Outdoor Rooms: The Evolution of Our Patio Decor and What Comes Next
In this post: If you enjoy treating your exterior spaces like outdoor rooms, you will be inspired by the evolution of our patio decor and where it’s headed next.⇒
Has this ever happened to you?
You move into a new space. You pick a room and decorate it from top to bottom in one go. Upon completion, you step back and look at it and think, ‘yep, that’s perfect’. Then you live with it exactly as is for years and years.
Yeah, me neither.
Now, for those of you who said yes, that has happened to you, this post may seem curious. But for everyone else, it will be quite familiar.
This week is 4 years since we moved into our townhouse. It’ll be the 5th summer here and I’ve changed my patio at least that many times. Well, sort of.
In reality, the planning I did that first year was exactly what I needed it to be. I got the bones right. I laid the foundation for a comfortable outdoor space that would make the best use of our limited area and function in the various ways we wanted it to. I also left room for versatility, so that I could easily alter the space each season, winding up with a series of outdoor rooms that looked different each time I was itching for a change.
Above is the empty patio we started with. Given that we live in a townhouse, this is our main outdoor space and hence it needs to serve several purposes, from eating to sunning to entertaining. What follows is how it has evolved over the past few years leading up to the current plan for our next transformation.
Outdoor Rooms
The most important decision I made for our patio was that it would be dominated by a sectional couch and coffee table. This would allow for a conversation area for entertaining and we could always lay on the cushions for sunbathing. We could also eat a casual meal around the coffee table.
That first year I chose an off white rattan sectional and a teak table. These were my investment pieces so I went completely neutral. I did get a few blue and white pillows, but that was the extent of my color commitment. You can see the early details of our simple decor and entertaining in Casual Wine and Cheese on the Patio.
Later that year when fall arrived, I realized this space that I had decorated as an outdoor room really looked better when it worked seamlessly with the natural environment around it. This is when I fully appreciated the neutral colors I had selected and updating the styling was as simple as removing a few pillows and replacing them with items that worked beautifully with the fall foliage.
We also added a whitewashed bench for additional seating.
I enjoyed using vintage pieces with an English country feel and I began to wonder whether the space, in its summer iteration, had been consistent enough with the inside of our house.
You can see the full post here: Autumn Charm on Our Townhouse Patio.
The second summer I was determined to add accessories that would lend a hint of French character to the patio. I used grain sack pillows and chambray accents, a galvanized tray and lavender plants. I also added the white drum side tables to hold the planters.
For serving I used shellfish plates and vintage soda bottles, and the effect was very cute, but the net result was more New England beach cottage than French farmhouse.
Find the details here: Preparing The Patio For Summer Entertaining.
Later that summer I added a small bistro table and chairs to the opposite corner of the patio. I wanted to have a proper table for having our coffee outside, as well as small meals. Again I went neutral with the furniture pieces so that I could dress the table any way I wanted for a given event. Here it’s set for a feminine tea or lunch in pretty pinks.
See more here: Dining al Fresco on the Patio
The third summer I was still wrestling with the identity of the patio decor and tried some new accessories in another color feeling. Inspired by lilac season I played with lavender and buttery yellow with white vintage linens. I used some chippy serving pieces and antique bottles. I loved this color feeling, but when the serving pieces were put away, there wasn’t much left to tell the story.
For the rest of this look and source info see: Adding Summer Style With Outdoor Accessories.
This was the summer I finally realized that to truly finish my outdoor spaces properly, they needed to be treated like outdoor rooms. I needed to commit to more than just a throw blanket and a few serving pieces. I talk about the one piece that finally pulled it all together in this post: How One Piece Can Pull Your Patio Decor Together.
Once I was committed to the blue and white, it became a matter of using different pop colors when the seasons changed. That fall I added rust as a pop color in pillows, flowers and a throw blanket. In Outdoor Fall Decorating Ideas: Serving Hors d’Oeuvres on the Patio you can see how lovely this outdoor room turned out.
This past summer I added fuchsia and yellow pops to the blue and white patio, for a vibrant and refreshing touch. It was both pretty and very upbeat. (See it here: Updating The Patio With Summer Color)
But I also felt I moved further away from the French vintage look I so love. So here I am approaching another summer and I’m ready for a fairly big change. I’m grateful my furniture pieces are all neutral so it won’t be a huge expense to make changes. Yet I do want a significantly different look and my challenge will be to transform the space without changing the majority of the furniture. I’ve already started shopping…
Resource 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.
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Your patio is so inviting! How do your cushions fair in the weather? I have been looking for new chaise lounges for the pool but most of the ones that look good have cushions. I am not going to drag them in every time it rains! Have you come across any that are a good price and look nice? You have a wonderful style.
Thank you, Cecilia! We only bring the cushions in when there will be a huge storm or a week of rain. Most of the time they stay outside and get wet. They dry quickly in the sun, but not always quickly enough… 😉
I read each blog. Loved the evolution of the changing of the padio…so beautiful and inviting, wish I could come each season and have a cup of earl gray tea my favorite to, with you…
Thanks for sharing
Daphne
Ahh, thanks, Daphne, my fellow Earl Gray fan… 🙂
Love all the styles as all are inviting. I’m swooning though over the bistro table…..pink…..gorgeous china…etc.
Thanks, Candy!! I tend to lean toward feminine style, too… 😉
I love your blog. I am interested in purchasing the Mercury Mirror Vase, can you help me find one like it. I think putting the napkins in it works well with a small group.
Hi Sue! Here is the original Pottery Barn link: https://rstyle.me/+Jj5tmgK73WxmQa38kYcEgg It’s been out of stock for some time. They do similar shapes from time to time but I don’t see any in stock now. After much Googling, I was able to find this on eBay: https://rstyle.me/+t4DNKnNJWl4oj2dXu0otLQ
Hi Lori,
Your blog has given me so much inspiration, I’ve been looking for ways to ‘pay you back’!
I looked for your previous post about adding flower pots to your patio, but I couldn’t find it, so I’m posting this here since it’s sort-of related. Unless you’re planting succulents, flowers in pots need water more often than flowers in the ground. In our last house, I had to water them twice a day! This prevented us from ever taking a vacation so we set up a drip watering system on a timer. I LOVED it! You do need a faucet close to your patio/deck though….
The other thing you could do (my sister did this and it looked great!) is use faux plants….
Thank you so much for your feedback, Barb!! So helpful!
Love your patio space. Beautiful and welcoming.
Thank you, Lynne!
This was a very helpful post for me as we’ve just completed our backyard and screened porch following construction of a new swimming pool. Our existing porch floor & exterior paint color is neutral as is the furniture we brought from our last house 2 yrs ago but being a color craving gal I’ve been struggling with how to bring in the colors of the new pool and landscaping to unify the areas. Living near Florida’s ocean and rivers our interior is neutrals with high contrast and British Colonial in style. The last iterations of your deck suit our Palm Beach mood very well and I think I can put together a porch that is what I want now. Thank you.
That’s wonderful to hear!! I always love neutrals because you can easily bring in color with accents and change it whenever you want… 🙂
Lori, you newest version is PERFECT! I’ll just bet you keep it this way for a little while. 😉
It’s been a while, but for the life of me, I thought I read several months ago that you found a new home and your house was on the market. Did you decide to stay put?
Thank you, Diane! We’ve been here a few years, so it might’ve been an old post you saw that talked about selling our previous home. Or it could’ve been a recent post talking about selling my parents’ home… 🙂 So yes, we are definitely staying put.
Lory, I like the blue medallion rug you have under the sectional on your deck. However, when clicking on the resource picture I am led to Wayfair, and 200 pages of rugs, not your specific rug. Help!
Oh, sorry about that. That means they’re out of it or moved the link. Let me see if i can find a similar one or where they moved it to.
OK, here you go: https://amzn.to/37UH9n2
Lory, You are an inspiration by admitting you didn’t get it right the first time and continued over several years to achieve what you wanted. I get frustrated when I have a “miss” in what seemed to be a great idea. To know that you don’t hit the mark on the first try but continue using your creativity is encouraging. Also the fact the you add items over the years helps me with the constraints of budget and time. Thank you for sharing your process.
Oh, yes, it’s an ongoing ‘battle’… LOL! (But an enjoyable one… ;-))
Lory,
I am completely in love with the light blue ruffled napkins you show on one of your patio/porch displays! How elegant they look in your stunning silver container. Also, I am absolutely delighted to have the link to those geometric patterned Kendall Indoor / Outdoor Area Rugs! What gorgeous items. I hope to get some of these for our new home. Thank you for sharing these.