2019 Summer Outdoor Living Tour – Michelle’s Home

If you are new to my blog, hello and welcome! My name is Michelle and I’m so pleased you are joining me for my 2nd annual Summer Outdoor Living Space Tour. This year I am showcasing four talented women that were gracious enough to share their spaces and styles with us. I am so thankful to each of them. 

No matter the size, your outdoor space can be as inviting, comfortable, and stylish as your interiors. I hope this tour gets you inspired to add the finishing touches to make your own home even more comfortable and welcoming. 

Summer Outdoor Living Space Tour

My family and I just finished our second year in our Northern Virginia home and these past two years may be the fastest of our lives. Our home is in a residential neighborhood and sits on a corner lot so our backyard is small. Virtually all of our backyard is taken up by our deck. However, our deck is the favorite warm-weather area to hang out and I strive to make it feel like an extension of our home.

With a 6-week old baby girl, I didn’t have the time this summer to do everything I envisioned for my outdoor area, but things I did accomplish were ideas I gathered from my 2018 Summer Outdoor Living Space Tour. If you missed that tour, you can view it HERE. 

One of my favorite new plants that I used in my outdoor space this summer is the asparagus fern that I found at Lowes. I do not have a green thumb and I feel like this is a plant that I can not kill. 🙂 I love how quick they grow and how lush they are! You will spot it all over my deck.

You will also spot my tiny little herb garden. 

With the sitting area of our deck getting so much sun, I purchased this striped umbrella from Wayfair to help shade the area and dress up my space. 

Potato vines and the asparagus ferns are a perfect combo to fill a planter and are low maintenance. An easy, “Michelle proof” plant that I can’t kill are the necessary attributes for plants tough enough to make it under our care. 

Pillows are one of my favorite accessories to use in my outdoor space for layering and adding that pop of color. I even use indoor pillows outside that are weatherproofed with a few layers of  Scotchgard to protect them. 

For those of you familiar with my blog, my white Siberian Husky used to make a cameo appearance on every blog post. Unfortunately, Eagan passed away last spring but our new dog is keeping us busy and filling the void that Eagan left. Meet Buddy, our 5 month Australian Shepard/Korean Jindo mix puppy. 

Dining Area

I added some new striped pillows and a flowered rug to this area of my deck. I’m loving the new patterns and pop of color to this space. 

An easily accessible drink station is great to quench the thirst of your guests in a ‘self-service’ manner. 

 I knew that I was going to be planting a mandevilla after seeing so many at the homes of other women on my tour last year. This plant is absolutely gorgeous and easy to care for. I added some waving petunias to the pot for a filler. 

(Click photo to shop)

TIP:

To get that cozy outdoor space all you need to do is keep layering with items you love. Shop at the end of summer when stores are starting to mark items down or gather from within your own home to see what accessories you could pull outside to give it that homey feel. 

Enjoying our porch in the evening

 If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to make your outdoor area cozy, just add some string lights or tiki torches. We purchased the lights from Costco and the tiki torches from Lowe’s. 

A lot of family time is spent in this space and one of my son’s favorite things to do it make smores. We always have plenty of smores ingredients on hand.

I hope you have enjoyed my deck refresh! Remember just to make a few minor changes each year and start layering with the items you love. Before you know it, it will be become your outdoor oasis where you will be spending endless summer hours enjoying it with friends and family.

A great tip for outdoor entertaining is to make sure you have plenty of seating options for all of your guests and have awesome outdoor lighting like torches and hanging lights. 

Tomorrow on the tour is Angela Price’s Arizona modern home. Her beautiful desert home is surrounded by natural landscape, creative yard ornaments and an outdoor area that would be a dream for entertaining. Her space is going to make you want to travel to the desert to enjoy the natural beauty, sunsets, and peacefulness that it brings.

If you missed my Summer Outdoor Living Tour last year, click HERE.