Patio Ideas: Updating Your Outdoor Decor with New Patio Accessories

In this post: If you’re looking for patio ideas to update your outdoor decor, you’ll love this transformation using new patio accessories.⇒

I don’t really think I’m fickle.

Rather, I just think I like to fine tune when it comes to decor.

Almost every room in our home I had decorated when we first moved in four years ago, and I’ve spent the last year making changes. By and large, they’re not sweeping changes, but they nonetheless have made a great impact. For the most part I’ve kept the furniture the same and retooled a lot of the accessories. This had helped keep costs in line, yet allowed me to refine the character of each space.

So, when the weather began to warm, it was time to take a fresh look at our outdoor decor.

Patio Ideas

It’s not that I didn’t love the blue and white patio accessories (which you can see HERE). They gave the patio a wonderful cohesive look which exuded its share of elegance. But it’s just not where my head is at right now.

The blue and white chinoiserie had a tailored and crisp look. More classic and maybe a bit English formal.

My home instead is becoming more relaxed in that washed and neutral linen kind of way. I wanted it to read more casual and French, although a newer townhouse deck is never going to look like a gravel patio in the French countryside.

Still, I wanted a softer color palette, with lots of plants and the chippiest of planters. (Check out my mood board of patio ideas, along with the evolution that got us to this point, in THIS POST.)

The other thing that drove me nuts was the flat and boring window that dominates the wall connecting the patio to the house. My ever-so-simple solution was to add hanging basket planters to the side molding of the large window. The brackets have a charming farmhouse patina and the trailing plants soften the view.

We have a french bistro table and chairs that was perfect to stay in place. It’s where I love to sit with my morning coffee and all it needed was a distressed clay pot planter.

The easiest update is always to change out the throw pillows that dot the sofa. I went very soft and tranquil, keeping in mind the palette of the flowers that I planned to plant in the varied pots. A rugged knubby weave throw is perfect for summer and captures the character I was going for.

I had thought about changing the side tables, along with the patio coffee table, but when everything else was in place, it wasn’t necessary at all. The teak coffee table has not weathered well, but I may simple refinish it later in the summer. For now I solve that when guests come, simply using a pretty linen table runner.

I chose a tonal palette for the plants, ranging from pale pink to soft purple and blue. I didn’t want anything to jump out in a harsh way, opting for serene and cool in color.

Of all the new patio ideas, without a doubt the most significant change was the selection of a neutral outdoor rug. Its tendril-like motif feels more feminine to me that what we had before, and it anchors the gentle style of the new decor.

While I think it looks quite different, in reality all I changed was the pillows, the rug and the planters. It’s amazing what a transformation you can achieve with only new patio accessories.

I so enjoy going out on the patio now and delighting in our new outdoor decor.