Our Budget Friendly Outdoor Dining Room

As with most cape cod inspired designs, our home is on the small side.  Our outdoor spaces are important, we use them daily as living space.  During spring/summer/fall our backyard deck turns into our everyday dining area.  

We spent the weekend working in the yard and preparing our outdoor spaces for summer.  We started with a little makeover on the outdoor dining room.  My husband gave the deck a good power washing while I hit our local home improvement store for some budget friendly outdoor decor.  

{Before}

I wanted to make this space feel more like an extension of the house.  To do this, I incorporated elements found inside such as; textiles and art. 

I started with a soft, cozy outdoor area rug from Target. 

{After}

Wave petunias and sweet potato vine seem to thrive here.  They usually end up with a mind of their own.   With a little patience, these plants will take over. 

This is great for the budget, a big bang for the buck.  In the fall, I pitch the plants but save the planter to re-use year after year.  

I spruced up our existing outdoor dining set with new cushions.   

Instead of going with a full set of replacement cushions from Lazy Boy (the manufacturer of our furniture),  I chose a basic seat cushion and two toss pillows from Home Depot.  This cut the cost in half.

The color and pattern the pillows bring to the space is desperately needed while the plants are still small.  Another colorful element that we enjoy every year is our favorite piece of art. 

 It was a gift to me by talented local folk artist, MShaw (also known as my Aunt Margaret).  Her choice of medium is anything old, found, reclaimed, recycled.  This piece happens to be painted on a piece of slate, great for outdoors. 

We are almost officially ready for summer.  I'm still on the lookout for outdoor dinnerware and serving pieces. 

  Anyone have any suggestions on where to find fabulous, budget friendly outdoor dinnerware?