Homeowners with sprawling backyards often put at least a bit of effort into decorating their outdoor entertaining space. Maybe they splurge on some high-end outdoor furniture and an elaborate grill, plus a few accessories to give the space style.
But what about the rest of us? When a home has more modest outdoor space — perhaps a porch or patio, or a balcony off the master bedroom — these limited spaces are often ignored.
Genevieve Gorder often sees clients who paid top dollar for an apartment with a balcony only to ignore the space because they don’t know what to do with it. Gorder, host of HGTV’s “Battle on the Block” and a judge on “HGTV Design Star,” says these small and midsize spaces can seem tough to tackle.
“Any outdoor spaces can be kind of intimidating,” agrees designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com. “When you design a room, you have four walls and it’s easy to conceptualize what will fill it. Outside, the possibilities are endless and you don’t really have a sense of scale. The sky goes on forever.”
But there are great design strategies for turning even the most unexceptional deck or patio into an inviting space for outdoor entertaining this summer:
Look down
“The biggest impact for your buck is to focus on the floor,” says Flynn. Paint a concrete slab or old decking with a worn finish using “porch and deck paint,” he says. “It’s fantastic on a pretty spring day. A lot of bold sunlight will dry that paint and you’ll be walking on it within hours.”
Gorder suggests shopping online for marine paint, designed for the hulls of boats. It’s impervious to weather and comes in great bold colors.
Choose a solid color or paint some stripes to extend the look of the space.
Then add some warmth.
“I love the idea of layering little area rugs outside, in an ethnic, Moroccan-y way,” says Los Angeles interior designer Betsy Burnham. “We did it in sort of an American way on a porch in northern Michigan with striped kilim rugs. It made it so intimate out there, and you can sit down on them because it’s not just a cold outdoor surface.”
No need to spend a lot, she says: “Pull them from in front of your sink. Be creative with what you already have in your house.”
You don’t have to commit
Rather than decorating your outdoor space and keeping everything out there all summer, consider mixing and matching indoor pieces just for occasional parties.
Flynn uses masonry nails to hang art on concrete or brick exterior walls during outdoor parties, then brings the art in when he’s done entertaining. He also brings out a bedroom dresser (on casters, to make moving it simple) to use as a sideboard, setting up a bar on top.
These designers also love bringing out colorful, oversized floor pillows (either ones made for outside or ones you already use indoors) and clustering a few together.
“The best size is a 30-inch by 30-inch,” Flynn says. “It fits any size person’s butt sitting down, but little kids can also curl up on it.”
A small outdoor dining area becomes exceptional when the table is set with cloth napkins, napkin rings and even a bit of china and crystal, Burnham says. You wouldn’t leave these items outdoors all the time, but treat yourself to using them for summer get-togethers or an al fresco dinner for two.
Lighting
Many people assume that adding lights outdoors requires elaborate, expensive wiring, Gorder says. But there are tons of low-tech options for “creating the mood.”
“Candeliers are gorgeous,” she says, referring to metal racks hung with lots of candles. So are hurricane lamps, paper lanterns and artificial LED candles. “Make it sexy outside and people will be there,” Gorder says. “You’ll use that space more.”
Another can’t-lose choice: Burnham says little white Christmas lights never lose their charm. She wraps a few strands around an olive tree just off her patio to add a soft glow.
Living things
Burnham and Gorder both advise selecting plants to create the perfect backdrop.
“You want the height, so that when you’re sitting you still have green behind you, not just down at the ground,” Burnham says.
“Use some potted boxwoods,” she says, or small potted citrus trees, “and you’ll all of a sudden have this sort of manicured greenery outside.”
Adds Gorder: “Any time you can use the vertical, you can trick the eye” into thinking a space is larger than it is. She loves potted sea grass, which is low maintenance and grows tall.
Also, think color.
“Flowers and plants are your paint outside,” says Gorder. She loves geraniums. “They’ll last all year and give that brilliant pop of color.”
Custom creation
“The key to making things look designer,” Flynn says, “is making them look custom.”
He uses Trina Turk’s line of outdoor fabrics from Schumacher to cover pillows and outdoor upholstery. If you’re saving elsewhere, such as using flea market furniture instead of new pieces, it’s worth splurging on a bit of custom upholstery, he says.
