Have fun turning your small concrete slab patio into a refreshing spot for sunny days with decor that’s easy to store. Make the most of your outdoor space without cluttering it up.
Our Patio Story
Eight years ago we downsized a lot and bought our first home. It’s a lovely little townhouse in a complex with about 45 other townhouse units. Each one has a simple concrete slab patio with wall dividers for privacy.
It was an adjustment to go from a HUGE yard with a big lawn and several flower beds, but I must say, we just love our small patio out back of our kitchen, and we don’t miss doing lawn and yard work all summer long!;) In fact, our townhouse complex has a crew of “lawn boys” (as we call them) who take care of our lawn every Friday. We think it’s great!
Things to Consider When Decorating a Small Patio
- Who is the patio for, and how will it be used? Our patio is used mainly by my husband and me. We don’t entertain large groups on a regular basis, so this setup only needed to fit 2 people, with room to sit with a few friends and family when they visit!
- What activities do you want to use the patio for? We like to use a barbecue on warm and hot summer days, so we definitely wanted room for that. I also love sitting out on the patio to eat my lunch or read a book with a cup of coffee, so comfy chairs with cushions and a table work great.
- What kind of weather are you dealing with? Think about the weather in your climate and choose decor that fits it. For instance, on the Montana prairies where I grew up, the winds are FIERCE!! Anything you put outside has to withstand high winds, or it will be blowing over to the neighbor’s house before you can blink! We get lots of rain here on the West Coast, so we chose things that are rain-friendly and easy to pack up and store for fall and winter.
- Do you have room to store patio decor during the off season? Before we bought anything for the patio, we considered how and where we would store it during the patio “off season,” which is about three-quarters of the year!! We have limited space in our townhouse and garage, so everything we chose either folds up or stacks. It works great!
Decorating Ideas for a Small Patio
Our patio is quite plain and ordinary compared to many fancy options, but we absolutely love spending time out there! Here are some specifics that have worked well for us.
- A fold-up barbecue: We’ve had absolutely monstrous barbecues in the past, but we realized we didn’t need such huge ones! A small fold-up Coleman barbecue works just fabulously for the two of us, and we don’t need anything bigger, even when we’re cooking for company. When the rains settle in during fall, we just fold it up and store it in the garage.
- A bistro table set. I just love this nifty little three-piece bistro table set. It’s perfect for a fun dinner out on the patio, and in the off season it’s a breeze to fold up and lean against a wall in the garage. I bought it used, but you can find fold-up bistro sets in many stores. Watch for sales at the end of the season.
- Outdoor rugs: I love how “all-weather” outdoor rugs add so much fun and design to our plain cement slab patio. I found both the round lemon slice rug and the black patterned rug at great prices. They last a long time even when they get wet, and they can be rolled up for storage in the off season. Choose patterns and colors that fit the style you want.
- Comfy chairs and cushions: We searched a long time for a pair of comfy patio chairs. I looked and looked for folding ones that were comfortable, but I just couldn’t find any that felt right. In the end, we bought a set of chairs that stack instead. They’re made of an all-weather material (it looks like wicker, but it’s a durable type of plastic). The cushions are sold separately and are all-weather too, but I bring them in when rain is in the forecast. I don’t like sitting on wet cushions!;)
- Decorative lighting: We just hung a set of outdoor lights on the black wall divider this summer, and we love them so much! We plugged them into a timer that turns on at dusk and stays on for 2 hours, and then they turn off on their own. I also found a solar light for the side table that comes on when the sun goes down. Inexpensive solar light picks, which I bought for $1 each at our local grocery store, are tucked into some of my planters and also come on at nighttime. It creates such a cozy, happy scene at night!
- Practical storage: One thing I needed on the deck was a hose to water all the plants. I found an idea to use an extra plastic planter to “hide” the hose inside. It works like a charm!
- Plants and flowers: One of my favorite parts of our patio are the large planters with hydrangeas. (Here are some hydrangea in pots tips.) I also like to add smaller planters and hanging baskets and scatter them around the space for more color. In winter, I line them all up in front of the black wall divider, and they hang out there. Our winters aren’t cold enough to bring them inside.
Thanks for stopping by our little patio tour today! Now that it’s sort of the “end of summer” in stores, keep an eye out for patio decor on good sale. I’ve included an Amazon list below of items similar to what we have.
Other Patio Decorating Ideas:
- Beach-style patio decor
- Here’s our patio before!
- I hosted a dinner party on our HUGE patio deck (in a previous house). See the fall table patio decor here.
Shop These Patio Ideas
Disclosure: The following are affiliate links for your shopping convenience.
I searched Amazon for products similar to what we have, use, and love. You can find the list in my Amazon USA list or my Amazon Canada list.
