Outdoor living rooms: Be inspired by 11 fantastic ideas for gardens, terraces and balconies

Having an outdoor space is a wonderful advantage in any home: on days with milder temperatures and throughout the warm seasons, it is great to be able to spend time outdoors, eating, chatting or simply relaxing. So, anyone with a balcony, terrace or garden certainly will want to make it as welcoming and pleasant as possible for themselves and for visiting friends and relatives.

Ideas for setting up living rooms and spaces where you can spend time in company are endless, and sometimes you just need to find the right one that catches your attention. Once you've chosen one, you can work towards using it as a starting point to recreate a similar atmosphere for your outside area. Below, you will find some wonderful examples to draw inspiration from:

If you are in a courtyard with high enclosing walls, installing a raised platform just outside the house creates a space to use comfortably at many times of the year. If the available surface is not to expansive, it is best to use the corner for a made-to-measure sofa.

A large balcony becomes a charming outdoors living room with a carpet, some garden furniture and lots of pot plants.

The idea of demarcating the space to be used for an outdoor living room with different type of flooring is very useful: not only bricked areas, but also gravel and the like can be used for this, creating a contrast with the surrounding lawn. And the border elements can have any shape you want - they can even be rounded off areas with a nice fire pit container in the center.

To create privacy and also shelter from the sun or light rain, gazebos are always an excellent idea. And if they are fitted to the ground, providing a wooden platform as a foundation is particularly effective and attractive.

In the middle of an area chosen, a little gravel covering of surface can be used to indicate the area to be furnished with deckchairs, armchairs and even a brazier in the center. When the evenings are cooler, lighting the fire and a few lanterns (and keeping some blankets ready), will make these spaces eminently useable.

A black fence (perhaps like the furniture), contrated to a light floor and lots of objects added which are made from natural materials and fibers: this is an elegant and truly fascinating bohemian-style mixture. And there should be no shortage of light bulb strung up for illumination.

Here is a living room that plays out all the shades of white and dark gray, against the backdrop of a white house.

Just like inside the home, rugs help to enrich and, above all, define the space dedicated to these outdoor living rooms. It will be necessary to choose materials that do not discolour in the sun and that resist bad weather, but also be ones which can easily be stored in the winter.

A glass house wall, which immediately opens onto a wood paved area outside and is protected by a metal and glass canopy: it is super elegant and matches beautifully with lush greenery all around it.

Among the elements that you could consider adding to the outside - a little more unique if you are wanting to create a focus - are suspended, swinging sofas...

...or real outdoor fireplaces!

What is the outdoor living room of your dreams?