Looking for easy ways to enjoy your outdoor living space? In the last two and a half years, we have made some changes to our backyard that have made a big impact.

Summer is the biggest time for outdoor living. And now that summer is more than halfway over, hopefully you have been spending some time in your own backyard!

I know that I have been doing so in mine ;).

My backyard needed a full makeover after we had a pretty damaging mudslide in April 2020. However you do not need to make drastic changes in order to make your own yard fun and relaxing for the rest of the summer!

I am joining some talented bloggers today to share all things outdoor living with you in order to help inspire you to enjoy your yard. Be sure to keep scrolling to the end of this post in order to see what they are all sharing ;).

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In a rush?

Have A Cozy Fire Pit

Laughing with friends until the wee hours of summer nights is one of my favorite things to do in my backyard.

In fact, one of my closest neighbor friend’s and I seem to have gotten in the habit of being LTL’s together at all neighborhood functions including those in my own yard. LTL= last to leave in case you were trying to figure that one out ;). This friend and I have been known to carry on until sometimes 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning even (and yes – we are pretty much SOL the next day).

A cozy firepit makes it impossible to put an end to all the conversation for us 🤷‍♀️.

These tasty treats certainly do not detract from our late night gatherings :).

We actually have two fire pit rings in our backyard. One that is our original gas pit that we installed when we put in our pool back in 2004 and updated to be all concrete in 2021.

And the second we purchased when we remodeled our backyard due to the mudslide of 2020 ;). I actually prefer sitting around the second one above nowadays because of our super comfy outdoor sectional it is surrounded by. The U shaped set up makes it super conducive to conversations as well as being quite comfortable with all the pillows ;).

Use Ambient Lighting and Warm Throw Blankets

Most decorators will tell you the very first item that sets any mood is lighting. Whether it is overhead string lights, real candles, battery operated candles, or the glow of an above mentioned fire pit, you will want to be sure your backyard lighting is perfect.

I personally cannot stand bright artificial lighting. In fact, don’t even get me started on having to switch to LED light bulbs 😳. Did you know blue eyes are much more sensitive to bright lights than any other eye color? Yes – I have blue eyes and am very light sensitive FYI…

All this to say – lighting creates ambience so choosing the right items really do make a difference!

We had industrial strength string lights installed about five years ago running from our house to the palm trees that line the fence at the back of our yard. And we had them wired by a professional electrician to turn on and off with a switch right inside our backyard door.

Because we have the four strings running across our backyard patio, the only other lighting item I need to add for ambience is candles.

I hosted book club in my backyard last weekend and had a perfectly set midsummer table all ready for my bc besties :). You can read what I did in this post here.

I also set up a super tasty potato bar for my girlfriends. You can read what I did for the entire menu in this blog post ;).

My favorite outdoor throws are always kept in a basket by my backdoor so that they are ready to be pulled out when my friends and I sit outside by the firepit on cooler nights. Most of them are down throws from Scandia Home but I do keep a little assortment of others ready as well (the Oregon and Grand Teton Pendleton blankets) ;).

Have A Variety of Seating Areas

In the last two years, we have added multiple seating areas in our backyard. When our kids were living at home while growing up, the focus of our yard was to have a large grassy area for tumbling and playing and then of course, our pool.

But as our needs have changed and our backyard is being used more and more for gatherings with friends – we have adjusted the layout to fit accordingly.

More often than not, my family is sitting BY the pool instead of IN the pool nowadays. So we finally added a lounge area with these RST brand lounge chairs next to our pool ;).

When we remodeled our BBQ bar area, we took out the NEVER used side burner and changed that space to have bar seating.

How cute is this ceramic bird below from my sweet friend Sherylee at Decor to the Door?!

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that we made a significant change in our kitchen by adding a bifold window from Panoramic Doors.

Seriously one of the best changes we have ever made to our home!! It completely changed the look of our kitchen and backyard as well as how we can use both spaces now! I will be writing an entire blog post on these updates very soon – so keep an eye out for that ;).

But for now – the change added a bar space to our outdoor living spaces that has already been so fun to use when we invite friends over!

Don’t Forget the All Natural Insect Repellent

When we installed the bifold window and door, I had so many comments on Instagram asking about our bug situation ;\. We are pretty lucky here in coastal San Diego that we don’t have the huge mosquito problem that some locales do. However that is not to say that those pesky bugs can’t interrupt an outdoor gathering.

I found a couple different brands of natural insect repellent that work AND smell nice too (finding them in stock is a whole different ball game though! 😬)

Keeping citronella candles and sticks out after dusk is always helpful too. There are so many pretty ones nowadays – they just add to the atmospheric ambience of your outdoor space ;).

Thank you for reading my easy ways to enjoy your outdoor living space suggestions! I hope you found a few of my ideas helpful in deciding how to maximize your enjoyment in your own backyard ;). As always – the most important addition to any space you are looking to make welcoming is THE PEOPLE. If you are kind and welcoming to all – that will shine through. Even if your backyard did not get a full remodel because of a mudslide – xoxo!

Don’t forget to keep on scrolling to see what my fellow blogger friends are sharing with you today as well!

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Have a wonderful day my friend! I hope something makes you smile today ;).