Breathe New Life Into Your Outdoor Living Room With Cozy Decorating Ideas

Outdoor living rooms serve as the heart of the home for much of the year. During spring and summer, your outdoor lounge serves as the backdrop to gardening, sunbathing and barbecues with friends. When the leaves turn, fire pit season is in full swing and your outdoor lounge becomes the epicenter for s'mores, spiked cider and cinnamon rolls on Saturday morning.

If your well-loved (a.k.a worn out) outdoor living room is lackluster, it may be time to zhuzh up your space with a fresh layout, accessories and furnishings. Not sure where to begin? Read on, friend. We're sharing our top tips for freshening up your outdoor living room like a pro.

Garden stools are the unsung heroes of outdoor living rooms. These understated accents are budget-friendly, adaptable and serve as eye-catching solutions for just about any design obstacle that comes your way. Searching for a chic (but petite!) side table for your outdoor sofa? Grab a garden stool. Want to prop up your prized topiaries for detail trimming? Make garden stools your go-to. And if you need extra outdoor seating for your next neighborhood get-together — garden stools are here to save the day.

Stay hydrated during the dog days of summer with a buzz-worthy DIY outdoor bar. Use our space-saving outdoor bar tutorial or repurpose one of your existing console tables with melamine drinkware and the fixings for your favorite seasonal cocktails. Load up the remaining space with necessities like water bottles, barware tools, an ice bucket and reusable straws.

Don’t let space go to waste! Maximize your patio or deck floorplan by capitalizing on empty corners to create cozy seating. Push your outdoor sofa or sectional flush to the corner or build an integrated bench modeled after the charming nook pictured here. Use your sofa or bench as the focal point for the space, then build off that with a weatherproof coffee table and a pair of lightweight outdoor chairs to complete the design.