Paradise Fall

Some Tips for Turning your Patio into an Autumn-Friendly Space 

Just because fall is right around the corner does not mean that patio season is over. Transitioning your outdoor space for the cooler months requires a little bit of forward thinking, as well as an eye for design. Here are some of our best ideas for converting your outdoor space to a paradise for fall weather. 

Embrace Textiles

Change the feel of your space with the addition of textiles. Outdoor-friendly rugs are a great way to warm up patio spaces and make them transition-ready. Ruggable, a company known for its machine-washable rugs, produces a collection of outdoor rugs in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes — their largest outdoor rug is 9 x 12, appropriate for a large exterior space. At the end of the fall season, the rug “cover” can be removed from the pad and placed in the washing machine, in preparation for next season. Complement your fall-ready rug with other warmth-inducing textiles, like indoor-outdoor blankets, lush pillows, and throws for an environment that says “cool nights” like no other. 

Bring the Light 

As the days grow shorter, warm up your outdoor space with light, light, and more light. Decorative lanterns — look to the Antiques Center Southampton for pieces that could use a revival — can hold candles and LED lights for a toasty fall glow. West Elm’s new standing heater lamp looks more like an indoor lamp than like an unattractive patio heat lamp. It’s an aesthetically pleasing way to add both warmth and character to your steadily cooling outdoor space. Tabletop fire pits — you can find these at Food52, on Amazon, and even at Williams-Sonoma, in Bridgehampton — are another great way to add light and heat to your transitional space. 

Change Your Greenery

If a garden blooming in stages tracks the seasons of spring, summer, and fall, so, too, can the potted plants of your patio. Bring in earthier tones and heartier plants, which you can find at some of the South Fork’s local nurseries. (Fowler’s Garden Center, in Southampton, and Wittendale’s Florist, in East Hampton, are two good places to start.) Multi-colored chrysanthemums, which can stand up to cool evenings, are inexpensive and can help transition a space, but if you want to add other unique pops of color, consider aster, which runs in the blue family, or coneflower — also known as Echinacea — which blooms in pink, orange, red, yellow, and even white. Purple fountain grass can add height and depth to an outdoor space, as well as adding a distinct autumn feel. Use glazed ceramic planters to bring even more color and texture into your transitioning space. 

Think Cozy

If you have the space, consider integrating an outdoor den — yurts, tents, and pergolas are perfect for fall weather, and they can be customized to suit your patio needs. Temporary structures like this can be purchased online, at places like Amazon. Then decorate them to the nines with fur throws and lush pillows from places like Hildreth’s Home Goods, in Southampton, Serena & Lily Design Shop, in Wainscott, and Homenature, also in Southampton. Stack pillows on the floor along with throws, LED candles, lanterns, and anything else that suits your fancy. When the fall nights hit, grab a glass of wine and head to your indoor-outdoor respite.