10 Simple Styling Tips for a Beautiful Outdoor Space

Summer is here and I am excitetd to spend as much time outside as possible! Over the last few weeks I have been prepping our backyard and deck space so that we can enjoy the warm weather over the next few months. We are fortunate to have a large, covered deck off of our kitchen/family room. It is one of my favourite places to be from Spring through to Fall! It's also a great space for entertaining and we have already hosted several gatherings in our backyard this Spring.

Today I am giving you a tour of our backyard deck and sharing 10 simple outdoor styling tips to help you create a beautiful space to enjoy for the summer months ahead!

ONE. Start with a clean, blank canvas

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but is worth mentioning. About a month ago I spent the morning purging and cleaning our back deck space. We had accumulated some clutter out there - and everything was covered in that yellow pollen that we get here in North Vancouver during the Spring. I used our blower and then hosed and wiped down all of the surfaces - window ledges, railing and furniture. It feels so good to start with a clean and fresh space!

TWO. Create zones

When creating an outdoor space, I like to designate "zones" for lounging and eating. On our back deck, we have an outdoor living room area with comfortable sofas and chairs on one side and a dining area on the other side.

If you are working with a smaller space, this tip might not apply as you might only have room for one "zone". If that is the case, I would decide how you best like to recreate outside. My advice would be to focus on a comfortable "outdoor living room" situation.

Entertaining outdoors is very casual and relaxed and there is no reason your outdoor sofa can't also be a place to eat dinner. (We eat on our sofa all the time!)

THREE. Anchor your space with an Outdoor Rug

I am a huge fan of incorporating an outdoor rug into your patio styling. They come in so many shapes, patterns and colours and are such a fun way to inject personality into your outdoor living spaces. Rugs can help to define the zones we mentioned above and anchor the furniture and decor.

Some of my favourite places to shop for outdoor rugs are Target, Wayfair and Home Depot. Most major retailers carry outdoor rugs, so the options are pretty limitless. One last thing to mention is that I love rugs because of the style they contribute, but they can also be funtional for outdoor spaces that lack shade or sun cover. A hot deck in the middle of a sunny summery day can be uncomfortable on the feet! It is much nicer to walk on a rug than a burning hot deck!

FOUR. Create a Conversational Seating Area

This is an important tip to consider of you like to host outdoor gatherings like we do. I have used a sofa, a loveseat and two lounge chairs to create a U-shape seating area on our back deck. Just like in an indoor living room, you want to arrange seating so that people can sit across from each other.

As you can see , our patio set-up has ample seating to host 7 people comfortably, and we can pul up extra seating if needed.

FIVE. Create an Outdoor Dining Area

If you have the space to incorporate a dining table and chairs, it's a really nice addition to your deck or patio. It can be a small bsitro set or a larger table with chairs , whatever fits on your patio and works with your budget. I have just purchased this table and these chairs to create a small dining area for our deck.

I don't know about you, but I love being able to eat meals outside during the summer, it feels like I am on vacation! I was looking for a small, rectangular table to seat 4-6 people and this one from IKEA fit the bill. It also foldable for easy storage, has a space to put an umbrella and a very affordable price point!

SIX. Incorporate accent tables for style and function

Just like with an indoor living room, coffee tables and side tables are an essential element to include. An outdoor coffee table is an important focal point and they come in many different sizes.

The secret to creating an interesting furniture grouping is to mix different shapes but keep the pieces in a similar scale. I love a round coffee table because it adds a softer shape in contrast with a rectangular sofa.

We also have two small round side tables, that are a different material but have legs in a similar tone to our table. These come in handy as a surface to rest a drink but are also a fun place to add some styling elements like plants and candles.(more on that coming up)

SEVEN. Add decorative accessories to add style

Once you have the basics in place - the rug and furniture pieces - it's time to add some decorative touches to your outdoor space! Here are some of my favourite accessories to add style to any room:

Throw Pillows:

Outdoor throw pillows are the easiest way to add color and personality to an outdoor space. They are inexpensive and available at so many retailers! There are budget friendly options at big box stores (my pillows are from Target, Superstore and World Market) and then there are options from places like West Elm, Crate & Barrel and my fave Canadian source- Tonic Living .

Throw Blankets: I also like to have at least one throw blanket on hand in our seating area to make things cozy, especially in the evening when the sun goes down. Blankets are also a way to introduce some colour and texture to your outdoor space! You may have noticed from the photos that I went with a mostly monochromatic color scheme with my pillows-my main accent colour is coral/blush pink tones.

Candles: I just love having candles as part of our outdoor decor. I have a few tall ones in hurricanes, which is great if it's windy outside so the flames don't go out.

I created this cute little arrangement while shopping at Target a few weeks back. The match box and candle are from the Hearth & Hand collection and I thought they were perfect together on the mini scalloped tray.

This citronella canlde is also in a really pretty vessel but has the added benefit of detring mostquitos!

Wall Decor: I hung this little group of wooden fish on the side of our house. We recently sold our Lake Cabin, and we bought these fish for that home while on a trip to Maui. I wanted to keep them for the memories and I think they look great hanging outside.

If you have wall space outside and you want to jazz it up I recommend using some cool wall planters! This set caught my eye!

EIGHT. Add some plants and flowers

No outdoor space is complete without a bit of greenery and some flowers! I have some larger planters in the corner of our deck. A grouping of different shapes and sizes makes for an intresting vignette. I have some flowers, a pot of mint (hello mojitos!) and some lavender. And guess what, the lavender is actually faux! If you don't have a green thumb or don't have the time to maintain real plants, there are some great faux options that can add life and color to your outdoor space!

If you want some plants that are almost as low maintenance as faux plants, get some succulents! They are so easy to keep alive and they look gorgeous! I created a succulent bowl for our coffee table, wiht a few different succulent varieties. I wish I had saved the tags so I could tell you what they are called. You can also find premade succulent planters at many stores right now- the one in the light blue planter is actually from Whole Foods.

You can see that I have a collection plants and greenery in different sized vessels scattered around my deck. For me, plants are a styling essential both indoors and out.

Nine. Add in some mood lighting

My favourite thing about summer is being able to sit outdide well into the evening, and when the sun goes down, it is nice to have a bit of mood lighting to warm up your outdoor space! On our back deck we have a string of solar powered lights that I bought at Costco a few years ago. I love the way these look at nighttime...maybe they remind me of Christmas lights?

I am not sure if you have seen the little battery powered table lamps that are all the rage, but they are so cute and perfect for ourside! I bought this one from Homesense last year. Having to charge them is a bit annoying, but they are super stylish and offer up some excellent lighting so I think they are worth the hassle.

TEN. Incorporate some Storage

After you have worked so hard to create a stylish outdoor space, you want to maintain it by taming the clutter that family life can bring. We have two large deck storage boxes that are great for concealing the "stuff" that can accumulate outside. Having smaller baskets to corral things also helps to maintain order but provide some styling opportunities! I put this basket outside the back door to contain sunsreen, bugspray etc.

And there you have it...10 simple summer styling tips to help create a backyard retreat for the summer months ahead!

Looking forward to hanging with these two and soaking up all the summer sunshine possible!

Happy Summer!

Kerri