Easy-to-Store Small Patio Decorating Ideas

Have fun turning your small concrete slab patio into a refreshing space for sunny days with decor ideas that are easy to store. Maximize your outdoor small patio area’s potential without cluttering it.

Our Patio Story

8 years ago, we downsized dramatically and bought our first home. It’s a lovely little townhouse in a complex with about 45 other townhouse units. Each one has a simple concrete slab patio with wall dividers for privacy.

It was an adjustment to go from a HUGE yard with a big lawn and multiple flower beds, but I must say, we just love our small patio out back of our kitchen and we don’t miss doing lawn and yard work all Summer long!;) In fact, our townhouse complex has a group of “lawn boys” (as we call them) who come and take care of our lawn every Friday. We think it’s great!

Things to Consider When Decorating a Small Patio

• Who is the patio for and what will it be used for? Our patio is used primarily by my husband and I. We don’t entertain large groups of people on a regular basis, so the requirements for this patio set up were really just for 2 people, with the option of sitting with a few friends and family when they are around!
• What activities will you want to use the patio for? We like to use a barbecue during the warm and hot days of Summer, so we definitely wanted to use some of the space for that. I also love to sit out on the patio and eat my lunch or read a book with a cup of coffee, so nice chairs with cushions and a table work great for that.
• What kind of weather are you dealing with? Think about the type of weather in the climate you’re located in and choose decor to fit with it. For instance, on the prairies of Montana where I grew up, the winds are FIERCE!! Everything you consider putting outside needs to be able to withstand high winds, or it will be blowing over to the neighbor’s house before you can blink! We get lots of rain here on the West Coast, so we needed to choose things that are rain friendly and easy to pack up and store for the Fall and Winter.
• Do you have room to store patio decor items during the off season? Before we bought anything for our patio, we always considered how and where we would store it during the patio “off season” – meaning 3/4 of the year!! We have limited space in our townhouse and garage, so everything we chose either folds up or stacks. It works great!

Decorating Ideas for a Small Patio

Although our patio is quite plain and ordinary compared to lots of fancy options, we absolutely love spending time out there! Here are some of the specifics that have worked well for us.

• A fold up barbecue – We have had absolutely monstrous barbecues in the past, but realized we really didn’t need such huge ones! A small fold up barbecue by Coleman works just fabulous for the two of us and we find we don’t need anything bigger – even when we are barbecueing for company. When the rains settle in in the Fall, we just fold it up and store it in the garage.
• A bistro table set. I just love this nifty little 3 piece bistro table set. It is perfect for a fun dinner out on the patio, and during the off season it is a breeze to fold up and lean against a wall in the garage. I purchased it used, but you can find fold up bistro sets in many stores. Be on the lookout for sales at the end of the season.

• Outdoor rugs– I just love how outdoor “all weather” rugs add so much fun and design to our plain cement slab patio. I got both the round lemon slice rug and the black patterned rug for great prices. They last a long time even if they get wet, and can be rolled up to store in the off season. Choose patterns and colors that fit the style you’d like to have.
• Comfy chairs and cushions-We searched for a long time for a pair of comfy patio chairs. I looked and looked for fold up ones that were comfy, but just couldn’t find any that felt comfortable. In the end, we purchased a set of chairs that stacked instead. They are made with an all weather material (that looks like wicker, but it’s a durable type of plastic). The cushions are sold seperately, and are all weather – but I do bring them in when there’s a chance of rain. I don’t like sitting on wet cushions!;)

• Decorative Lighting – We just hung up a set of outdoor lights on the black wall divider this Summer and we love them so much! We plugged them into a timer that turns on at dusk and stays on for 2 hours and they turn off on their own. I also found that solar light that’s on the side table this Summer that comes on when the sun goes down. Inexpensive solar light picks are in some of my planters that I purchased at our local grocery store for $1 each also come on at nightime. It makes such a cozy, happy scene at night!
• Practical storage – One thing I needed on the deck was a hose to water all the plants. I found an idea to use an extra plastic planter and “hide” the hose in it. It works like a charm!

• Plants and flowers – One of my favorite parts of our patio space are the large planters with hydrangeas in them. (Here are some hydrangeas in pots tips.) I also like to add smaller planters and hanging baskets and scatter them throughout the space to add more color. During the Winter, I just line them all up in front of the black wall divider and they hang out there. Our Winters aren’t cold enough to have to bring them inside.

Thanks for stopping by our little patio tour today! Now that it’s sort of the “end of the Summer season” in stores, you might want to be on the lookout for some patio decor ideas that are on good sales. I’ve included an Amazon list below of similar items to what we have.

Other Patio Decorating Ideas:

• Beach style patio decor
• Here was our patio before!
• I had a dinner party on our HUGE patio deck (in a previous house). See the Fall Table patio decor here.

Shop these Patio Ideas

Disclosure: The following are affilate links for your shopping convenience.

I searched on Amazon for similar products to what we have, use, and love. You can find the list in my Amazon USA list or Amazon Canada list.

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