HOW TO MAKE YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE WARM AND WELCOMING

So far this May, I can’t complain. As crazy busy as it’s been this Spring, May has turned out to be just a little bit slower, which feels great, and the weather has been gorgeous. It’s hit or miss where we live, and Spring can be so unpredictable, you never know what you’re going to get. Two weeks in, and the weather has been fabulous. So fabulous, our backyard ‘living room’, as I like to call it, is set up, and we’ve been soaking it all in already. Last year, I debuted this space when we made it over – we built a new deck, the perfect solution for extending this ‘room’, and we completely transformed this space. You can read all about it right here and see what we did. I’ve changed it up just a bit this year, and today I’m talking about how to make your outdoor living space warm and welcoming. It’s quite simple to do, and believe me, anyone can pull this off! You can too, and you will not not want to be indoors at all, I promise you that! So come and take a stroll with me over to our outdoor ‘living room’, where I’ll be focusing today.

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Creating a warm and welcoming outdoor living space is easier than you think. First and foremost, for me, I wanted this space, which is an extension of our home, to have visual flow from the indoors. Which means for our home, we have a healthy dose of blue and white! What I love about using a signature color, is that it sets the tone for the space and you can easily play off of that with all of your accessories, textiles and the patterns and textures you’ll bring in, which will help you create a sense of continuity and cohesion.

One of the best ways I like to create a warm welcome, is to use pillows that I love. I have quite a large collection and my blue and white batik print pillows (which are indoor pillows), are some of my favorites! I share them often, I know! Like all of my decor and accessories, they’re on rotation and this season, they’ve made their way to our outdoor living space. They’re the perfect compliment to our dark furniture and rug, and they bring in a tropical/global vibe with that gorgeous pattern. I am using them on our patio dining chairs as well, and they will get sun exposure, so I’ll have to be very careful to watch them closely, so they don’t fade. Crossing my fingers these ones will be safe in the shade :) You can purchase them here – they’re on sale!

 

I’ve also used some outdoor pillows with a circular motif combined with some indoor shibori print pillows on the club chairs – I love the look of mixing patterns – you should know that about me by now – and I also like the combination of different sized pillows together, to create a layered look.

SHOP PILLOWS HERE:

 

This year, I’m infusing a boatload of woven materials as well, through pillows, baskets and lanterns. I went on somewhat of a rampage at my local HomeSense, I won’t lie. I love the added texture, the variation in color, and the relaxed vibe they create out here. I’m also using them inside the house this Summer, to bring the outdoors, inside. Stay tuned for those posts that are in the works as we speak!

I love the mix of the natural elements combined with my blue and white, and my new champagne bucket (find it here) with the natural woven handle is the perfect piece. So classic and I love that is it multi-purpose as well.  A piece that can serve many different functions is a win for me. I recently shared it in my post featuring my favorite accessories (read it here) that I use year-round, and this latest addition is already a favorite that I will love for years. I actually have two of them.

Baskets, especially in natural tones, exude such a warm and welcoming feeling for me, and I love what they’ve added to our outdoor living space this year. They lighten the mood a little and bring in a laid back vibe to any space.

I found so many gorgeous woven lanterns, I had a hard time deciding which ones to keep. I picked up some different ones that I’ll be sharing in other posts as well, and having a different variety with varying shapes, colors and sizes makes them so fun to play around with. I love the mix of textures and bringing in different toned ones to create visual interest. The lantern on the left is whitewashed while the one on the right is more natural.

And of course, I have to have a dose of brass out here as well, and I couldn’t love this new large-scale beauty any more! I may have to bring this one inside, I think it would look fabulous in my entryway…I’ll keep you posted on that!

SHOP BASKETS AND LANTERNS HERE:

 

A summery tray with refreshing sparkling water, or your favorite drinks, are always a great way to say welcome, and invite your guests to sit down and get comfortable. I like to keep a good stash of sparkling water on hand at all times, first of all, because it’s basically all I drink, but mostly everyone I know loves it too. My kitchen is just inside the patio doors, so it’s nothing to grab a few bottles and glasses, and arrange them on a chic tray to serve up in a pinch.

A bar cart is a fabulous way to bring the indoors out, and I love the idea that you can use it as a versatile piece to style just about anything your heart desires. They’re so fun to play around with! For this setup, I used my new basketweave vases (find them here)  to arrange some flowers, faux and real, along with one of my favorite ginger jars.

You’ll also see these arrangements next week, for my new outdoor tablescape I’ll be sharing. I used them along with my champagne bucket as the centrepiece for my tablescape and I love how it turned out. It’s a very simple and easy way to bring florals to your table with an elegant grouping, and I love using them here just as much!

 

SHOP THIS LOOK AND SERVING PIECES HERE:

 

Nothing says cozy and comfortable like a beautiful throw blanket, and these striped beauties with tassels also evoke a little bit of that global look that I’ve infused throughout this space. I wouldn’t call my style, or our home ‘global’, but I do like to add a bit of an eclectic touch, and for the Summer months, a little bit of a global vibe is just fine with me!

 

SHOP BLANKETS:

 

Stay tuned for my new Summer entertaining tablescape next week, as well as my Summer decorating posts all coming to the blog soon!

I wanted to say a very special thank you, to all of you who commented on on my last post, and sent me the sweetest emails. I truly appreciate your support and I want you to know your kind words and prayers mean so much to me right now. It’s not easy to see a parent deal with a serious illness, and I truly appreciate your patience while I take a little time to spend more time with my mother, than over here on the blog. Rest assured I will still be here each week as much as I can! I am trying to implement a new, weekly post called Weekend Favorites (see last week’s inaugural post here), so stay tuned for a new post as well :)

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I hope you found my tips for creating a warm and welcoming outdoor space useful! I always find the best way to achieve a continuous flow is to bring the indoors out. Don’t be scared! Find items around your home that can endure the elements (except for harsh conditions), and bring them outside with you! Or, go for outdoor items and include layers and textures, that will help you create a living room look and feel outdoors. Let me know in the comments below if you already use some of these tips! I’d love to hear what you all do at home. If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, I would love it if you did! You can fill in your email at the bottom of this post, or head over to my SUBSCRIBE page also, I’d love to have you join in the fun! Thanks again for stopping by the blog today! xo

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