8 Great Tips to Jazz up Your Outdoor Living Space

The easiest and least expensive way to jazz up your outdoor deck or patio is by using splashes of color. Sometimes it only means investing in a few accent pieces that make a bold statement and freshens up the space. Following are some ideas to help get you started.

   1. First, clear everything off your deck or patio and give it a good pressure wash. If it needs staining, all the new furniture in the world won't help -- bite the bullet and give it a new coat of stain or paint. This is actually a great place to get started with colorful accents. Try painting your fence posts a bright, coordinating color. Or paint a pattern or border around the edge of your deck.
   2. Decks are for socializing, so show that you are ready for company. The addition of metal furniture is inexpensive and comes in lots of great colors. Place a colorful bar cart in the corner and load it up with bright acrylic glassware.
   3. Give your old wicker furniture a facelift by painting it in bright sunny colors, or if you're feeling adventuress, use a stencil and add flowers or other patterns. Use acrylic paint, but seal it with varnish to protect the paint.
   4. Get a hold of a galvanized bucket or oblong container, paint it bright blue or orange and add a vine pattern on the outside. Viola, now you have a fancy ice-bucket for all your coolers. Remember, unless you're using a food-safe paint, the surface should not come in direct contact with food.
   5. Use themes, such as the seashore, by incorporating fishes, sea shells and beach balls in your accents or stencils. A citrus theme works well by using pale greens, oranges and yellow as colors for chairs or bistro tables. Try painting a slatted table top with two or three different corresponding shades.
   6. Funky lighting goes a long way to jazzing up a patio area. Colorful lanterns or strings of lights can be hung from overhanging trees or beams providing a fun and economical source of lighting.
   7. If you have any plain white vinyl furniture, give it a fresh new look with paint specially formulated for vinyl furniture. Then, add some new cushions and your old chairs will look practically new.
   8. Use color wisely by tying everything together with your accessories. Take four chairs each painted in a different primary color and add a cushion in a common color such as red or green, and place them around a neutral table top.