If you are thinking about freshening up your outside space, the end of summer is a fantastic time to do it.
You might have to hit up a few more stores due to end of season low inventory, but lack of inventory equals playing with patterns, mixing and matching, and achieving a purposeful outdoor oasis. And hello, who doesn't love the rush of getting a cart full of killer clearance items?
Everything you will see in these photos are easy to obtain, and equally as easy on your pocketbook. Stores are getting in their fall shipments and need to make room on the floor so take advantage. You can thank me next spring.
Before
After
RELATED: It’s just color story
If you are someone who is a little hesitant about using bold colors, the deck is a great space to dip your toe in the color pool.
We started with the iron outdoor furniture, and that's it. I wanted the deck to be an extension of the inside of the house.
RELATED: Art, Music Inspire Colorful Lake Latowana Home
Knocking this project out came down to the leg work:
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2 trips to @targetstyle (cleaned out what was left of their outdoor department) ✔️
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2 trips to @worldmarket (yup, ransacked them too)✔️
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1 trip to Lowe's ✔️
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Cleaning up after a tornado (seriously)✔️
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1 day to set-up and take down because an unexpected storm came through ✔️
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Set-up a second time due to storm and morning dew ✔️
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1 broken glass lantern ✔️
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And 5 lbs of sweat because well, global warming is real, people ✔️
Like the Tasmanian devil, I cleaned out @target @worldmarket and @lowes for all these precious treasures.
World Market is one of my go-to’s for table settings. The orange and fuchsia placemats were the perfect background for the tropical bird plates. And sticking with my true eclectic maximal fashion, I did yellow and fuchsia napkins. The blue crystal goblets are courtesy of the client's grandmother's timeless taste and are too pretty to be behind a cabinet, not living their true life destiny.
How I Pulled It Off
I started at Target. It was really picked over, leaving me with just one choice for new cushions for the chairs. Thankfully, turquoise was the only color left that had six in stock. Turquoise is the color of all the interior doors, and bringing that color outdoors would be perfect.
Next, we needed a new umbrella and again it was slim pickens, but sure enough they had an orange umbrella on clearance. You know what is the complementary color of turquoise? You guessed it, orange. We also found quite a few booster pillows (great for adding more color, print, and texture). However, finding six of the same was impossible so I chose two turquoise and cobalt blue with tassels for the captain chairs, and four of the cobalt wave pillows. Due to the high I was getting from seeing all those orange clearance stickers, I found myself trying to find more fun accessories to spruce things up a little more. Lantern, lights, outdoor candles … it was mayhem.
Off to Lowes. Can I say Lowes has really been stepping up their game the past few years. I found the cutest flamingo pillows to bring some pink into the mix since it is a staple color inside. The clients use this home on the weekends in the summer, so they are not here every day to water the plants. I went with all low maintenance plants. Succulents, palm leaves, and cactuses, oh my.
At World Market I found everything on clearance! Yeah, that's right … everything. The blue rugs were a fun and very inexpensive way to pull the blue all the way through the whole deck. The wicker lanterns were basically free (okay, I am exaggerating a tad) but seriously hella cheap. I also snagged two white, three pink, and two turquoise metal plant stands for less than $100. I love having those around. They are so versatile and for clients who entertain a lot, they give extra seating or side tables for yummy summer cocktails.
Follow Melissa B Rodgers @mbrdomesticstyling
