One key in how to update or decorate a patio is to plan for all seasons

Settle yourself down into a comfy garden chair. Gently touch the side of a frosted glass of summer flavor to your flushed forehead?just before taking a long, well deserved sip of the cool nectar. You are about to look upon your latest work of art and fully realize the overwhelming beauty of your newly decorated patio. 

Enjoy the sight. 

Let the sun exhibit your handiwork. 

You?ll have time enough later to create upon demand a patch of shade, simply by reaching overhead and adjusting the retractable awning?the awning that transforms any patio into an extra, outdoor room.

The temptation to decorate the entire house?and the garage?as if it were a pleasantly appointed patio is one to be momentarily relished, then filed away for future consideration in the wish department of your mind. Keep your imagination under control, now that the newly finished patio is a done deal. Let it suffice for now to know that when it comes to a happy ending for any project related to how to decorate a patio, the effort is well worth the grand finale.

Simple to sublime

A patio is a rather personal space. Some see it as a nondescript cement slab useful only as a place to store a few trash cans, the lawn mower or maybe a couple of bicycles. Others see it as a place that has lots of potential. Nevertheless, they never get around to forming a plan for the patio?s beautification. They never go as far as to investigate how to decorate a patio and see how easily the project can be accomplished.

Something as simple as planting some flowering vines upon an attractive vinyl arbor is one solution?especially for those who realize that today?s vinyl arbors are maintenance-free products that never need painting. An arbor, a free-standing shade canopy or a motorized retractable canopy are all potential leisure makers for those who enjoy entertaining, barbecuing or just lounging around in an outdoor atmosphere. When one thinks of how to decorate a patio, shade and beauty are primary goals. 

Sublime on a budget

It?s easy to have a woulda-coulda-shoulda mentality full of ideas but without motivation to action. A lack of time, a lack of money or a lack of initiative may be factors. Luckily, when it comes to how to decorate a patio there are a number of contingency plans that cover almost any set of restrictions?monetary or otherwise. 

Basic innovations include the addition of simple but attractive decorations whose estimated prices listed here are modest enough for mostly any budget.

? Plastic chairs?each around $10 or less
? Round table with umbrella in center?$25 up
? Artificial flowers in hanging baskets?$10 up
? Water feature; small fountains, etc.?$60 up
? Decorative resin or cement bird bath?$50 up

Consider the climate

On the other hand, there is a creative multitude of home owners with some means that look at a barren patio and envision an oasis of luxury whose environs are more like an island in paradise than a patio. 

A patio can be a place of beauty. It can be a spot that provides a refuge from the workaday world. And the question of how to decorate a patio is one that can be answered in the simplest of terms or with lavish expenditures that transform the space into a world of oohs and aahs.

Those with far-thinking tendencies will plan for all seasons and include some arrangements related to their enjoyment of winter gardening. Plantings that retain their structure and colors in the winter season are accessories that beautify any patio. There also are a number of other accoutrements to enhance winter enjoyment of a patio. Plan for all seasons when you are thinking about how to decorate a patio. There are many products that help folks enjoy their patios all year long.

? Patio heaters
? Patio lamps
? Solar lighting
? Fire pits and fireplaces
? Stone barbecues
? Built-in storage units
? Wind screens and blinds

Decorate it and they will come

Beware. Thinking about how to decorate a patio can lead to an influx of visitors. Be sure you?re the sociable kind, unless you are going to keep your newly decorated patio a secret from neighbors, friends and relatives. Everyone will want to find out how to decorate a patio for their own home.

Remember to consider maintenance and care of the furniture and accessories that you add to your patio. Wrought iron, rattan and linens all require different attention to keep them bright and fresh.

Go ahead and enjoy the adulation. You deserve the praise?and the privilege of settling yourself into a comfy garden chair and taking a long swig on a cool drink. The answer to how to decorate a patio is up to you. Keep it simple. Or, go wild. Then, take a deep breath. Company is on the way.