Summer Deck Decorating Ideas

Get your outdoor spaces ready for entertaining guests with these helpful summer deck decorating ideas!

Hello, hello! Today I am so excited to be sharing our deck all decorated for summer!

I gave a little sneak peek of our deck in last week’s Summer Home Tour, but I’m excited to get to share the whole thing with you today, along with some simple summer deck decorating ideas (say that ten times fast 😉 )!

If you’ve been following along with our house progress for a while, you’ll know that we did not originally have a deck. We built our home with a community builder (it’s a Palermo by Ryan Homes), and they don’t include the deck with the building plan; you have to add it on yourself later.

Adding the deck was at the top of the priority list because one of the reasons we chose our house was because of the great view from the back, so last summer we made it happen!

We went with an AZEK deck, which is made of PVC / recycled plastic rather than a wood deck (you can read about our reasoning in this post), and we have loved the look and the way it has held up (even through the harsh Pennsylvania winter!) over the past year.

Simple Summer Deck Decorating Ideas

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

Now I confess, our deck isn’t all “decked out” (excuse the pun 🙂 ) like it is in these photos all the time. We are in Pittsburgh, PA, so weather is always a factor we need to be thinking about. We had a major snow in April this year, then had 80-90 degree weather the next week, and have gone back and forth between pouring rain and perfect sunshine more times than I can count, so really anything is possible here!

(In fact, when I was decorating the day I took these photos, I actually had to pull everything in and then set it up again because it started to rain, even though the weather report said it was going to be clear! Oh, Pittsburgh!)

But when we have guests over and the weather cooperates, I love to get our deck all gussied up because it is one of our favorite places to hang out, spend time with friends, and just enjoy each other’s company. When I’m getting the deck ready for one of these occasions, I typically abide by a few simple guidelines…

1. Decide on a Color Scheme

I’ve found that seasonal decorating is so much easier when I give myself some parameters! Not only does a color scheme help make the space look cohesive, but it also allows me to quickly gather everything I have that fits with the theme and put it to work in the space.

For this summer’s porch, I decided to take colors that I usually use inside– like pink and aqua– and use brighter versions of them outside for a nice punch of color.

(Psssttt… Would you believe this table is a DIY?! Donnie built it last summer and wrote a post about it here.)

I didn’t do anything complicated or go out and buy a whole bunch of new stuff. In fact, for the most part I was able to…

2. Use What I Have

It is tempting to go out every time I am decorating for a new season and buy a whole bunch of decor pieces, but the longer I decorate, the more I have realized that that strategy not only gets expensive, but it typically leaves me with a lot of extra clutter. (And we all know how much I hate clutter!)

Instead of buying a whole new round of decor items for each season, then, I try to choose a color scheme (see #1!) that allows me to incorporate mostly items I already have. Then I get the added challenge of being creative and thinking outside the box to use my items in an atypical way.

I didn’t have a table runner or placemats that went along with the color scheme I had in mind, so I grabbed a scarf that I’ve had for years, and it ended up being the perfect backdrop for the rest of our table decor.

The rug I typically use in our outdoor space didn’t match either, so instead of buying one, I just borrowed the one from my office for this occasion and returned it when we were finished.

Our exact conversation set isn’t sold anymore, but this one is really similar.

I even grabbed flowers I had from a few left over bouquets and put them together to create the little arrangement in the middle of the table.

chargers, plates, small bowls, carafes, vase- At Home

While I’ll occasionally buy an extra item or two if it’s something we’ll use in the long term, I am often able to decorate seasonally by just using what I already have, saving myself money and storage space!

3. Let Food Double as Decor

I love food as decor because it looks pretty, and then we get to eat it, so it tastes yummy too! I used a bunch of lemons and limes this year, which also gave an extra punch to our water…

pitcher, goblets, white bowl, towel, tray- HomeGoods

The blueberries and raspberries were kind enough to fit right in with my selected color scheme, and they were also delicious!

And I’m kind of a carb-a-holic, so bread was an obvious choice for decorating + eating too! 🙂

4. Add Lots of Pillows and Throws for Coziness (Even if it’s only temporary!)

Throw pillows are my weakness. I don’t have a lot of shoes or handbags or make up, but throw pillows? I am definitely not a minimalist when it comes to those! I love that they’re pretty and can add instant coziness to a space as well.

I simply grabbed a bunch from my stash, along with some soft throw blankets (I am ALWAYS cold!), and my otherwise plain-looking seating area was immediately more interesting and more comfortable.

aqua pillows, floral pillow, gray and white striped throw, dark gray throw

The pillows and throws must’ve been looking extra cozy that day because Caleb snuck out and tried to take a nap on them while I was taking pictures– cutest little photo bomber!

With the Pennsylvania weather issues that I mentioned earlier, I don’t leave our pillows and throws out here permanently, but they are a nice touch when we’re entertaining.

5. Go the Easy Route with Plants

Finally, I am the first to admit that I am FAR from a master gardener, but I still like to have pretty plants and flowers, so I go the easy route and use Drop-N-Bloom plants from Home Depot for my planters. (You can read more about my simple planter strategy in this post.)

The plants already come mixed in the perfect combination, and I just water them and give them a bit of plant food every once in a while, and they’re good to go. So simple!

What are your favorite simple ideas for summer decorating? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

large lanterns

garden stool, side table, faux banana leaf plant

Shop Our Deck

If you’d like to see the rest of this year’s summer decor, don’t miss these posts:

Our Summer Home Tour

Our Summer Porch

Summer Shelf Decor

Summer Sunroom

Happy Summer!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.