Summertime & Outdoor Living - A Perfect Fit

Houzz - Ideabooks

What's not to love about summer, warm temperatures - which I can tell you is a wonderful change from the long cold winter here in the Northeast - longer days, blooming flowers and vegetables picked fresh from the garden. All of this means wanting to spend more time outside, so why not spruce up your outdoor space, making it something special.

Everyone has some type of outdoor space, whether it's a large deck or patio outside your home or a small balcony off your apartment. There are so many ways to turn it into a wonderful outdoor retreat to use for entertaining friends and family or a place to simply relax with a cool drink on a hot afternoon.

Houzz - Ideabooks

Think of this outdoor space as an extended room off your home, decorate as you would indoors and furniture is a good place to start. As with a room inside you'll first need to determine what type of furniture you need - how big is the space, what are you going to use it primarily for and what type of material appeals to you - it could be a large cedar table with seating for eight, a comfortable wicker rocker for relaxing or a small bistro table and chairs.

Houzz - Ideabooks

Dining Tables:  The table size and number of chairs will depend on the amount of space available and the number of people. Tables can be round, oblong, rectangle or square. Choose between wood and metal. The more common wood types are Cedar, Redwood, Pine and Teak. Metals consist of Iron, Aluminum and Steel.

The dining table pictured above is a perfect example of bringing the indoors out. By adding a table cloth, elegant looking dinnerware and candles your guests will feel like their eating in a gorgeous dinning room, however the bonus here is having the stars for a ceiling.

Bistro Set - Plow & Hearth

Bistro Sets: As this style of table and chairs is small and compact they are perfect for a space with limited room, apartment balconies come to mind. As with the larger dining tables Bistro sets are available in a variety of woods or metals.

Pottery Barn - Outdoor Living

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Wicker Furniture:  When you hear the words wicker furniture your first thoughts might be Victorian, well this fact might surprise you, wicker style furniture has been dated back as far as ancient Egypt. It's popularity here in the U.S. peaked in the 1800 and it's still going strong today. Sets typically consist of a sofa and chairs made of bamboo or rattan and now come in a variety of colors. Wicker can be used indoors as well as outside and with the addition of a collection of colorful summer print pillows you have a comfortable relaxing spot to enjoy the summer weather.

Houzz - Ideabooks

Adirondack Style: Adirondack Chairs are crafted with time-honored tradition in the Adirondacks Mountains of New York. Strong and durable, their timeless style will endure for generations. Cedar and Pine are the most common woods used in constructing these wonderful chairs. Choose from a natural finish or painted a color to blend with your outdoor decor. To me this style furniture  just seems to shout "It's summer, sit and relax".

Plow & Hearth - Outdoor Living

Rocking Chairs: Front porches, lazy summer afternoons and a comfortable porch rocker, I don’t think three things ever went so well together. Rockers are made of the same materials as other wood furniture; they can have either slat or cane seats and come in a variety of finishes. Add a soft pillow, a side table for holding a cold drink then just sit back and watch the world go by.

Houzz - Ideabooks

When you choose the right furniture for your space and lifestyle you’ll find yourself one step closer to turning an unused outdoor space into a comfortable place for entertaining family and friends or just simply relaxing on a warm summer night. 

Pottery Barn - Plow & Hearth

But don’t stop at the furniture; finish off the space as you would a room in your home with lighting, candles, decorative pillows, rugs and colorful summertime dinnerware. Oh and don’t forget to add lots of decorative planters filled with beautiful flowers. Enjoy the summer.