The sun is shining, the weather is warm and it’s officially the season for making your outdoor space look beautiful! There’s nothing quite like the warm breeze of a summer evening to inspire an outdoor space transformation. Whether you have a balcony, a porch, a courtyard or a garden, there are plenty of ways that you can create an outdoor living area that seamlessly transitions from the inside to the outside, ready for long warm evenings sitting with a cold drink and good company.

So, if you’re wishing to maximise your living space, don’t overlook your home’s outside space – it’s often the most versatile area and can make a welcome escape at the end of a long day. We’ve rounded up our top tips for creating an additional living space outdoors and making the most of this lovely hot weather!

Gemini burlington SETTING 1_IVORY.jpg — Finding the Perfect Outdoor Surface that Works for You

As well as being functional, outdoor surfaces should add interest, be durable and practical to maintain. As a rule, hard surfaces work well and the best options are paving stones, decking or tiles. A combination of materials can also be used, so long as the material blends with your surroundings and, if you’re planning to entertain, it needs to be a solid level surface.

A paved area, creating a neat tidy patio, is perfect for outdoor dining. Bricks and pavers are small, easy to lay, and there are many options to suit your budget. Ensure you do your prep work carefully before laying, as the finish of the job relies heavily on how well you’ve prepared your base.

From alfresco dining to sunbathing, a tiled garden also provides a functional and modern solution that will last for years to come. The huge choice of tiles on the market also means that you’ve got more choice when it comes to design than ever before.

Or, for a more natural and rustic look, choose decking for a practical yet beautiful option that will look good for years to come. Perfect for zoning different areas, decking is available in different widths and styles to create distinct areas that can form a visually interesting effect. Also, if you have wooden floors inside, decking can create a nice indoor/outdoor flow.

Creating a Luxurious Space with Comfortable Outdoor Furniture

Outdoor furniture has come a long way since the days of plastic sun loungers and uncomfortable folding chairs. And why not – after all, you wouldn’t use this type of material inside, so why settle for it outside? Deck chairs and folding furniture are all well and good for limited spaces, but it’s hard to properly kick back and relax in them.
Instead, people are now favouring softer, plumper and more comfortable furniture, reminiscent of the armchairs and sofas that you would usually find in an inside living room. Egg chairs have become a popular choice, as have zero gravity sun loungers with padded cushions and even handy built-in tray tables.
Another popular option is rattan seating and it’s not hard to see why. Stylish and practical, rattan bases can be arranged with thick, luxurious cushions for maximum comfort – plus the base units are waterproof, should you need to retreat indoors due to rain.

How to Create A Summer Patio.jpeg — How to Create Ambience Through Outdoor Lighting

With all the time and effort that you’re going to spend making your garden look beautiful, you want to make sure that you’ll still be able to enjoy it once the sun goes down! With creative use of outdoor lighting, gardens can be transformed into ambient areas with distinct appeal. It also creates a relaxing, tranquil feeling – the perfect tonic before winding down for bed.
Some of the key principles of good lighting are: using light to lead your eye from one space to another, and enhancing the structures and materials of the space around it, and helping to create different moods for separate areas.

Garden lighting is so vast and varied that there are many different ways to incorporate it into your design, depending on what you want to achieve. For example, if you have a patio, you might like to use lighting along the edges to make it stand out, or you might prefer to use spotlights to emphasise a feature such as a rockery, pond or specific bushes. Focusing on individual areas breaks the garden into sections, giving it more appeal and interest.

A key thing to remember with external lighting is that less is often more. To create mood lighting, you don’t need to go for full floodlights – just cleverly positioned fairy lights can create a warm artificial light that sets the tone and evokes a beautifully inviting space.