Four simple ways to liven up your outdoor living space

Living in Australia means there’s a good chance you do a lot of your entertaining or relaxing outdoors. If you want to liven up your outdoor living space, here are a few tips to get you started.

Tidy up

Make the most of what you have by giving the area a really good clean up, especially if you’re not in the position to spend a lot of money on new furniture or decor. Wash things down, mow lawns, trim bushes and trees, weed and tidy gardens, fix fencing and generally try to make any area that you will be using or gazing out on look good.

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Add plants

This is my number one way to improve an outdoor living area. No matter if the space is big, small, upmarket or low key, adding plants will always give it a lift. Steer away from spiky plants because they make a space less welcoming. Instead, use soft grasses and plants with glossy or rounded leaves because they will make the area feel more lush and inviting.

Group a variety of pot styles and sizes to add a bit of interest but don’t go too far. If you use a completely different pot for every plant, it will look a bit jumbled, so if you have about 20 different plants, aim for about seven or eight different types of pots

Depending on what the space looks like, you could arrange the plants against the house and around the perimeter of the outdoor living space. It’s a nice way to cocoon your area so that when you are sitting out there, you feel enclosed and cosy but not hemmed in.

Furniture

I like to put low seating like sofas in an outdoor space rather than just dining style chairs. If you’re lucky enough to have the room, you could put in a dining setting and low seating. If you have to choose between one or the other, I feel that low seating always looks more relaxing and is more comfortable than sitting at a dining table.

Lighting

Lighting is often an afterthought when designing an outdoor living area, but it’s integral to how the space feels. Lighting really can make or break your space.

Adding dimmers to the existing lighting is excellent if you can do it. It’s lovely to be able to sit outdoors having a drink as dusk settles and be able to adjust the brightness of the lights as the night wears on.

If you can’t change the lighting, you could add a bit of pizazz and sparkle with a string of festoon lights. These look beautiful when hung under the roof or around the perimeter of the roof.

One other option is to hang an array of fairy lights. They always look enchanting and are quite striking if you hang a lot of them together. Just make sure you add enough light so you can see what you are doing but not enough to make the space too bright.

Candles and hurricane lamps look nice and add atmosphere too, but there is an obvious fire danger so you might prefer other, safer options.

Once you’ve got the furniture, plants and lighting sorted, it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy the outdoor living area you’ve created.

Jane Eyles-Bennett is one of Australia’s top exterior designers and owner of design firm Hotspace Consultants. Join Jane in her Facebook group Home Renovators Network Australia for design and renovation inspiration and insider tips for your home improvement project