Welcome to our patio this summer! I worked hard all early spring to make sure this space would be ready for the summer season. We restained the deck, repainted doors, power washed the concrete and deep cleaned all our outdoor furniture. Early spring is when I start thinking about how I want to organize the deck and repairing anything winter may have damaged. We bought this large outdoor sectional couch last year and it’s in such good shape, we were able to reuse it this year. It’s so comfy and the cushions clean up so easy with some Oxyclean. I did purchase a new outdoor rug from Amazon. It was super cheap so I was worried about the quality. But the material is perfect for an uncovered deck or patio and I can just wash it down with the hose.
Because we don’t have a porch or covered patio, we use large offset patio umbrellas. I’ve had them for a few years, and when they get used and abused, you can just purchase new umbrella covers on Amazon instead of replacing the entire umbrella. We love this offset umbrella because it has a rotating base so you can change the direction of the umbrella. And they’re huge! We just got a new one we are excited to add so we can have even more shade!
Almost every plant is real, but to add some mature trees to our patio, I purchased faux trees from Nearly Natural. This is a 7.5’ ficus tree that is UV resistant. It comes with a concrete base, and I just planted it in a pot with some soil for a more realistic look. Everyone who sees this tree thinks it’s real, that’s how realistic their faux plants are.
We also have string lights across most of the patio. If you have an outdoor space, add lights. They add such a romantic vibe and we love turning them on at night time and enjoying our outdoor space.
I decided to paint the entire trim around the front door black this year and I think it gives it the pop it needed. I also dig out my patio chairs from the basement and placed those in front of the front door. We use this space more than I ever thought we would.
The wreath on the door is also from Nearly Natural and is a faux floral. They give the space a pop of color and I love that I can just swap them out with the seasons. I thought the pink florals were the perfect touch for summer. I just use 3M hooks to hang them from the glass on my front doors. I purchased two of them and have one on my other front door too.
For outdoor rugs, we have a really hard time keeping them clean due to the uncovered deck. I went with a Chilewich front door mat years ago and it’s made of plastic. They hold up to anything! So we purchased a second one to leave outside. When they get dirty, I just hit them with the jet setting on my hose and they clean right up good as new.
We still need to actually clean the house, but because the helicopters dropped all spring, we decided to wait until they were done. To keep the patio clean, I blow it off with an electric blower every single day. Once a week, I use a long handled scrub brush and some all purpose cleaner, and hose down the deck. Uncovered outdoor spaces are harder to keep clean, but if you are consistent, you can enjoy them all summer long.
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