Creating an Outdoor Room - Darling Street

This week I received a little note from one of sisters asking for tips on how to create the ultimate BBQ area. She loves the rustic, pretty kitchen style that I blogged about last week, but needs some inspiration on how to transfer those ideas into the backyard.

After a few hours browsing on Pinterest, I discovered the BBQ areas that I loved all had four things in common: bench space, storage, plants and lighting. By incorporating these aspects, a simple BBQ area can be transformed into a gorgeous outdoor room!

Bench Space

Your bench is going to be the most important aspect of your outdoor room. You will need to find a waterproof, size-appropriate bench that will be at the centre of your outdoor entertaining.

Source: Hanna Shantverk

Source: Walmart

Storage

To make your outdoor room look lived-in and inviting, create spaces to store and display all of your outdoor/BBQ utensils and equipment. Get creative with it! A lattice hanging on a fence can act as a hanging point for utensils, as can an old wooden ladder. An old wheelbarrow to store drinks or painted pots to store cutlery all add touches to your space.

Source: 2shopper

Source: Pinimg

Source: Martha Stewart

Plants

One of the best ways to add character and warmth to an outdoor room is by incorporating a variety of potted plants. Monitor your outdoor area for a few days before purchasing your plants to figure out how much sunlight/shade the plants will get. For a cottage garden look, start collecting all different sized pots from markets and even at council clean ups! Tin watering cans are always a cute alternative to pots too.

Source: Roser or Patina

Source: Pinimg

Lighting

It is useful to think of your BBQ area as another room in your home, and just like an indoor room, you will need to think about lighting! If you do like that rustic feel, think about items you can upcycle into lights – like cheese-graters or mason jars. For special occasions, you can always pull out a string of lightblulbs and drape them across your outdoor room to create the illusion of a roof.