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What you need to do to make sure your patio is ready for the fall

Will Blesch
By

Summer is coming to an end, and gone are the days of sunbathing out on your patio. The air has chilled and the hours of sunlight have shortened. Now is the time to grab a hot tea, a mug of hot cocoa, or even a late afternoon cappuccino. The colors of leaves are changing and glorious golden foliage is appearing everywhere.

Yet, despite the cold, you don’t really want to sit indoors sipping your hot beverage, do you? You don’t want to experience the fall through the closed windows of your kitchen, bedroom, or living room. That’s especially true when you could be out on your patio wrapped up in an afghan blanket and enjoying the crisp air.

However, before you can take advantage of the coming fall season, you need to transition your patio from its summer décor into something more suitable. Think of it like this: You don’t wear shorts and a t-shirt when the temperatures drop. Instead, you change your clothes. Ensuring your patio is ready for the fall is like that. You must figuratively change its clothes.

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With that in mind, here are some ideas on how to get your patio prepared for autumn.

Wicker furniture on patio

Clean up your furniture

Not all outdoor furniture is made for year-round use. Moreover, cushions and coverings used during the summer often have patterns that work well with the season’s warm colors. However, remember that colors change with the seasons. You’ll want to switch out pillows and seat cushions in favor of patterns appropriate for the fall. So, go out and purchase some with a new color scheme! Don’t throw out your summer pieces, though. There’s no reason you can’t hold on to them for use next year.

Bring out the fall decor

In addition to changing out the seat cushions and pillows on your outdoor furniture, you should also think about changing the overall décor on your patio. In many places around the world, the fall brings harvest times to mind. There’s a sort of rustic, country feeling to the fall. Consider purchasing decorations and accessories that evoke that same sense of harvest, nature, and community.

Use multifunctional furniture

We’re not proposing going out and buying an entirely new set of outdoor furniture specifically for the fall. However, over time, you could certainly think about picking up pieces here and there that you can slowly add to your furniture collection. By doing so, you’ll eventually have sets that match each season.

With that said, fall is a time when temperatures are generally mild during the evenings and then tend to dip into the chilly zone as night falls. Because it’s not unbearably hot, your patio can be a great place to socialize in the evenings. With that in mind, try to choose furniture that’s multifunctional.

For instance, one idea might be to buy a large vintage trunk, which you can use for storage while it also functions as a coffee table. Whatever you do, try to make sure there’s plenty of seating for friends and family!

Prepare the fire pit

If you don’t have a fire pit, don’t worry. You can still prepare decorative heating elements on your patio. (We’ll talk about that in a moment.) However, if you have a fire pit incorporated into the design of your patio, then you have something wonderful. In order to enjoy your fire pit safely, though, you need to ensure that you prepare it before use. For example, you’ll likely have to clean it out if you didn’t cover it during the summer. If yours is the type that burns wood, then you’ll need to make sure you have a pile of logs nearby, ready to toss on the fire. Of course, you’ll also need both tinder and kindling.

If your fire pit is the propane variety, you’ll need a fresh tank of propane.

Other ways to heat your patio

As suggested above, you don’t have to have a fire pit to enjoy a heated patio in the fall. Regular outdoor electric space heaters are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. However, other options are a little harder to come by, but are well worth the investment. For example, you could purchase a propane-fueled fire pit table! Essentially, it looks like a coffee table, but the center is an open flame.

Outdoor seating arrangement

Make your patio comfy

Ultimately, your patio should be a space used alone or with guests to enjoy the season. It’s the perfect place to entertain guests up until winter arrives. You merely need to ensure that you’ve prepared your patio for the fall in proper fashion.

To make things as cozy as possible, make sure that you have everything needed to keep the space warm. You’ll also need lighting. Enhancing the light of a fire pit by strategically placing lanterns around your patio and keeping electric lighting to a minimum can create a magical feel to the entire area.

Finally, make sure you’ve got plenty of blankets and pillows thrown over your patio furniture before guests arrive, so you have no excuse to stay indoors.

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