How to Create a Welcoming and Comfortable Outdoor Entertaining Space

Last year, I wrote a blog about how to make your outdoor space cozy. I showed you MY deck. If you missed it, you can read it here. This is as far as I’ve gotten THIS year with my own outdoor space.

Aren’t the flowers beautiful though?? I got that hanging basket from Northern Farm Market just down the street from the mill. Kara bought me another beautiful arrangement for Mother’s Day from the same place. Definitely a great place for flowers and veggies when you are in the area.

Outdoors at The Mill

This year, I want to show you a few ways I styled our backyard at the mill.

Did you even know that we HAVE this super cool space behind the mill? I just love it. To start, I used a pair of new, outdoor chairs and a metal table with a faux marble top to start. I love this jute rug and I have it in my laundry room. It’s great indoors or out! I don’t like the way I have it laying, though, I wanted more of an angle, but you get the idea.

I just want to say, bad angle or not, you want to add a rug to your outdoor space. Not only does it help to make your space cozy, but the rug also helps define your different seating spaces. Pillows are also a good idea in giving you that cozy, homey feeling outdoors.

Notice that I added flowers from Northern Farm Market here? I have to say flowers are a MUST when decorating your outdoor space.

It’s ok to use fake flowers too! If you call them “faux” flowers it sounds better. I added one of our faux wreaths to our metal ladder for some more greenery. Greenery makes everything prettier, right? I love having a throw outside for those chilly nights.

If you noticed, I added a planter with some faux grass to the table along with a copper lantern. A candle in the lanterns makes for a great ambiance at night. They might even help keep the bugs away.

Use What You Have

Even though I haven’t gotten very far in getting my own outdoor space entertainment worthy, I do know what furniture I have to work with. I like to have a slightly different look each year, though. I have my grandma’s table and chairs along with some garage sale furniture that I love and works well with Grandma’s set.

It’s super easy, and budget-friendly, to reuse what you have and only change up the accessories each year or every few years. The first look I showed you is pretty neutral and looks boho-ish, don’t you think?

This look still has the boho vibe but with more color

Notice, I just changed out the rug and added a few different accessories.

I used a different throw and chose a planter and lantern that pulled out the vibrant blue and green in the rug. And, by the way, that is a faux plant in that planter. One more thing, that lantern is solar! We have a few sizes of those in the shop.