Cottage Style Deck Refresh

Refreshing an outdoor space, whether it be a patio or deck, can be very costly- so when it came time to change our outdoor furniture I had to get to work finding budget friendly pieces to bring this space together. We recently posted a tutorial sharing the our DIY deck update, staining and painting it top to bottom to breathe new life into our worn out old deck. I loved the finished deck, but not our furniture- it wasn’t quite right for my family. Outdoor living is both fun and beautiful and important to my family, so I wanted to update the space to better meet our needs. I started shopping around for a sectional that would be large enough to fit our family, cozy, and have the farmhouse cottage charm I love, and finally found the perfect outdoor couch. Though it’s not dirt cheap, it was on the lower end of outdoor sectional prices- I found prices ranged from about $700-5,000 for an outdoor sectional. Our updates were within our budget while delivering the charm of a much more expensive space.

If your looking for home decor ideas check out my post here.

Here is a look at our updated outdoor space with our new outdoor sectional.

I knew I wanted a sectional so we could comfortably fit our family of 5 plus guests. This part of our deck overlooks the rest of the yard, especially the play area, and watching the kids play in comfort is a must. Configuration was important because I wanted to have it sitting just as we have it here, facing the yard. For the overall look I wanted something modern, yet with a country feel. A mixture of black metal and beige cushions make the space a good balance of both.

This sectional can be configured multiple ways, I have it here with a shorter side facing the house and the longer side facing the yard. I added a round outdoor rug to break up all the square furniture, some of my favorite rugs can be found here. Another bonus to this sectional is it comes with the coffee table, so you don’t need to spend additional money on a table!

To create a cottage like setting for the rest of the deck while on a budget, I hit the thrift stores to find some inexpensive accents, and then picked up some cheap plants from the hardware store.

Adding some fresh greenery in pots around gives the space a cozy outdoor feel, and adds some color. This is a waxleaf tree, a somewhat hardy and easy to grow plant that can be hedged like a tree and will do well in pots. It is also a fairly inexpensive plant, I found this one for $35.

Succulents are another very easy to grow (and cheap) plant that look beautiful potted on your deck. Add a lantern as a cute accent (and put your citronella candles in it at night!)

For outdoor pillows I like to use indoor pillows that I like and already have around the house, and just Scotchguard them. This saves me money since I don’t need to buy additional pillows for the outdoor space. Just spray them evenly over a surface that you don’t mind over-spray getting on, let them dry, and then they are good to go for light mist and splashing. I don’t leave them out in heavy rain, but then again we are in Washington and we get SO much rain- nothing really does well outdoors 24/7 here. I love textured pillows for an outdoor cottage vibe, you can find some of my favorite pillows here.

I rotate these botanical pillows from my deck to in my home as well, they are so neutral and cute!

From our couch you look out to the yard. I found this table at a thrift store for $10 and then added some cheap plants and fun cement ducks. You can find cement creatures pretty much everywhere spring-summer and they are usually only about $5-10 each. The other small planters, lanterns, and ball jars are all thrift store finds for very cheap!

This sectional really makes the space so cozy and welcoming. I love the modern farmhouse look of the metal and the cottage look of the beige cushions and pillows. If you want to check out this couch it can be found here!