{"id":611,"date":"2019-09-09T15:31:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T15:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/?p=611"},"modified":"2019-09-10T19:56:26","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T19:56:26","slug":"creating-the-perfect-outdoor-living-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/creating-the-perfect-outdoor-living-room\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Steps To Creating The Perfect Outdoor Living Room"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With so many <strong>outdoor living room ideas<\/strong> available, finding ones that\u00a0inspire your family can become a real challenge. Functionality is important, but so is backyard curb appeal. It&#8217;s key to create a space that provides room and seating for family and friends without looking and feeling cluttered. Do this by bringing\u00a0outdoor furniture pieces together in cohesive groupings. By separating\u00a0your outdoor space into segments and assigning\u00a0each one a purpose, you&#8217;ll invent a backyard\u00a0that looks great, functions well, and brings family and friends together all season long. Here&#8217;s how:<\/p>\n<h2>1. Think About Your Outdoor Space<\/h2>\n<p>Whether it goes on for acres or takes up just a small portion of a suburban lot, your backyard has potential. But, before you begin bringing in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/bar-tables\/department-type.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/bar-tables\/department-type.aspx\">bar tables<\/a>\u00a0and fire pits, you should assign a main function to this valuable space. Ideas might include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A fun family space where you can fire up the grill and seat your family of four comfortably\u00a0around a table.<\/li>\n<li>A serene garden escape where you go to meditate and recharge after a long day.<\/li>\n<li>A happy space\u00a0where friends\u00a0come to throw horseshoes, sit around a fire, and drink beer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once you know what it is you want to achieve in your outdoor living room, designing it becomes much easier.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Consider Your Guests&#8217; Comfort<\/h2>\n<p>The next step involved in <strong>designing the outdoor living space of your dreams<\/strong> should be the comfort of anyone who will be using it. Is the area covered by an awning or a roof? If not, you may need strategically placed umbrellas to give guests shelter from unexpected showers.<\/p>\n<p>Will you use the area at night? If so, then outdoor lighting should be an important consideration. You&#8217;ll want to light walkways and seating areas, at the very least.<\/p>\n<p>Do any of your friends or family have mobility issues? You may need to space furniture pieces far enough apart to allow a wheelchair or scooter to navigate. You might also want to consider adding a wheelchair-accessible table if dining will take place.<\/p>\n<p>Will you be entertaining pets or children? If so, you may want to invest in fencing to keep everyone out of the street and play equipment to keep kids entertained. You might also consider covered fire pit options or even a chimney fireplace, in lieu of an open flame.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Cluster Like Objects Together<\/h2>\n<p>If you plan to add seating for a lot of people, place the pieces together in groupings, and bring in accessories such as patio rugs to add cohesiveness. Outdoor sofas paired with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/loveseats\/department-type.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/loveseats\/department-type.aspx\">loveseats<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/chaises\/department-type.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/chaises\/department-type.aspx\">chaises<\/a> look beautiful lining an over sized deck or patio. Or, position pieces of outdoor sectionals around a central item, such as a fire pit, large planter box, or water feature.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, a series of small dining tables paired with two chairs each, or a single, large table that provides seating for six or eight\u00a0gives guests comfortable areas to eat and drink.<\/p>\n<p>By placing pieces in groupings, you&#8217;ll provide space for\u00a0\u00a0friends and family to gather comfortably and catch up on good times.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Use White Space Wisely<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespruce.com\/how-to-use-empty-space-in-arranging-furniture-1391369\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.thespruce.com\/how-to-use-empty-space-in-arranging-furniture-1391369\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">White space<\/a>\u00a0includes those areas of interior or exterior design that are blank or white. It&#8217;s basically empty space that, when done correctly, highlights focal points and important features of your main design. This means you want to allow empty space between and around groupings. Otherwise, your outdoor living room will end up feeling cluttered and anxious.<\/p>\n<p>To create white space, make sure there&#8217;s room for a natural flow of foot traffic in and around your pieces. A good rule of thumb is to allow roughly 3 feet for guests to walk and move about freely. Allow at least 1 1\/2\u00a0feet of empty space between\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/sofas\/department-type.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/sofas\/department-type.aspx\">outdoor sofas<\/a>, loveseats, and coffee tables. And you should allow guests at least 2 feet to maneuver in and out of dining chairs placed at a table.<\/p>\n<p>Even the smallest outdoor living room needs to feel spacious; otherwise, you and your guests will find it difficult to relax and kick back. So, design your backyard entertainment area to scale, and avoid overcrowding small areas with tons of furnishings.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Avoid Spreading Things Far and Wide<\/h2>\n<p>While it&#8217;s vital not to crowd small spaces, it&#8217;s equally important to make large areas feel complete. So, if you&#8217;re fortunate enough to have an over sized deck or porch, or if your backyard lot goes on and on, it might be best to focus on just one area for entertaining and leave the rest as empty space for mingling.<\/p>\n<p>To design a large space, use large pieces.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/sectionals\/department-type.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoor-furniture\/sectionals\/department-type.aspx\">Outdoor sectionals<\/a>, chaises and settees are perfect for this purpose, because the pieces can be moved around to fit the need. Once you have your large pieces in place, bind things together with functional accessories such as outdoor end tables, over sized outdoor pillows that can double as seating, potted trees and ferns, patio rugs and more.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Utilize\u00a0What You Have<\/h2>\n<p>Don&#8217;t forget to use the features you already have in place in your outdoor space to your best advantage. Deck and porch railings provide convenient places for guests to set drinks, while retaining walls and deck boxes may offer additional seating. Scatter a few drink coasters around to\u00a0help guests get the message, and place a few comfortable cushions anywhere you&#8217;d like to encourage guests to sit.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Enjoy Your New Outdoor Living Room Ideas<\/h2>\n<p>Most importantly, make sure you take time to get out there and enjoy your new outdoor space once you&#8217;ve completed it. Don&#8217;t get so caught up in the planning that the space never becomes finished. Set a clear goal, and once you&#8217;ve attained it, stop. This is the time to get on the phone and begin calling friends over to help you enjoy it.<\/p>\n<p>Entertaining valued friends and family is a life luxury that everyone should have. Enjoy life more with a beautiful, new\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoorfurniture\/\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/outdoorfurniture\/\">outdoor living room<\/a>\u00a0that does everything you ever wanted it to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With so many outdoor living room ideas available, finding ones that\u00a0inspire your family can become a real challenge. Functionality is important, but so is backyard curb appeal. It&#8217;s key to create a space that provides room and seating for family [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":662,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions\/662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodshomefurnishings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}