After living in Northern California for 12 years I got used to the fact that I could be outside almost every day. At the same time the attitude towards outdoor spaces in California is to treat them like another room in your house. When we lived in San Francisco our outdoor spaces were on rooftops and they were heavenly. We used to sit on our rooftop with a glass of wine and look out at the Golden Gate Bridge…yes, my heart is still in San Francisco. BUT, we moved to Illinois three years ago and sadly the deck is just not the same as the rooftop. However, I decided I needed to make the best of what I had. But given what I had to work with-a small deck, small patch of grass and a wooden fence (no view of a bridge here) I decided that I should focus on comfy furniture. At least this way maybe I would fall asleep instead of longing for a beautiful view, right?
My heart was set on a beautiful set called the La Jolla at Restoration Hardware. I loved the clean lines, rich brown color and the perfect shade of brown for the pillows. Only problem…the price tag! I wasn’t quite sure I could justify spending so much on furniture that would be exposed to snow, rain, hail and all of the other fun weather elments in the midwest.
- La Jolla
BUT, I didn’t stop my search. Instead, I came across an almost exact identical set at Target.
The only thing I wasn’t sure of was the comfortability factor but decided to take a chance. Two weeks later, my new set arrived and I’m happy to report-it’s super comfy and definitely nap worthy! The Rolston set has the same clean, modern lines and brown cushions (that don’t show dirt). Oh, and I received 10% off because I’m a AAA member! (Did you know Target offers 10% to AAA members when ordering online?)
Here’s a photo of my outdoor space..not quite the same views as San Francisco but I don’t care because these days my views are of the kids playing in the yard while I snooze away watch every move they make.
Okay, just kidding…I meant to say this was a photo of my DREAM outdoor space. But here is reality:
Now I just need to make this space feel like another room in my house. While doing my research for outdoor furniture, I came across a few key points on how to make your space feel like an outdoor room.
1. Arrange your furniture to enjoy a focal point.
2. Add colorful pillows in many different patterns and colors.
3. Consider adding walls to give you that feeling of another room.
4. A indoor/outdoor rug will define the space.
There are plenty of inspiration photos online to help me achieve making my outdoor space feel like another room.
LOVE the pink pillows against the cream/white furniture. The red rug makes the pink pillows pop. Not sure I could convince my husband to go the pink route.
If I had a covered porch, I would definitely add drapery panels to give the illusion of creating another room.
A row of planters or shrubs will also create that ‘wall’ like feeling.
This rug defines and softens the space.
Wouldn’t the kids love this outdoor chalk wall?
Stay tuned to see the updates to my outdoor space. Have a fantastic weekend! 
