Summer is definitely in full swing and that means that you are more likely to find me on my patio rather than indoors.

A couple of years ago we transformed our pretty much unused patio into an outdoor living room and it has become my absolute favorite spot. Not only did it add a ton of usable space to our home, but it is the perfect spot for entertaining friends and family or just sit and hang out the four of us.

The goal was to make this outdoor living space as comfortable as our living room. It didn’t take much, but there are definitely some things to consider so today I want to share with you my best tips for creating your own amazing outdoor living space.

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Comfortable Outdoor Seating Is a Must

I think we can all agree that the number one must have in any hang out space is a comfortable place to sit. There are so many options out there, but when it came to making our final investment in some nice outdoor furniture we went with metal (that looks like wood) and I have to say it is by far the best decision we made.

Why? Because it is so stinkin’ easy to maintain! I literally brush it off with one of those small hand brooms and it is good as new. (I’ve also noticed that spiders don’t like making this metal furniture their home nearly as much as they do with our wood pieces, like our outdoor dining table.)

The cushions came with our set and although we store them in our shed for about 2 months out of the year they have been out in the rain and sun for 2 years now and have held their color and shape perfectly.

If you aren’t ready to invest or you want specific seating dimensions you could also take on an easy build for your outdoor seating.

Two of my super talented friends built their own outdoor furniture and got just the look they were going for and it was really budget friendly.

My friend Aniko from Place Of My Taste, built her own pallet furniture and I love the colors she used.

Ursula at Home Made by Carmona also built her patio furniture from scratch but went with a really clean and modern look.

And now that you’re sitting down, you’ll need somewhere to set your drink so you’re going to need…

An Outdoor Table

Not only are small outdoor tables really useful to set your drink on but they are the perfect excuse to add a fun pop of color or interesting shape to your outdoor space.

These are some of my faves from around the web. -Links to each below.

white wire drum table  |  turquoise metal stool  |  colorful side tables

And I don’t know about you, but I love the warm weather, but not necessarily the sun beating down on my ever aging skin so we are definitely going to need…

Shade During The Day

Of course the easiest way to get some shade is with an umbrella. They can be pretty inexpensive and you can get one that tilts to take your shade up a notch.

The best thing about umbrellas is that you can move them around as needed and they come in every color of the rainbow!

fun black and white umbrella  |  basic outdoor umbrella in any color you could imagine

And I absolutely love this idea to take an ordinary outdoor umbrella and made it really fun!

In our backyard I literally couldn’t sit on my patio in the evening without being blinded by the sun, which was totally getting in the way of my happy hours so I made my own outdoor curtains out of drop cloths and hung them up on a DIY outdoor curtain rod.