7 Ways to Transform Your Outdoor Living Space

Many home owners see their patios as a bonus room they can enjoy while having access to indoor conveniences. Here are 7 ways for changing your average patio into a multipurpose outdoor retreat.

• Decide your Color Scheme. Use your garden as inspiration for bringing those colors into the space with pillows, an umbrella and garden art pieces. Add some dazzling style with bright accessories and festive stripes. Or, choose an all-white scheme which is very impressive in the evening light.
  
  
• Keep Patio Furniture to a Minimum. Keep your outdoor wooden furniture looking neat and your patio looking organized by choosing a few key pieces for your patio. People often try to add too many pieces to their patio and the result is usually messy and cluttered. When choosing your pieces make sure they are functional, able to withstand the elements as well as pleasing to the eye.
  
  
• Set the patio aglow. Use lots of candles, torches, hanging lanterns and strings of twinkling lights that wind around nearby trees and umbrella poles. Line your pathways with solar lights. Brighten gardens and landscape features by using spotlights to highlight majestic trees and shrubs.
  
  
• Warm up your space. Even when temperatures become cool, you can enjoy your new outdoor living area if you can create some heat. Take the chill off with a cast iron, clay or cooper chiminea. Another idea is an economical fire pit. You can find patio tables that come with a central fire pit allowing you to rest your feet near the flames. Or you can dry-stacking fieldstone around the base of a fire pit to give it a natural, built-in look. Or with a bigger budget build an outdoor fireplace that doubles as a wood-burning grill.
  
  
• Bring calming sounds to your patio. You can create a soothing setting with running water. This can be done with a small waterfall, a koi filled pond or by plugging in a outdoor water fountain. A bird bath fountain will bring wildlife to your backyard with while drowning out traffic noise. Tabletop versions and wall mounted fountains are also melodic works of art. Easy-to-install water features, fountains and solar-powered fountains can also be a nice idea.
  
  
• Shed light with lamps. Outdoor chandeliers and floor or table lamps can create a romantic mood. Place them near the grill to help you see what you're cooking. Put a standing lamp behind a comfortable chair for an after-dark reading corner.
  
  
• Set a pretty table. Average patio tables can be fun and funky with runners, place mats and glassware. Assemble a collection of accessories for your table that you get out for entertaining.

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