Use Patio Furniture to Create an Outdoor Living Room

A lovely flagstone patio provided the perfect foundation
for my outdoor living room.

The quest for furniture to create a living room on my patio began with a gift from the former owner of my new home.

For the past four years, the apartment I lived in looked out onto a parking lot next to a major roadway. I have longed for nature—trees, birds, fresh air—and a place I could sit with a cup of chamomile or a glass of chardonnay and take it all in.

The castle has such a place. Like the rest of the home, the backyard is small in size, but it’s big on character. The prior owners installed a flagstone patio and planted a perimeter of shrubs and vines. They also left a little water feature and a post for stringing a hammock. I fell in love the first time I walked back there. It’s a lovely oasis. I felt like I just needed some patio furniture to make it the perfect outdoor living room.

End-of-summer deals

The timing couldn’t be better. As summer winds down, retailers are looking to unload their outdoor merchandise to make room for fall and holiday wares, and patio furniture is priced to move. We found a settee, chair, and ottoman on clearance at Pier 1 Imports. Our new homeowner budget never could have withstood the full price of this set, but we got such a great deal that we were able to afford a ceramic garden stool, too.

 

Bringing the Inside Out

My Home Ideas suggests arranging patio furniture in an outdoor living room just as you would indoors to encourage conversation and relaxation. To increase the comfort level, the site suggests liberal use of outdoor cushions and pillows. We followed that advice, purchasing cushions in a coordinating palette of orange, green, gold, and blue. Because I need birds and/or butterflies in every room, two of the throw pillows are embroidered with avian friends.

As I’ve researched ideas for decorating and furnishing small spaces, the tip that has come up time and again in magazines and on sites such as IKEA is to find furnishings that can multitask. In our little outdoor living room, the ottoman serves as a comfortable footrest when topped with a cushion, but it doubles as a coffee table with the aid of a serving tray. If guests visit, it offers extra seating (as does the garden stool, which we’ve been using as a stylish place to rest our beverages).

I'm Not Done Yet

The more time I spend on our patio, the more I realize I want to do, but the furniture has been an excellent start to create an outdoor living room where I can relax.

What is your favorite way to relax outdoors?