Last year we didn’t use our living rooms and dining rooms as much. We entertained guests on our decks and patios instead. And guess what? We found that actually works pretty well! You can do a lot to make an outdoor space feel like an indoor room.

Even as the pandemic recedes, we’ve started a trend that isn’t likely to go away. In 2021, we’re going to see more and more blurring of the distinction between indoors and outdoors. Folks will be setting up decks and patios that feel like living rooms, not because they have to but because they want to. It’s like adding a room to your house without a construction project!

Learn more about 2021 design trends here.

Outdoor spaces will be featuring indoor/outdoor chairs and sofas with a substantial look and feel. Tables will look more like dining tables than picnic tables. There’ll be weatherproof end tables and maybe even a few indoor house plants spending sunny days on the porch in pots. And one of the best ways to make that deck or patio feel like a “real room” is with an indoor/outdoor area rug.

How Does an Outdoor Rug Change a Deck or Patio?

When you step out onto a deck and see an area rug, it makes a statement: “This is part of the house!” It lends the space a touch of hominess. It emphasizes the ambiance of that outdoor area, whether that feel is contemporary, sophisticated or casual.

When there aren’t four walls, the rug becomes a focal point. In fact, some designers will start by choosing the rug and will assemble the room around it. An area rug can reflect the tone of a room, or it can be the furnishing that sets that tone!

Arranging an Outdoor Space with an Area Rug

For a deck that’s used mostly as a dining area, you can center the table over the rug. It’s best to leave about 24 inches of padding around the table so guests can get in and out of chairs without pushing the legs off the rug’s edge.

If the patio is set up like a living room for face-to-face conversation, the rug will be central to the sofa and chairs. It looks most natural and room-like if at least the front legs are on the rug surface. An alternative is to use a large enough rug to accommodate all four legs of each furnishing. This gives the “room” a tighter feel. There should be an open border of about 18 inches at the edge of the patio, but it can be a little as eight inches for a smaller space.

If your porch is sizable enough for both a living and dining area, you might use a combination of rugs!

Patterns and Colors

In a living room, you have painted or wallpapered walls and some hanging artwork. In your back yard, you have nature’s beautiful palette as a background! That gives you more freedom to experiment with bold rugs that might be just a little too forward for an indoor room.

Go bright if you want to! Try out summer colors such as blue, yellow, orange and red. If your patio furniture is solid colors, jazz things up with a striking pattern. There are plenty of these available: you’ll find that indoor/outdoor rug makers offer some of the same materials and construction in a dazzling variety of unique designs.

Need more color inspiration? Look to Pantone’s 2021 Colors of the Year, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating (yellow).

How Are Indoor Outdoor Rugs Constructed?

There are natural materials such as bamboo, jute and sisal. They look and feel great, and they’re okay for a covered porch, but they don’t hold up to outdoor weather. The most practical outdoor rugs are polyester and polypropylene. These are stain-resistant, low maintenance, child and pet friendly and can be manufactured to resist mold and mildew.

Polyester starts as a liquid and is them polymerized into threads and fibers. It can be dyed in its liquid form, which is called “solution dyeing” and locks in long-lasting color. The threads can be spun and then woven like other rug materials, either by hand or with a machine.

Polypropylene, sometimes called olefin, can also be manufactured to look like woven natural-material rugs. Polypropylene is UV-resistant and won’t sun-fade. It’s excellent at standing up to wear and tear.

Both these synthetics are found in affordable rugs as well as in gorgeous high-end creations. Whatever material you choose, you can make it the centerpiece of your remodeled outdoor space. People love “rooms” that have characteristics of both the indoors and outdoors, and your guests are sure to gravitate to this exciting new area of your expanded home.