How to Elevate Your Outdoor Patio

A great patio is meant to enhance your restaurant’s environment, offering the perfect place for vibrant socializing or relaxing. A creative theme and a unique design aesthetic are key elements to making your outdoor space stand out.

Keep operations running smoothly on a busy patio by setting up separate seating areas to balance indoor and outdoor customers. Use furniture, awnings, and other elements to define each area and ensure your staff greets each customer before seating them outside.

Lighting

Whether your patio is designed for vibrant social gatherings or relaxing meditation, great lighting is essential. It adds ambience, creates detail, and makes the space usable after the sun sets.

The type of light bulb you choose also influences the ambiance of your patio. The color temperature—which is measured in Kelvin—determines the overall warmth or coolness of the light. LED lights have a more bluish tone, while incandescent bulbs provide a warmer, yellower hue.

For safety purposes, you may want to include pathway lighting, which highlights steps or other areas where a misstep could occur. Torches at the edges of your patio can help to illuminate the area while repelling bugs.

Keep in mind that patio lighting needs to be rated either “wet” or “dry.” Wet-rated fixtures can stand up to moisture and are ideal for use on your outdoor patio. Dry-rated fixtures, on the other hand, are more suited for indoor use and require a more durable installation method.

Fall Colors

The vibrant colors that appear on trees during autumn are a result of chemical reactions, namely the break down of pigments called chlorophyll that appear green and carotenoid pigments that appear yellow. The weather has a big influence on fall color. Cooler late summer temperatures and sunny days help promote the production of these pigments.

To lengthen the lifespan of these beautiful hues, situate trees in a spot that gets full to partial sunlight. Aim for a site that receives sunlight at least eight hours a day. Also, be sure to water and fertilize shade trees well throughout the growing season to encourage a healthy, vigorous plant that produces brighter fall colors.

Stainless Steel

In contrast to other metal furniture like aluminum and wrought iron that need to be repainted annually, stainless steel is naturally resistant to corrosion. This makes it a desirable material for outdoor furniture that will last for decades.

When choosing a stainless steel table or lounge chair, make sure you buy ones with quality hardware. Many manufacturers use cheap, non-stainless screws and bolts to assemble the pieces which can cause damage over time. Make sure to replace them with stainless steel nuts and bolts to prolong the life of your furniture.

Despite its resistance to corrosion, stainless steel is not maintenance free and should be looked after properly in order to retain it’s beautiful lustre for decades. When assembling your new furniture, be sure to rub the surface with baby oil which can help reduce the amount of dirt grime that builds up on the furniture over time. In addition, be sure to store your stainless steel furniture during harsh weather conditions like rain and snow.

String Lights

If you’re looking for one of the simplest ways to elevate your outdoor patio, try adding a set of string lights. This decorative lighting option sets a mood and provides a twinkle, rather than illuminating a space for practical reasons.

Use strands of petite bulbs to create a delicate and romantic atmosphere for your patio. Larger bulbs offer a more dramatic look, and you can find colorful options for an energizing effect. For the best results, plan where you want to hang your lights and sketch a top-down view of your patio, including its perimeter. This will help you determine how many strands to purchase and what length of light set to buy.

A canopy of string lights above a dining area makes for an inviting spot to enjoy meals al fresco. The ambiance created by the overhead illumination makes it an ideal place to host parties, too. You can also create a magical effect with strands of lights wound around the legs and supports of glass-top tables.

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