My Favorite Space: An Outdoor Living Room by TinySidekick

I love our home, but living in a townhouse, one thing we seriously lack is outdoor space. That is definitely not the case for my friend Corey of TinySidekick, who is here sharing her breathtaking outdoor living room today as part of the My Favorite Space series!

I love how she transformed an area that wasn’t being used to its full potential and made it both functional and incredibly beautiful. Take a look!


Hello! I’m Corey from TinySidekick and I’m excited to be filling in for Abby today while she is enjoying some summer fun. We are definitely in full on summer mode around my house and enjoying almost every evening on the patio that I transformed into an amazing outdoor living space. It has definitely become our favorite “room” in the house (or should I say “out” of the house.)

Before this transformation we had to talk ourselves into spending any length of time on the patio. There was no place to sit, and the sun was a big issue at certain times of the day. So as I came up with a plan to transform the space into something that would become a true extension of our home those two things were my top two priorities.

I wanted this outdoor space to be a true extension of our home. I thought a lot about the elements of an indoor room that make it feel cozy, complete, and finished and brought a few of those elements into this outdoor space to give it the same feel.

Of course with any project around here we had to keep the budget in mind so we tackled this space one DIY project at a time. Come on in and see how it turned out!

my favorite space- outdoor living room

This is what our back patio looked like pre DIY patio makeover. As you can see, it was a mish-mash of toys and beyond the dining table there was really no place to sit. It was in need of a clean up for sure.

The other problem is that in the late afternoon, when we are most likely to use this space, the sun comes barreling into the patio space. A problem we had to fix to make it a place we would actually want to be.

DIY Outdoor Patio Makeover before photo from TinySidekick.com

And this is what it looks like now! A true outdoor living space complete with an outdoor living room and dining room and set up perfectly for just hanging or entertaining.

DIY Patio Makeover at TinySidekick.com

Let’s take a closer look at the projects that went into making it feel like this.

What is the main function of the space?

Since we spend so much time out here we knew that a comfortable place to sit and relax was a must. So we invested in this outdoor furniture to create our “living room.”

Outdoor Living Room Makeover at TinySidekick.com

We love it because it looks like wood, but is actually metal. That makes it really easy to maintain and clean.

Outdoor Living Room Makeover at TinySidekick.com

We also bought a couple of extra chairs to sit by the fire, or move into the living room area when we have more guests.

Can you tell us about some of the fun DIY elements in the space?

There were a lot of really fun DIY projects that went into this space.

First off, nobody was going to want to sit and chat if the sun was in their eyes so we came up with an easy and budget friendly solution with these DIY outdoor curtains that I made from drop cloths. People thought I was crazy when I told them I was planning on using spray paint to paint my outdoor curtains, but I figured the stuff was weather proof, so it had to work right?

(By the way, it did. The curtains are over a year old and still look awesome!)

Not only can they be pulled to block the sun in the late afternoon (problem solved,) but they add a pop of color, and define the living room space, making it feel cozy.

You are probably wondering how they are hung. Well, we needed them to function on at least one side, so we created an outdoor curtain rod using conduit.

DIY Patio Makeover at Tinysidekick.com

In the summer, we pretty much eat every. single. meal. outside. We live in Southern California where the weather lends itself to doing this almost year round so creating an outdoor dining room was a must.

DIY Outdoor Living room at TinySidekick.com

We already had a dining table, but when I thought about what made my indoor dining room feel like a dining room, it was the chandelier. So, to define this space I pulled out an old chandelier I had been storing and created this candle chandelier in a really fun color. And the hubs was definitely happy that the old chandelier was making its way out of the garage. 🙂

electric to candle chandelier

And to give it that same cozy feeling of being in an outdoor room, I added curtains on this side as well. The side closest to the neighbor pulls for a little extra privacy which is great when we have friends and family over.

DIY Projects for an Outdoor Living Room at TinySidekick.com

Speaking of entertaining, we need a spot to serve drinks! My first thought was to build a small sideboard, but when I saw this changing table at a garage sale for only $5, I knew I had to reinvent it, and it became our outdoor drink station!

DIY Bar Cart for an Outdoor Patio at TinySidekick.com

The final touch that I added to create our outdoor room was this really simple outdoor art. It was another one of those indoor elements that I brought outside to finish the space.

outdoor art for my DIY Patio Makeover at TinySidekick.com

How would you describe your design style, and which elements in the room help bring that to life?

I describe my design style as traditional with a modern twist. I don’t like fussy decor and with 2 little kiddos, I really need my home to work for everyone. I love color, but since this was an outdoor space, I took advantage of the opportunity to use really bright colors together that I might not use in such abundance inside my home. These colors made this outdoor space feel really fun and summery.

What is it about the space that makes it your favorite?

This is the space where I connect most with the ones I love. When we sit down out here we aren’t distracted by the TV or the fact that the house is a mess and needs to be picked up. It really has added square footage to our home and is the perfect spot to hang with my kiddos, chat with the hubs after the kids are in bed, and enjoy time with family and friends.

A big thanks to Abby for having me visit today! And thank you to all of you for visiting my favorite space. I’d love for you to pop over and see more of my diy projects and decorating ideas over at TinySidekick.


I don’t know about you, but I feel like hopping on a plane to California to hang out in this awesome outdoor living room! Thank you so much for sharing your amazing space with us, Corey, and thank YOU for reading! Enjoy your day!

Delightful Sign Off

2 Comments

  1. Krista @ the happy housie says:

    Such a fab outdoor space. I love all the fresh hits of colour in the DIY projects – that really made regular outdoor furnishings I to something custom and gorgeous!! Great job Corey!

  2. This is such a fabulous space!! It’s the kind of porch I dream of having, a good book, a glass of wine and I’d be there forever!

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