Elevate Your Outdoor Entertainment Area With These 5 Outdoor Seating Ideas
Outdoor comfort at its peak!
Whether your home is spacious or cozy, having an inviting outdoor space can instantly add extra entertaining square footage to your home. Entertaining outdoors is wonderful, and having a variety of permanent seating is the key to making the space feel like an extension of your home and not a parking-lot tailgate.
Just like the inside of your home, you want to have ample seating for guests and create zones to use for different situations. Here are some ideas for ways to add a variety of seating to your patio or backyard space.
Sectionals, Sofa & Loveseat
Sectionals and sofas are the perfect option if you want your patio space to feel like a living room. They are your best bet for getting cozy for long periods of use. Outdoor sofas with foam or fabric cushions are extremely comfortable and a great place to eat a snack, have a conversation, or curl up with a book. However, the cushions can become dirty or worn if exposed to sun and rain regularly. Make sure you have a sofa cover to keep the sofa in good shape for a long time.
If you plan on doing a lot of outdoor dining, definitely go for a dining table and chairs. You can select a round or rectangular table depending on the size and flow of your space and how many people you plan to host regularly. Be sure to choose chairs that completely push under the table when not in use!
Outdoor dining tables come in regular height as well as bar height with bar stools. Bar-height tables are usually best when sized for two or four stools. If you plan to have more guests eating together, go for a long, standard-height rectangular table. To mix up the look, consider adding unique chairs at each end.
Wooden chairs are a great option if you want a conversation spot for people to sit and drink coffee or wine. Wooden chairs could include Adirondack chairs or rocking chairs. These chairs are usually less comfortable than a cushioned sofa and are not for curling up and reading a book. But they are a great option for setting around a fire pit – just make sure to keep them back far enough from the sparks.
Benches are a great flexible seating option, especially if you have kids. They allow flexibility for people to scoot closer together to fit more people on each seat. Benches can work at dining tables, beside a fire pit, or standing alone, especially if you have a good view or something interesting to look at!
Hanging chairs are basically swings. They aren’t intended for intense swinging back and forth, but instead they spin and sway in place. These serve as really fun accent seating and can easily become the focal point of a porch or patio. Keep in mind that they only create a seat for one person, so they aren’t great for an entertainment option. Also, many hanging chairs are not comfortable for tall people to sit in. They are, however, the perfect place to take a picture for Instagram!
Outdoor seating is crucial for making your backyard feel like a comfortable place to lounge. Add a variety of seating to make all of your guests – and yourself – feel right at home.
Morgan McBride is DIY lover and home decor enthusiast living in Charleston, South Carolina. She has been blogging at CharlestonCrafted.com alongside her husband since 2012, where they empower their readers to craft their home into their dream home through the power of DIY.
