In case you hadn’t felt the intense Ontario heat, summer has officially arrived, and with it one of the most coveted Canadian activities of the year – spending time on a patio. If your home has the wonderful feature of a private outdoor space, you should be taking full advantage during the fleeting summer months. In order to get as much use out of your patio as possible, we recommend treating it like an extension of your home by putting a good amount of thought into how you decorate it. The more you like your outdoor patio space, the more likely you are to spend time enjoying it with family and friends. Below, we’ve gathered together our best advice for getting started on your patio decor. Be sure to act quickly and take advantage of these precious warm weeks!

Decide on Your Patio’s Purpose

When deciding how you’re going to budget for your patio, it’s important to have a plan in mind for what you’d most like to do while spending time in your outdoor space. For example, if your patio is more a place to sit and relax, you might look to focus more on comfortable seating, such as lounge chairs, an outdoor couch and plenty of low tables for keeping drinks and reading material close by. If your patio is a place where you’d like to spend mealtime, you’ll want to focus more on the appropriate type of seating for eating, such as high-backed chairs and a table that fits your space. If your patio is going to be multi-purpose, that’s even better! In this case, we would suggest blocking out space near the door to your home for an eating area, to shorten the distance between your kitchen and your patio table for transferring food and drinks outside. Save the best view area, whether it be the backyard or the pool, for a comfortable seating space with lounge chairs and cushioned couches. The accessories you buy for your patio will also be determined by its purpose. Relaxation spaces should include side tables and outdoor candles, while you’ll need to think about the right weather-friendly dishes if your patio is getting a lot of use during meal time.

Weatherproof Your Outdoor Space

It’s important to make sure that your patio space can withstand a flash rainstorm. For any pieces that you put outside, including dishes and decorative items, make sure that they are made for being outdoors and won’t sustain any damage if they’re left out during inclement weather. This is particularly important when it comes to the fabric used on your patio furniture. For any cushions or throw pillows, make sure you look for water-friendly fabric that’s also made not to fade in the sun for your outdoor upholstery, in order to get as much use out of your patio items as possible.

Choose a Colour Scheme

A patio is a great place to go bold with your colour choices, in ways that you normally can’t inside your home. While you may get sick of bright red or teal accessories if you have to be indoors with them year-round, a patio is a great spot to have a refreshing, bright colour scheme that fits with the summer weather. Some of the most popular colours for patios this summer include ocean blue, mustard yellow, rustic orange and dusty rose pink – all of which look great for cushions, outdoor dishes, candles and other patio accessories.

Ensure That Plants Can Handle Year-Round Weather

While there is a certain amount of maintenance required to get your garden ready to sleep for the winter, you’ll save a lot of time and money in the long run if you decorate your patio according to the climate you live in. While it may be tempting to incorporate a palm plant or several air plants into your patio decor unless you have space to move these green friends indoors for the long winter months we recommend spending your money on plants that can hibernate and re-blossom on their own. It takes enough effort already to bring out and put away your patio accessories for the winter – keeping major garden maintenance off your to-do list if possible can only help your busy schedule in the long run.

Invest in Sun Protection

Regardless of how you’re planning to use your patio, make sure that you and your guests remain protected by the sun at all times. Even in the evenings, when the UV index isn’t at its highest, sun damage can still occur, so it’s important to have your umbrella up or your awning out until the sun sets for the evening. Your umbrella, or another covering for your patio, should be something that you set aside a good amount of money in your patio budget for. We don’t need to completely rehash the importance of sun protection, but it should be noted that summer heat should be enjoyed in moderation. Besides the obvious impact of sunburns on your skin, it’s important to stay cool to avoid heat stroke or other health complications from too much sun exposure. As with your patio furniture cushions, you’ll also want to make sure that the fabric of your umbrella is sun-safe, both in terms of the level of protection it offers and its ability to stay looking the way it did when you first bought it, which will cut down on the frequency of replacing it. We now have a wide range of fabrics to choose from that are specifically made to last in the sun, so be sure to find one that doesn’t fade quickly.

Get in Touch

At Prestige Decor, we serve all of your outdoor fabric needs, whether it’s sun-proof, water-proof or food-proof. Reach out to our team to take a look at our wide range of offerings for your outdoor summer space.