Budget Tips for Decorating Your Outdoor Room, Part 2

One of the considerations in setting up your outdoor room is privacy. If this is one of your concerns, here are some ways you can do so.
If you’re one of those lucky homeowners whose deck or outdoor patio is protected by a wall or a fence on at least one side, you’re probably not as concerned about privacy.
If you do want to add some privacy, you can use a trellis on one or more of the other sides. For additional privacy you can plant a vine that is fast growing, on the base of the trellis. We made our own trellis with a sheet of lattice set inside a wooden frame with a T-base for ground support. To make your trellis portable, you can anchor them in a planter and move it however you want them to be placed.
If your outdoor room is protected from the weather by a roof, like the end of a deck you can forget the trellis and just hang panels of sheets, muslin or a material such as Sunbrella (which is rather costly, but it is fairly resistant to sun damage and fading).
For a quick fix, use a staple gun to hold the sheets or material together and don’t forget to add tiebacks to use when you need to let the breeze in. If you like to sew, you can sew the seams together to make a wider panel. This is one of the best and affordable ways to create your own outdoor room that you can change every year.
Coming to the lighting aspect of your outdoor room, this can also be taken care of in an affordable yet stylish manner. Use candles or torches for that elegant and peaceful atmosphere and if you are worried about safety you can go for solar lamps. If you want to create a festive mood, hang some holiday lights over the porch beam or on a nearby tree. You can even make luminaries by dropping a candle in a punched recycled can. My personal preferences are inexpensive, decorative paper lanterns with battery-powered lights that are sold at stores like Pier One.
Finally, add style and charisma to your outdoor room with creative accessories. You don’t have to spend much to put together a bunch of accessories that blend with your outdoor room setting. Collect scrap lumber and paint some attractive signs or lean a used picket fence on one side of the porch wall. You can paint it or start growing some attractive flowering vines around it. Hang pretty bird houses or just place them in a corner to add character to your outdoor room. Add some pretty cushions and throw pillows to your chairs and some eye-catching napkins or placemats on the table to add color to your outdoor room. If you have an old ladder or bookcase, paint it and put plants or flowering plans on it for decoration.
Your new outdoor room will quickly become your sanctuary or your party room once you have it ready for summer. So – as always – Happy Decorating!