful posts but we have been doing a good amount of traveling this summer which has kept us very busy. Hugs!
Thanks, Bobbi! And how fun that you’ve been traveling!! Best way to spend the summer… 🙂
Your lounge is lovely and so very inviting. I know you’ll have many relaxing moments there.
Thank you, Jaye!! We’re already enjoying it… 🙂
Lori-
This is my first time commenting. I luv your post-everyday I refer back to your articles and pictures. I am moving into our newly built home next Wednesday. I have been working on our covered porch-this post has been my inspiration. The white tables are no longer available at World Market. I purchased two Imperial vine garden benches for the sides if the couch.
Wondering the size of the orientalist pots you have on your ur table? The diameter of the white garden stools are. 14″.
The blue and white pots I love are available in a 10″, 12″ or 14″ diameter. What sz would your u recommend?
Hi Tracey! Thank you so much for your kind words!! How nice to know my posts are inspiring readers. My white table/stools are 16″ and my pots are 12″. I would go 10″ or 12″ on yours, depending on shape. (i.e. if the pot curves in at the bottom you can go 12″). Good luck with your move!!
Love your blue rug can I ask the size? Thanks
Thanks! I think it’s 8×10’.
Your outdoor space looks beautiful and very comfy and cozy. I would love curling up with pillows and reading a book on a beautiful day! I’m still trying to pull together my outdoor space and I think a rug is the perfect idea. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday. Hope to see you at the party next week!
Hi Lory, oh how I love the blue and white. You never cease to amaze me with your lovely decor both inside and out. The hydrangeas are gorgeous too. Hugs! P.S. I hope you will stop by and share at TFT.
Love this Lory! So many beautiful ideas!
Your outdoor space looks amazing! Our patio is pretty dismal right now (with a dining set we never use); last year I was toying with the idea of getting an outdoor rug. I love how your rug really grounds your furniture to give it that “room” feeling. You’re giving me hope that our patio can be saved someday 🙂 Thank you for linking up with Merry Monday; I’m going to feature your beautiful patio at our upcoming party. I hope you’ll join the party again next week!
Thank you so much, Emily, for the kind words and the feature!!
Love Love your patio and your color choices. One question – do you have to bring your sectional pillows/cushions in out of the rain? I have a patio pergola with a canopy cover but rain filters thru so have to constantly bring in my outdoor cushions if want to use next time when sun is out! Wish there was a way to store them in the furniture! Thanks much! Have a great holiday weekend!
Thank you so much, Debbie! Our cushions are Sunbrella, so we leave them out in the rain, but take them in at the end of the season. They sometimes don’t dry completely right away, but I don’t worry about it. And we wash them once a season to keep the tree stains and mildew off.
Hi, I’m wondering if the rug is actually blue and white or blue and yellow/cream? Looks gorgeous!
Thanks
Carol
The white is an off white, but not yellow.
Looks great. I bought beautiful navy pillows last season from pottery barn with similar cushions. I see exactly what I need…..a rug to complete it!
I Love, Love, Love the blue for your patio. Pairing it with purple flowering plants is exquisite. I may need to try these colors on the patio this year. Great post!
Thanks, Lisa! I was just thinking about what colors to use this year and I was thinking to go back to the purple accents. Thanks for the vote of confidence!!
It is all your little touches that make each area you design so unique. Love the jar with the raised dots Did you make it or find it? I have done similar with glass Christmas balls but this gives me more great ideas. Thanks!
Thank you Ruth! Funny you point that jar out. It’s one of those things that’s in my house that I have no idea where it came from. LOL! I’m pretty sure it came with a ready-made bouquet I bought for some event and I, too, love it. So, no, I didn’t make it, but glad you appreciate it… 🙂
I absolutely love the blue and white! I am trying to do something similar on my back porch!
Thanks, Cathy! I really found the rug to be the big unifying element. Blue and white is well loved by so many people… 🙂
Love this! Just found your site. Did you paint the coffee table gray? It looks gray to me. Love it.
Thank you!! And welcome… 🙂 The coffee table is teak and it just aged to that grey color.
Love the blue and white….my favorite colors! Do patios with so much furniture, tables, etc. require a lot of maintenance? With so much white in the rug, does it stay that white? Do outdoor rugs require cleaning off everyday?
I think it depends on the trees you have near your patio. We seem to get a lot of green from the trees on the patio, so I need to clean my cushions at the end of the season. The tables are nothing. When they get dirty from stray plants, you just wipe them down. As for the rug, I leave mine out all year, so they last a few years and then I get a new one. I’ve never once cleaned my outdoor rugs.
You hit a home run, Lory. I love everything about your outdoor room. Your were right. The room needed that beautiful rug. It brought everything together.
Thank you so much!