You’ve designed the outdoor space of your dreams and outfitted it with all the bells and whistles, from an outdoor grilling station and firepit to high-end outdoor furniture. Sure, you’ve got the dream design elements, but how to turn that into an inviting space for entertaining this spring and summer? 
“Outdoor spaces can be kind of intimidating,” says designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com in an “Ask a Designer” article for The Associated Press. “When you design a room, you have four walls and it’s easy to conceptualize what will fill it. Outside, the possibilities are endless and you don’t really have a sense of scale. The sky goes on forever.”
Here are XX tips to transform your space into the talk of the town:
* Focus on the floor.
“I love the idea of layering little area rugs outside, in an ethnic, Moroccan-y way,” says Los Angeles interior designer Betsy Burnham. “We did it in sort of an American way on a porch in northern Michigan,” she says, “with striped kilim rugs. It made it so intimate out there, and you can sit down on them because it’s not just a cold outdoor surface.” No need to spend a lot, she says: “Pull them from in front of your sink. Be creative with what you already have in your house.”
* Set the mood with lighting.
Don’t assume you have to spend top dollar, and don’t discount low-tech options.
“Candeliers are gorgeous,” says Genevieve Gorder, of HGTV’s “Battle on the Block,” referring to metal racks hung with lots of candles. “So are hurricane lamps, paper lanterns and artificial LED candles. Make it sexy outside and people will be there. You’ll use that space more.”
Another can’t-lose choice, according to Burnham: little white Christmas lights. She wraps a few strands around an olive tree just off her patio to add a soft glow.
* Plants with a Purpose
Let plants create the perfect backdrop. “Use some potted boxwoods,” Burnham suggests, or small potted citrus trees, “and you’ll all of a sudden have this sort of manicured greenery outside.” Also, think color. “Flowers and plants are your paint outside,” says Gorder. She loves geraniums. “They’ll last all year and give that brilliant pop of color.”
