Budget Friendly Ideas for Summer Deck Decorating -

I’ve been updating my outdoor spaces this summer with some DIY projects. Here in Northeast Ohio we only get a few months to enjoy the beautiful weather, so my goal was to keep this project very inexpensive. This post includes my best ideas for summer deck decorating on a budget.

PICK A COLOR SCHEME

Before I began to purchase anything, I browsed a bunch of pictures to decide the theme or color I was looking for.

I have always dreamed of having a front porch with white rocking chairs, so this year I decided to purchase two white rocking chairs to match the white plant stand for my deck. The porch may never happen, so I’m improvising. 🙂

After considering all these elements, I decided my color theme would be blue and white with a pop of red. My neutral colors would be black, gray, white and wood.

USE WHAT YOU HAVE

Next I went through my outdoor decor from years past and gathered it all in one place. I removed any items that wouldn’t work with my color scheme. When I was done, I had a small round folding table, black metal candle holders, leftover gray and galvanized pots and some dollar store tins.

My patio set is a neutral gray color. It’s about 10 years old (made of aluminum) and still in good condition.

I also had some DIY wood planter boxes on a white stand and some leftover gray pots for years past.

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UPDATE FURNITURE AND PILLOWS

If your patio furniture is aging, you can always consider spray painting it. My favorite paint for metal outdoor furniture is Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze. Sometimes this is all it needs; add a new umbrella and it’s good to go.

Outdoor cushions and pillows can get expensive. And if you don’t take care of them, they can be ruined after just one season. I decided to sew pillow covers with outdoor fabric, instead of purchasing new. You can find the tutorial here. This will save you a lot of money, especially if you have the deep seat patio cushions. One bonus to sewing covers is that you can custom pick your fabric, pattern and colors.

I tried to find the fabric to link to for these pillow covers, but it is no longer available. But I did find a similar pillow that you can purchase.

SHOP THRIFT STORES & DOLLAR STORES

One way around purchasing expensive outdoor furniture and home decor is to shop at your local thrift stores. Often these stores have a 50% off day, so you can get home decor items for just a couple of dollars. I always look at the shape of the item and try to ignore the finish. It’s amazing what a little DIY can do for an item! See how this thrifty DIYer took an old 70’s furniture set and turned it into outdoor furniture.

I purchased my red candle holders from the dollar store. They often have colorful summer and fourth of July decorations.

I found this blue and white striped rug at ALDI grocery store for a great price! Checking the close out aisles frequently when shopping, usually lands you a good deal. I knew this was a good price because I had been browsing online for one. A similar outdoor rug I found online was three times the cost.

One tip I have is to purchase cute signs or other decor and hang them with these vinyl siding clips. They slide right up under your vinyl siding and can hold up to 5 lbs. This is perfect for a lightweight sign, flag or wreath.

How to hang outdoor decorations on vinyl siding.

ADD FLOWERS

I have some tips for purchasing flowers and containers.

Don’t buy hanging baskets, unless you are confident you will water them every day. They will dry out super fast and be ugly!
Do purchase hanging baskets and separate the flowers into pots. This is a great way to stretch your budget and get much larger, established annuals. I did this with my geraniums.
Reuse your old pots. Any old item can be a planter. Get creative. Dollar store galvanized buckets and storage totes, thrift store baskets, wood crates, dog bowls, and boots are just a few creative pot idea’s I’ve seen.
Purchase a good potting soil. I always get the large organic Miracle Grow bags they sell at Costco. You’ll need to buy them in early spring since they sell out quickly (usually within a week or two).
I buy my plants at a nearby close out store. They get biweekly deliveries from the nursery and are heavily discounted. Garden centers will be more expensive.

FOURTH OF JULY PLANTERS

Red, White and Blue Flowers for the Fourth of July.

These pots have Blue Lobelias, euphorbia silver fog (white flowers), and red geraniums.

Blue Lobelias with white euphorbia flowers.

These planters have Blue Lobelias, White Alysum, and Red Petunias.

ADD LIGHTING

We added post caps with solar lights in them a few years ago. I like these post caps because they last longer than the wood ones and are fairly inexpensive.

This year we also added Edison String Lights to our deck. We love the quality, brightness and warm glow they added to our deck. You can see how we designed the layout and installed them in this post.

I usually add a few citronella candles to help with the bugs. I like the candles with lids, so they don’t fill up with rain water.

How to cozy up a deck for summer on a budget.

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FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST

Do you like learning budget friendly ways to spruce up your home? Follow me on PINTEREST. Did you know that you can hover over the images below, click on the red Pinterest circle and save it to your OUTDOOR LIVING or SUMMER DECORATING boards on Pinterest? It’s so helpful to Pin It now and save it for later, when your ready to start your project.