Is your patio ready for spring break? If your home is where friends, family and out-of-town guests converge during this festive time, we have some great ideas for you. This is the time of year when you want to make everything fresh again and bring new life to your awesome patio. If your patio isn’t that great yet, maybe these ideas will get you moving in the right direction!
1. Let’s start at the top with the LED string lighting.
You’re going to love these lights, and the best thing is you can leave them up year-round. We’re not talking about flimsy, plastic party lights alternately shaped like cactuses and sombreros. We’re talking about professional-grade LED string lighting installed by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Wilmington.
Sometimes they’re called bistro lights, market lighting or festive lighting. No matter what you call them, these lights signal the time and place for getting together with friends for food, music and fun times outdoors on the patio.
When you work with Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Wilmington, we’ll have a lighting designer measure your patio and determine how and where the LED lighting strings will be hung. Don’t worry if you don’t have any structures to hang them from around your patio. We can install string lighting just about anywhere, even if we have to install poles to make it work. We measure the strings of light bulbs to custom fit your outdoor space.
Our lighting technicians are pros when it comes to installing the LED string lighting. You’ll have seamless straight rows of globe lights that can stand up to changes in weather. The lights actually come with a 5-year warranty. You’ll continue to get more use out of these festive lights long after spring break is a distant memory.
2. More planters around the patio!
If your patio is near a wall, try some hanging wall planters. Container gardens are great on the patio, too, and what’s even better is filling them with plants that are known to repel mosquitoes. Here is a list of mosquito-repelling plants: Rosemary, Horsemint, Marigold, Lemon Balm, Flossflower (Ageratum), Citronella, Catnip, Basil, Lemon Thyme, Lemongrass, Lavender, Peppermint and Pennyroyal. Try it!
3. Colorful new outdoor pillows
Spruce up your patio furniture with splashy new pillows, or decorate economically by making some yourself by using a shower curtain or vinyl tablecloth. Think bigger and bolder pillows, even floor pillows, which are always fun.
4. Privacy screen made of wooden lattice panels
Lattice panels you can find at the home improvement store will provide just the right amount of screening at the edge of your patio. You can still see through it, so it doesn’t completely block your view of what’s on the other side, but at the same time it offers a bit of privacy and sets off the festive area. If you have a green thumb, you can also use it as a trellis. You need to have a plan for how to make a frame so the panels will hang or stand upright. There are plenty of tutorials for this project online.
5. Ceramic garden stools, repainted
If you have any ceramic garden stools, it’s time to spruce them up with a fresh coat of spray paint. If you don’t have any already, shop thrift stores for a great deal. Here’s a fun idea: Spray them with glow-in-the-dark paint! How fun would that be! When you paint them, be sure to use a spray primer first, because paint without primer doesn’t work well on ceramic. If you don’t want to use glow-in-the-dark paint, just use a bright, glossy color. We love the garden stools because they can double as a seat or a table.
6. Tabletop fire bowl
A fire bowl can be beautiful and elegant, and they’re perfect if you don’t want the trouble and expense of a full fire pit but want more flame than a candle. Some people call it the fire factor. You can find instructions online to make a tabletop fire bowl that’s safe and won’t explode or melt your table. Just be sure to use the gel fuel that’s meant for personal fireplaces. The supplies you need to make it are sold at home improvement stores. An alternative would be a tabletop tiki torch made from a wine bottle. Enjoy!
If you love hosting spring break and don’t want to waste a minute of it indoors, call Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Wilmington today. (910) 356-8203 We provide the best outdoor lighting on the North Carolina coast.
