Summer is never long enough so it’s important to be prepared to take advantage of every opportunity to be outside when the season finally rolls around. With our long Canadian winters it feels good to ditch the inside spaces and take our lounging to our outdoor space.
If you’re in the market for new outdoor furniture my best advice is to go shopping early. This is the shortest of all retail seasons and no retailer wants to be stuck with inventory so supplies are always limited.
Creating an outdoor oasis will help build excitement about the good times ahead. Here are my best tips for getting your outdoor space organized and ready to go!
How to Create an Outdoor Oasis
One of the mistakes that happens when it comes to organizing an outdoor space is that we tend to start pulling out our furniture on the first nice day without a plan in place. Take your time and plan your space just as you would in your home’s interior.
Start by considering the criteria listed below and allowing the answers to guide you in how you create your outdoor oasis. Here are the major things you’ll want to consider in order to create the perfect outdoor space.
What Is the Purpose?
The first question is what will I do in this area? Do you want to lounge, eat, read, entertain?
You want to incorporate as much outdoor living as possible so consider all the uses before you begin.
You should also consider how often you’ll be entertaining. How big will your group be and how many of your guests are adults versus kids? This will help determine the amount and type of seating required.
If you love to entertain but also love a quiet day by yourself outdoors you may determine you need two distinct areas. It’s always nice if you have the space to create a small area where you can escape and retreat for an afternoon of reading or napping.
The Foundation
Consider what materials you’re building upon and how it will impact your comfort. It’s essential to have a solid foundation under your lounging and dining areas so plan for these spaces to be sitting on either decking material or a solid, flat surface. For most of us these areas are created either on a deck or a patio so you’ll have a solid foundation. It’s often the secondary areas that require some planning.
While we can’t always build our seating areas on a solid foundation it’s important to know this so the furniture you select can alleviate some of the foundation issues. Maybe you have a perfect shady area under a tree where you want to drink coffee and read a book but that means the foundation is grass. Be aware that you’ll want a heavier, sturdier chair and table so that the uneven foundation doesn’t topple you over every time you move about in your seat.
The Layout
The best time to play around with the furniture layout is before you start pulling it out of storage. Have a floor plan either in your mind or drafted on paper so that you spend less time moving pieces around. While outdoor furniture isn’t as heavy as our indoor furniture it can still be frustrating move around heavy furniture all day.
Start with the largest pieces of furniture and once those are in place you can start to add in smaller pieces like side tables, stools and benches. Always give yourself ample room to move in and out of the seating areas. You don’t want to feel trapped once everyone is seated.
And lastly, be sure you can access the seating area from at least two different spots to give easy access to seating. When large groups of people are gathering you want to avoid congestion and roadblocks so consider all the walkways and access points to ensure ease of movement.
The Decorating
This is the fun part! Bring in the plants that will make the area feel cozy and enclosed. And have fun with your decor items but don’t go overboard. You want to ensure there’s enough space left for drinks and food to be placed on flat surfaces. If you need additional suggestions for decorating, consider reading this post about the items that make a difference in decorating your space. These tips apply to outdoor decorating as well.
Helpful Tips for Creating an Outdoor Oasis
1/ Create Zones
If you have the space it’s nice to dedicate an area to lounging and have a separate space for eating. This will recreate the feeling of home even though you’re outside. And if there’s even more space available, I love to incorporate a small sanctuary for one. This can be a hammock swinging amongst the trees in a corner of your yard or a single adirondack chair for reading.
2/ Incorporate Lighting
One of the mistakes that will impact your enjoyment of your outdoor oasis is not properly planning for lighting. While I do love candlelight I think appropriate lighting can extend the time you spend outside.
Just as we like to have multiple sources of light inside our homes, the same applies to the exterior. Consider string lights, rechargeable lamps, lanterns and solar lights dispersed throughout your garden.
Having enough exterior lighting will allow you to spend those warm summer nights enjoying every moment of the fleeting summer.
3/ Include Shade
While good lighting can help extend your evenings you need to plan for a shady area during the daytime when the sun is out. You don’t need to invest in a gazebo to add a shady area to your space.
An umbrella is the simplest and most affordable option. You can opt for a couple of round umbrellas or invest in a large cantilevered option that can extend 10 feet or more and will provide shade for several people.
Even the shade from your existing trees can be an option and will allow you to use parts of your yard that may sit unused otherwise.
4/ Double Duty Furniture
It’s not reasonable to expect that we will always have the amount of seating that’s needed because occasionally we’ll be hosting large groups that exceed our seating capacity. It’s nice to have furniture pieces that can be pulled into the conversation area when needed.
Consider portable pieces like stools or benches that can also double as food and beverage stands when not used for seating. If you really want to buy additional seating you might also want to consider options that fold or stack to save space during the non-summer months.
5/ Incorporate Privacy
One of the factors that we don’t pay enough attention to outdoors is privacy. We don’t have to contend with nosy neighbours when we’re inside our homes but may need to consider this when creating our outdoor oasis.
Use natural elements like trees and shrubs but also consider curtain panels as well. These have the added benefit of shading the sun as well as maintaining some privacy in your backyard.
I hope you feel ready to tackle your own outdoor oasis. If you need help, reach out to me. I’m happy to provide help with both indoor and outdoor decorating projects.
