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My Summer Outdoor Living Tour

Welcome to my summer outdoor living tour! I’m excited to share some great ideas for your patio, porch, and outdoor living spaces with you today.

All of these photos are from our own covered porch at the back of our house, but most of the ideas would work great for a front porch, screened porch, or any other outdoor living and seating area.

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porche and outdoor spaces

As you’re taking the tour, I’ll pop in with a few descriptions, but mostly I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Enjoy and thank you again for stopping by!

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

Today I’m featuring our covered back patio area, because we use this space all summer long for eating, relaxing and entertaining.  Our patio functions as an added room to our home in the summer.  That’s why it’s important to me that this outdoor space is both comfortable and functional.

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

 

My theme for our covered patio — and really everything in summer —  is easy and breezy. 

If you saw my patio mood board post from a couple of weeks ago, you know I decided to keep it simple and stick to a clean, classic color scheme of navy and white this year.

I love blue during any season, but especially in the summer, so it was easy for me to get really excited about decorating our patio with this color as well.

I didn’t add any new furniture to the patio this year, although a larger table and additional seating are on my wish list!  We live in an area that occasionally has high winds, so heavyweight furniture is a must!

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

I simply updated our look with new seat cushions and rugs, all from Target.  With a dog–and two little granddaughters who visit often–these navy easy-to-clean cushions were the best choice for our outdoor living space.

I already had the accent pillows and decorative items on hand, so it was an easy and affordable way to refresh the look of our patio.  Since navy is such a great neutral, I can always update the look of our patio simply by adding different colored pillows!

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porche and outdoor spaces

By using green as my accent color this year, all I needed were a few ferns, herbs and house plants to complete the look.  Vibrant green looks so pretty with blues and whites, adding a fresh summery vibe.

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

Don’t forget to use your yard as a source for fresh flowers or greenery for your home or patio.  The greenery on my table includes cuttings from our Russian almond bush.

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

Enjoying the beauty of nature is our main focus when we’re out here.  I snapped these photos a couple of weeks ago when everything was just starting to leaf out.  I just love that vibrant green of springtime!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

Our patio faces west, with strong afternoon and evening sunlight, so our outdoor curtains not only add a pretty touch, but much-needed shade.  It’s amazing how much more livable this space is with the addition of curtains!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

When the wind blows, I simply tie the curtains back with a length of twine or ribbon to keep them from flapping around.

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

For outdoor entertaining, I like to keep a set of non-breakable dinner plates handy.  They’re so much prettier than paper plates!  (Although we still use paper plates, too!)

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

A crisp white table cloth and pretty woven placemats add a nice finished look to the table.  I leave the table cloth on the table all summer long, removing it only when it needs to be washed.  Since it’s white, I can bleach it when it gets stained.

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

The heavy white tray helps hold the table cloth down when the wind blows and serves as a nice centerpiece and catch-all.  I bought this one a couple of years ago, but here’s something similar.

round cutting board doubles as a serving tray.  The tea towel is from Anthro (my favorite source for pretty towels!).

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

I like to use baskets to hold extra pillows and soften some of the hard edges of the patio.  And a couple of throw blankets add warmth on chilly evenings.

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

Overhead, string lights criss-cross back and forth.  They create such a lovely glow and festive atmosphere when they’re lit up at night!

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porche and outdoor spaces

Over on the other side of the patio, we have a little sitting area with a glider and a small table.

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

This is the perfect spot to sit, enjoy a drink, and watch the sun set!

Summer Outdoor Living Tour - ideas and inspiration for your patio, porch and outdoor spaces-lush greenery and hanging curtains

 

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

Our granddaughters love to sit on the glider and rock back and forth.  The funny thing is, I remember doing the same thing on my grandma’s glider when I was little!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

I added a few clay pots filled with small house plants and herbs (all from Walmart) to add some texture and interest to this area.

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

I think empty clay pots have a beauty all their own!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

A basket tray and beads add some natural texture.  

Our patio is our summer sanctuary.  Once warm weather arrives, we spend every possible minute out here.  Now you know where to find me all summer!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

Thank you so much for visiting!  I hope you enjoyed my patio tour and got some ideas for your own outdoor living spaces!

Ideas to help you create an inviting outdoor living and entertaining space with lush greenery and hanging curtains

 

 

Again, thank you for stopping by for my patio tour, and I hope you found some great ideas and inspiration for your own outdoor spaces.  xo Jane

Here’s a list of the other designers on the Summer Outdoor Living Tour:

Tuft and Trim

 

The Greenspring Home

 

Alyse Warren

 

 

Gather in Grace

 

Pillow Thought Home

 

For more outdoor, patio and porch ideas, you might be interested in these related posts:

 

   

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10 Comments

  • Laura
    June 19, 2017 at 4:58 am

    Everything looks gorgeous, Jane! What an amazing space you’ve created. Enjoy your summer on that beautiful patio!

    Reply
    • Jane
      June 19, 2017 at 8:33 am

      Thank you so much dear Laura! I appreciate you stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment! xo

      Reply
  • Kathy @The Daily Nest
    June 18, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    Jane everything looks so fresh and beautiful!! We have have 3 little granddaughters and I totally get what you mean about keeping everything easy to clean! You are so talented and your attention to detail is perfect! Xo, Kathy

    Reply
    • Jane
      June 18, 2017 at 6:35 pm

      Thank you so much for this sweet comment dear Kathy! Your kind words mean a lot, lovely friend! xo

      Reply
  • Kelly Marohl
    June 18, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    This turned out so perfectly Jane! I adore your outdoor curtains and all of the breezy blue 🙂

    Reply
    • Jane
      June 18, 2017 at 6:32 pm

      Thank you so much lovely friend! I appreciate you so much!

      Reply
  • Rosanna Bassford
    June 18, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    What a pretty space! Love all the blue and greenery!

    Reply
    • Jane
      June 18, 2017 at 3:57 pm

      Thank you for your sweet comment dear Rosanna! xo

      Reply
  • courtney davey
    June 18, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    I LOVE all the pops of blue, and that rug is amazing! Great inspiration!

    Reply
    • Jane
      June 18, 2017 at 3:56 pm

      Thank you so much dear Courtney! xo

      Reply

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