Ten Ways To Embellish Your Outside Space

Embellishing your home on the inside is a no-brainer, right?  We all know we need to add furniture, pictures and accessories to make the house inviting.  But what about the outside?  Have you embellished it to make it welcoming to those that pull into your driveway?  There are lots of easy and inexpensive ways to do that!  Here are a few ideas from things I’ve added to my yard and porches.

1.  Furniture – Think of your porch or deck as an outside room.  What could you add to make people want to sit down and enjoy that space?  For starters, they need something to sit on.  So consider what kind of  furniture would fit in your space.

My front porch has only two rocking chairs.  I also added the table between them so there’s a spot for a glass of tea or a coffee cup to rest on.
The back patio, has much more – a table and chairs, a swing, a love seat and two high stools.  I love that we have a choice of places to gather and places to sit in both locations.

2. Patio – Because we have a little over an acre, I divided the back yard into spaces. Rather than having all green space, we added the brick patio for entertaining. This is where we can gather around the fire pit, or put large tables and host a dinner.  The smaller circles are for smaller tables. I’ve hosted both large parties of more than 25, and also small groups and this space is perfect for that!

3. Pergola- I actually started this whole patio with the installation of our pergola.  Our daughter Alli had this built for her wedding (inside our church).  She had no space for it afterwards, so it got placed in our yard. Woo hoo! It was the inspiration for the landscape!
Last year I bought a Wisteria on sale at Lowes for $3!  It’s making the pergola shady and beautiful!  A pergola can break up a space or create an entry for a side yard.

4. Raised Beds –  Our beds have herbs in the middle box and vegetables in the other two.  I love them because it looks neat, rather than having a garden dug into the grass.  It also makes it easier to maintain!

5.  A Pool!  Okay, ours is less than 18″, but even a small pool will embellish your yard for your children or grandchildren to enjoy! When I was growing up we had an above ground, 4 foot pool that was a ton of fun for our family.  It can create beauty and recreation, if your family enjoys the water.

6.  Flowers – This is a given, probably, but they add so much!  Add them at different eye levels – some up high like this planter (but don’t hang it 10 inches from the top of the porch – keep it in eye range- 5 or 6 feet high.

Add some lower – like flowering bushes or containers on the ground. This is a Popcorn Rose Bush and I love it!!

7.  Window Boxes – When we first moved into our house, my dad encouraged me to copy the houses in England and add flower boxes upstairs.  I enjoy them so much from both the outside and inside!  They really add a lot to the house.

 

Don’t have a green thumb? No worries…try these…

8.  Artificial succulents – I bought these at the Dollar Tree and popped them into these $2 stone birds.  No water or sunshine needed! Thanks for the inspiration, Whitney!

Here’s another set on the back porch…

The container above was inspired by this box I saw (below) at an expensive store!  I just needed a small container of plants, so I just went with what my box would hold. It’s perfect for this small table.  Again, my succulents and jars cost me a total of $4 and the box was a gift I already had!

9.  Fire Pit – There are all kinds of sizes and price ranges, but the fun around a summer fire is priceless! Just this week we had friends over, pulled out the S’mores ingredients and sat around the pit until nearly 11:00.

10.  Lights – The lights I have on our patio are truly nothing more than white Christmas lights.  They’ve been up for 6 years and they add so much to the back porch at night.  It’s the perfect amount of light to make it cozy or to see the back door if you’re out roasting marshmallows at the fire pit!

The list goes on and on to include things like a She Shed, a playhouse, a tree house, a swing set, a water feature or a rug. Oh what fun and beauty is just outside your front or back door!!

Who wouldn’t want to spend all their free time outside in a yard embellished with some decorative, inviting touches?!

What have you added to your yard that you love?  What do you need to add to make it more inviting?

Refresh yourself with some time outside!