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Our Fall Patio & 8 Ways to Cozy Up Your Patio for Fall

Extend the time you get to enjoy the great outdoors by updating your outdoor space with some essential pieces that will  cozy up your patio for Fall. 

We experience a LOT of rain here on the west coast of Vancouver Island. On the plus side, this means that we live in a town surrounded by beautiful Pacific Northwest rainforest. On the down side, it means that despite our very mild fall and winter temps (it rarely dips below freezing here), we can’t always spend as much time outdoors as we’d like.

Outdoor Covered Patio

For years now we have dreamed of an outdoor covered area that we can use throughout the year, and now with this house, we finally have it! I’m super excited to have a very cozy outdoor patio space to spend time on this fall (and maybe even winter). Today I’m sharing my tips for cozying up your deck or patio to extend your outdoor season into the fall and winter months.

8 Tips For Making Your Outdoor Space Last Into Fall poster.

Today I’ve been joined by some of my blogging friends who are also sharing their beautiful fall outdoor spaces. Be sure to check those out at the bottom of this post!

How To Extend Your Outdoor Space Into Fall graphic.

We have several jobs left to do to finish of our outdoors, but last week my husband and our neighbour managed to get the long section of the fence finished between our homes. We plan to fence along the back and the other side, and then add in an underground sprinkler system (ourselves) as well as landscape the backyard. We’ll be working away on those jobs for the next several months as time allows, which can be few and far between when combined with both our busy work schedules and our boys’ busy sports schedules. There are definitely things about building a house from scratch that I didn’t really think about, and starting from absolute scratch in the yard is one of them. But we’ve done it before, and we’ll get there in due time. For now, we are definitely enjoying that we have one area finished are outdoors; our cozy welcoming backyard patio!

There are a few key things that you can do to warm up your patio or deck and make it a cozy, welcoming, space to spend time outdoors in during the fall months, and I’m sharing my favourites with you today.

Create an Outdoor Room

Where we live, having a covered outdoor space is probably the most important factor in allowing us to extend our time outdoors into the Autumn. We are super thrilled to have added this spectacular vaulted outdoor patio to our house plan, as it was definitely a big priority for us to have a covered outdoor space.  But if you don’t have a covered area, there are alternatives that you might be able to consider adding such as a stand alone hard roofed pergola or shelter. But even if this is not an option, you can still create an outdoor room by incorporating comfortable seating, a source of heat, warm lighting, and several of the other suggestions below.

An outdoor porch area with a small firepit.

The out door patient with two chairs and a throw blanket.

Heat things up!

Adding a heat source is the second largest priority for extending our outdoor living into Autumn. We invested in a good quality outdoor fire bowl and it creates enough heat that we can stay cozy during long evenings spent visiting outdoors (along with wearing a hoodie and covering up in a cozy throw blanket). Another option would be to add an outdoor patio heater or two, which is something we might invest in during the months ahead in order to further extend patio season into the winter months.

A small couch is by the outdoor fireplace.

There are pillows and blankets on the chairs.

Add Lighting!

Since we built this house from scratch, we were able to design our exterior spaces with the exact amount of lighting we wanted to be able to enjoy them during the sundown hours. We had a large outdoor chandelier installed in the center of our vaulted ceiling, and we also have exterior wall sconces on the back of our bedroom wall as well on the shed in the yard. We also had in-soffit pot lights installed all around the exterior of our house. But sometimes you want lighting that is a bit more subtle and ambient. Having string lights under and across a roof line, bringing out candles, and using lanterns are all ways to add warm and ambient lighting to your outdoor patio space.

A small lantern is by the outdoor chairs.

There are small pumpkins on the table outside.

A pot of red flowers is on a small table.

Pumpkins

The quintessential fall decor item and even more perfect for decorating our outdoor spaces. I picked several up and have them dotting our front entry porch as well as our back patio. They add an instant jolt of cheerful warm colour and definitely speak to the season we are in.

Wooden blocks hold small potted flowers.
Aerial view of three pumpkins.

A small table beside the couch.

Refresh your pots

Mums are some of my favourite fall flowers for their instant fall colour and overwhelming bloom, plus they are readily available at nearly every grocery store and big box store and often are fairly inexpensive. But you can also refresh your summer planters with winter kale, grasses, pansies, mini pepper plants, and other cute fall blooms to instantly update your patio space for the season.

Yellow and red plants on side tables.

Bring on the textiles

A complete MUST is adding in some cozy throw blankets. I used ones I already owned, and added a couple of cozy fur blankets, as well as a couple of plaid wool throws. I kept my blue pillow scheme,  but brought in a cute ‘pumpkin’ pillow to give it a little extra fall touch. We’ve already enjoyed evenings out here by the fire, and the blankets and throws definitely have helped transition our outdoor space from summer to fall.

Faux fur and a throw pillow are on the chairs.

There is a small couch on the patio.

Showing the edge of the throw blanket on the couch.

Warm it up with color

As I mentioned, I kept my blue and white pillow scheme but added in some throws, flowers, and pumpkins in warmer colours. You don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of new things; adding in some warm tones in flowers most certainly go a long way! Pair that with the warm orange glow from the fire, and you automatically feel a few degrees warmer!

The side view of the couch and the flowers on the wooden blocks.

There is a red and white throw blanket on the side of the couch.

Natural elements

Natural elements such as wood, wicker, and jute all give off a rustic warmth that is hard to surpass. I keep many of these elements year round, but adding in some wood side tables (try a stump like this DIY one!), or a couple of rustic woven lanterns is a quick and simple way to add warmth to your outdoor room.

A striped pillow is on the couch.

A birds eye view of the patio.

Last week I shared our Modern Farmhouse front porch all ready for fall

The white and glass door to the house.

If you saw something you loved, I’ve gathered some similar finds for you below!

As I mentioned, today I’m joining some of my talented blogging friends for the Fall Seasonal Simplicity Series: Outdoor Spaces hop. Be sure to check out all of the beautiful inspiration by visiting their posts. All the links are just below the images.

The Happy Housie

Life is Better at Home

Inspiration for Moms

Rambling Renovators

Finding Silver Pennies

She Gave it a Go

Grace in My Space

This is Our Bliss

Modern Glam Home

A Pretty Life

Life is a Party

Clean & Scentsible

My Sweet Savannah

Lemon Thistle

Craftberry Bush

Love Create Celebrate

Taryn Whiteaker Designs

Tatertots and Jello

PIN it for later!

Inspiring Outdoor Spaces For Autumn graphic.

 

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10 Comments

  1. This is so lovely Krista! It would be so nice hanging out back here in the evenings! I love that big backyard gas firepit too! Enjoy your autumn 🙂

  2. Your outdoor space is just magical, Krista! I love how your doors open so wide onto your covered space. You are going to get so much use out of that!! I pinned it to my fall board to share. Thanks for letting me participate!!

    xoxo

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