Budget-Friendly Outdoor Living Room Transformation

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Turn a blah deck into a lush and comfy outdoor living room!  Get the deets on this budget-friendly outdoor living room transformation!

I’ve mentioned “KonMari” a lot on my blog lately.  It’s had a big impact on how I live my life this year.  The basic premise is this – “Does it spark joy?”  If not – toss it.  Or consign it, sell it, or even re-purpose it in a way that sparks joy.  But the gist is this – you declutter like mad, and the stuff that remains should only be things that make you happy.

I’m wrapping up my KonMari Stage 1 of decluttering and am slowly moving on to the “organization of what’s left” stage.  Only, I hadn’t been able to do the backyard yet because of the weather.

Now several months into the process, I’m darn good at KonMari’ing and new immediately big changes needed to be made.  It most definitely was NOT sparking joy.  Since we moved into our house almost three years ago, we really haven’t done anything with the space.  Just moved our old table out there and called it a day.  Sure, it was functional.  But not really a place I longed to be.

So, my husband and I put our heads together and came up with a plan.  (PS – shout out to my hubs Jonnie for jumping on the KonMari bandwagon.  You’re awesome.)  Instead of serving as a secondary dining area, we wanted our patio to be a living space.   Some place to entertain, lounge, read a book, enjoy a cup of coffee.

Fortunately, we have a patio space down below our deck that conveniently fits our outdoor dining set, which cleared off space for an awesome outdoor living room makeover.

So I got to work.  With a little bit of elbow grease and a fab shopping trip to Big Lots, my outdoor living room space came together and is now a place I love to be, and it definitely sparks joy.  Read on to find out how the transformation happened, step by step.

First up, I cleared off the deck.  You gotta have a blank slate so you know what kind of space you have to work with.

Next, my hubs and I came up with a design plan.  Move the grill to the other side of the patio.  Get a sectional so the space would feel open, but there would still be plenty of seating.  Make it lush and comfy.  Oh, and stick to the budget.  🙂

Then, the fun part.  I headed to Big Lots to get all of the accent pieces that make it a place you wanna hang out in.  Big Lots carries high-quality lawn & garden décor products, including patio furniture & gazebos, that is value priced, on-trend, with the ability to mix and match to create a perfect outdoor space.

I spent a few minutes walking around the seasonal section of the store and figured out a color palette that would work for the space.

The first thing I new I had to have was a rug, and I fell in love with this one!  I love the modern look and how it brings that indoor feel to the outdoor space.

Then, I picked the accent colors.  Bright greens and blues were perfect for our neutral sectional.  The pillows are not only affordable, but made with fabrics that can stand the sun and rain.

When I saw the coffee table with storage, I knew we had to have it.  Perfect for extra pillows, nerf guns and bubbles!  Plus, it matches the resin wicker material of the other outdoor furniture.

I also wanted plenty of seating.  I love these stackable bistro chairs that I found at Big Lots.  We love to entertain, and it’s no good when there aren’t enough seats!  These chairs conveniently stack and I can keep them off to the side when we don’t need to keep the space open.

The finishing touch is easy to maintain greenery.  I found this large pot at Big Lots perfect for a corner piece on the deck.  I’m going to try not to kill the flowers, but no guarantees.

So what do you think?  When are you going to hit up Big Lots to find the perfect pieces to spruce up your outdoor space?  (Oh, but please keep in mind – styles and selections vary by store, so if you see something in this post that you love, be sure to call your store first!)

Stick around!  I’ve still got some outdoor improvements yet to come.  Stay tuned to see how we turn this blah outdoor dining space into a place to gather!