After decorating your indoor space, what next? Like many homeowners, you may want to focus on your outdoor space to enhance your home’s curb appeal and increase its value. While decorating your outdoor space comes with many considerations, it can be relatively easy if you adhere to the right tips and avoid certain mistakes. And what mistakes are we referring to? We have highlighted a few below.

1. Forgetting its outdoor, not indoor

A typical indoor space is characterized by wall arts, sofas, indoor furniture, cabinets, wall desks, etc. On the other hand, an outdoor space is characterized by outdoor furniture, fire pit, plant pots, lights, pool, hammock, etc.

When decorating your outdoor space, don't implement indoor ideas by bringing your old sofa to your patio area or hanging a portrait on your fence. Remember that you are furnishing your outdoor space, so you don't implement ideas that confuse visitors.

Use indoor furniture for indoor decorations and outdoor furniture for outdoor decorations. Why? Because outdoor furniture is designed to withstand outdoor conditions, while indoor furniture isn't. Don't place your living room furniture outside because it looks good; you may end up regretting the move.

2. Too much or inadequate furniture

You don't need to cram your outdoor space with lots of furniture to enhance the appeal. Adorning this space with lots of tables, rocking chairs, benches, lounge chairs, etc., won't jazz up your space; instead, it will make it look cluttered and less attractive.

The lesser the furniture, the better. However, ensure that your outdoor space, the patio area, especially, contains enough furniture to accommodate outdoor activities like relaxation, chitchats, and small outdoor meals. Try to keep a balance for the sake of its appeal and functionality.

3. Failing to consider pavement

While designing your patio area and garden, it is important to focus on your pavement. The pavement of your home should be durable and blend with your outdoor design.

Common outdoor pavement options are granite, limestone, porcelain, slate, and one of the most common, concrete. Concrete is an ideal option for areas like your driveway, patios, sideways, etc.

Rather than use the regular aggregate in your concrete payment, you can consider calling in washed aggregate pavers Perth for the best-exposed aggregate pavement design. These pavers are also skilled in concrete and liquid limestone paving

4. Under accessorizing or no decoration

Picture this: you visit Ikea to buy one of those cozy connecting sofas with a nice ottoman dining table. Maybe you buy a lounge chair or two to complement the sofa with some throw pillows for comfort. After returning home, you carefully arrange what you bought, placing each item in its best position. Afterwards, you take a step back and wonder what is missing. Accessories!

We aren’t referring to those accessories you move from your living room to your outdoor space, but accessories designed for outdoor areas. Your outdoor accessories should be designed to spruce up your outdoor space and withstand the elements. You can consider creating a shade to protect them during the offseason or weather events, like hurricanes, storms, tornados, etc.

Common outdoor décor and accessories are:

Pottery, containers, urns
Pillows and cushions
Candles
Windchimes
Garden statues
Hanging ornaments
Mirrors
Lighting fixtures

While decorating your outdoor area with accessories, always try to maintain a balance. This means ensuring that you don't over or under decorate the area with accessories. Both scenarios, which are common design mistakes, could ruin your hard work.

5. Unpleasant lighting

Is lightning an important outdoor accessory? Of course, it is! Outdoor lighting is just as crucial as your indoor lighting. The type of outdoor lighting you use can either make or break your outdoor oasis; hence, you should prioritize it along with other outdoor accessories.

Outdoor lighting is designed to illuminate your landscape when the sun is down. They are also designed to create a warm welcome when family or guests enter your front door.

To tap from the benefits of outdoor lighting, you need to ensure that you are using the right type of outdoor lights. You can consider votives for your garden and patio space, hang lanterns and fairy lights across your dining area or recessed lights for great illumination. If you wish to go big, you can get one of those outdoor chandeliers.

No one is perfect when it comes to interior or exterior decorations. Everyone is prone to making mistakes. However, you can minimize the likelihood of making one by noting these outdoor design rules.

3 Basic Outdoor Design Rules to Consider

Decorating your outdoor space isn’t a pushover. It comes with lots of considerations, including your landscaping, structures, the size and shape of your outdoor space, and a host of other factors that would determine the results of your effort. Here are some simple rules to follow when designing your outdoor space.

1. Vertical space: Does your outdoor space have a couple of walls, say one or two? If so, leverage the space by using design accessories like urns or vases coupled with tall ornamental grasses or patio trees, climbing vines, etc. Aside from these, you can also consider using hanging outdoor lights, chandeliers, pedestals, wind chimes to add more vibe to your space.

2. Focal point: A focal point, in this context, refers to the area that captures one's attention. Establishing a focal point is key to smart design for an outdoor space. It helps guide visitors' eyes to a favorable part of the room and away from a less favorable area. Your focal point could be a beautiful patio area adorned with nice rugs and furniture, a torch or lantern for lightning, a tent, an awning, etc.

3. Style or design: Have zero idea of how to decorate? No problem! First off, you’ll need to observe the architectural style of your house coupled with its proportions and the exterior materials that are used. In addition, look at the house for patterns and details you can recreate in your outdoor space.

Conclusion

Your outdoor space may not be getting the compliments it deserves due to certain mistakes in its decoration. Ensure you take time to audit your outdoor decoration, noting your mistakes and fixing them accordingly.