Tips for Creating an Outdoor Area for Entertaining

Summer is on the way and small summer gatherings might be back on the table for you, your friends, and your family. Having an appealing area to entertain people outside helps you make the most of the long summer days and refreshing nights. Whether you’ve recently moved into a new home or simply need to update the existing space, our tips for creating an outdoor area for entertaining will help you design an unforgettable space for you and your guests.

Treat the Space Like a Living Area

Before you get to work on your outdoor decorating skills, you must consider how you’ll approach the usage of the space as a whole. Don’t treat your outdoor living area like a place you’ll only use once in a blue moon—treat it as though it’s an extension of your home, like another living room.

Decorate your porch, patio, or deck the same way that you would accessorize a living area or dining area, depending on how you’ll use it. You’ll certainly use it for gatherings and parties, but you can also use the area every day for morning coffee or even dinner during a quiet evening.

And though you might incorporate weather-resistant furniture and décor, the space can still exude charm. Find furnishings that are more charismatic than classic patio furniture. They should offer as much character as your living or dining room essentials. Space out the area with outdoor sectionals and weatherproof area rugs—just as you would decorate a living room.

Add at Least One Signature Activity

Everyone wants their house to hold a special place in their guests’ hearts. You can make a memorable impression by incorporating a signature activity or a special part of your entertaining area.

Examples of elements you can add to your outdoor entertaining space include:

• A luxurious pool
• A hot tub
• Slides or water features
• A fully equipped outdoor kitchen
• A firepit
• A beautiful backyard oasis with a gazebo

If you want to do the most you can to create lasting memories at your backyard events, don’t just give guests a place to sit and converse; your space must entertain, whether through activities or memorable scenery.

Extend the Space Into Your Backyard

While your porch or deck should do most of the work entertaining your guests, it doesn’t have to do all the work—especially if it’s a small area. If you’re unsatisfied with the amount of space you have on your patio, extend it! You can either build new sections of patio or use your backyard and landscaping to create other areas to entertain—like rooms in a house. Let your backyard showcase your love for hosting events by adding benches, tea tables, or bench swings and connecting everything with elegant pathways or sight lines.

For hosts who want to entertain children as well as their parents, consider adding a backyard play area where children can have fun under the watchful eyes of the adults.

Use Colorful Décor

When you host outside, you provide guests with an exciting alternative to a stuffy indoor party. Make good use of the same color theory that you use inside the house—only with a brighter theme than you’d use in an interior living room. Take the chance to play with seasonal colors and décor that you can change out with the seasons to transform the outdoor space.

Pick colorful area rugs for each season; think pastels for spring, bright sunny colors or bold blues for summer, and darker oranges and reds for fall. These colors also apply to interchangeable upholstery for outdoor furniture, pillows, and even the umbrella at your dining area. Whether you prefer to stick to one hue all year or change with the seasons, don’t miss out on the opportunity to use bold colors that you can’t use inside your home!

Decorate With Eye-Catching Native Plants

Plants that don’t need a lot of attention are the best kinds of plants. By using beautiful flora that grows naturally in your area, you can attract native pollinators and save money on landscaping maintenance.

The big blooms of your native plants can inspire the colors that you use in your outdoor living area’s design—allowing you to creatively integrate the natural beauty of your yard into the manmade design of your home. During the blossoming part of the season, guests will be amazed by your outdoor space’s synergy with the world around it.

Keep the Space Well Lit and Bug Free

You certainly can’t host your guests outdoors without light—unless you’re having a moon-viewing gathering or watching a meteor shower together. Keep the areas around your entertaining space well lit and install some lights in the yard to keep the good vibes flowing well into the night.

Though pollinators are a welcome sight in your yard and among your flowers, other bugs are much less welcome around your living areas—especially mosquitoes and flies. Light attracts pests, and pests only bug your guests and drive them indoors.

One tip for creating an outdoor area for entertaining is to use bug control tools. Place bug screens on enclosed patios, surround living areas with citronella repellants, and grow naturally bug repellant plants, such as lavender and marigolds.

Make the Floors Cozy With Outdoor Area Rugs

Whether your guests are barefoot at a pool party or you want to hide the surface of your deck, an outdoor porch carpet can protect feet from pebbles or splinters while adding a designer’s touch to your exterior entertaining area. Don’t shy away from rugs because you’re afraid to clean them—most outdoor rugs allow you to spray them off and dry them when they need cleaning. Just like in your interior design, your outdoor space isn’t complete without a colorful rug to subtly split up the space. Additionally, a pool without a rug to dry off slippery feet could lead to guests slipping and hurting themselves.

Whether you need a stylish indoor or outdoor rug or a soft artificial turf rug for your backyard décor, Koeckritz Rugs has enough rug material and pattern options to decorate any space. Let us work with you to create a customized area rug for your patio, deck, or gazebo, and see how much a rug can add to a living area—even outdoors.