In nice weather, we look for opportunities to spend more time outside. Luckily we now have numerous options for different furniture styles, fabrics and rugs available for our outdoor living spaces. Since outdoor living spaces are visible from the interiors, they need to flow not only with your home’s exterior but also from inside when you are looking out. The following are guidelines for you to consider.

Area rugs make a perfect outdoor accent, like this one from Fab Habitat.

First of all you need to make sure your outdoor living space correlates to the style of your house, meaning do not use contemporary furnishings outside of a traditional Tudor home. Whether you chose furniture that is metal, wicker or wood is more an aesthetic decision; let your personal taste guide you on this. While outdoor furniture is meant to be kept outdoors, over time it may show signs of age such as the metal discoloring.

Just because the exterior of your home might be a neutral color does not mean that you need to choose this color palate for your outdoor furnishings. You can either look to colors that are in your garden and the flower beds or continue your interior color palate or some of it.

Fabrics are one way that color and pattern have been introduced into outdoor living spaces. Because of the water and humidity issues outdoors, always look for an outdoor fabric to cover your furniture. Today’s fabrics have become much softer to the touch while retaining their water repellant qualities. The variety of patterns that you have available for inside use has now entered the range of outdoor fabrics. Some fabric options actually work well whether they are used outside or inside.

Outdoor area rugs have exploded as a trend, with many options to choose from. In the past they were limited to utilitarian rubber matting and neutral sisal rugs. Today we have a wealth of colors, styles and patterns to choose from. And not all of them are always good choices such as the bright turquoise rug featuring a large white octopus with small dot suckers in turquoise. That is an area rug that you can easily tire of and may be best suited to a vacation home with a whimsical interior.

A geometric patterned area rug in a sunny lime and charcoal gray , from Fab Habitat.

The rug company Fab Habitat has outdoor rug selections that should please a variety of tastes. If your home has traditional interiors then the damask style Murano area rug, pictured above in a lime green and cream colorway, would be a good choice. Additionally if you live in a high rise with outdoor space, this area rug would give you the illusion of having greenery in the space. For those who like newer looks or have modern interiors, Fab Habitat’s Rheinserg (left) would be one to consider. Pictured is the geometric patterned area rug in a sunny lime and charcoal gray color palette.

If you have a limited budget for adding color and interest to your outdoor space, then a distinctive area rug would be your best choice.