Coastal Patio Ideas

1. Pick a sand-and-sea palette

Take the colors from the view: sand, chalk white, driftwood gray, a little sea-glass green or deep navy. Keep the large surfaces – floor, walls, big cushions – light and quiet, and save stronger blue or terracotta for pots and a few pillows. Light surfaces also stay cooler underfoot in full sun than dark ones. The Mediterranean version is whitewashed walls, terracotta pots and a painted door; a modern coastal patio uses the same idea with fewer, larger pieces. Our modern coastal style guide covers the palette in more detail.

2. Use materials that like salt air

Salt air finds every weak spot. Teak, powder-coated aluminum and recycled-plastic lumber handle it well; bare steel rusts, and even wrought iron needs a good coating. For screws and hinges, 316 (A4) marine-grade stainless steel resists salt better than ordinary 304 (A2, often sold as 18-8). Underfoot, light stone, concrete pavers and composite decking are easy to sweep free of sand. Rinse everything with fresh water now and then, and the furniture will look right for years. The teak guide explains how to care for the wood and whether to let it go silver.

3. Ground it with an outdoor rug

A rug is what makes a group of chairs look like a living room. Choose a flat-woven polypropylene or recycled-plastic rug: it dries quickly, sand shakes out of it and you can hose it down. Sand, cream or a soft stripe keeps it calm. Size it so at least the front legs of the sofa and chairs stand on it, lift it off the ground when it rains for days, and roll it up for winter so the stone underneath can dry.

4. Build the evening around a fire pit

A fire turns a sunset drink into a whole evening. A smokeless pit like the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0, about 19.5 inches across, suits a circle of four to six chairs and keeps the smoke out of people's eyes once it is hot. Put it on stone or on the maker's stand, away from railings, hedges and umbrellas, and place the seats so the wind carries sparks away from the house. Our smokeless fire pit guide compares sizes and fuels, and the espeto method shows how to cook sardines over the embers.

5. Hang string lights and lanterns

String lights do for a patio what a ceiling lamp does for a room. Hang them high enough to walk under, in a zigzag between the house and a post or across a pergola, and choose warm white – around 2700K, like the Brightech Ambience Pro – rather than cool blue light. Solar strands solve the problem of a patio without an outlet. Add a few lanterns with LED candles on the table and steps; real candles blow out or tip over in sea wind.

6. Make shade: umbrella, sail or pergola

Shade comes first on a sunny patio – without it, the space stays empty from noon to five. A cantilever umbrella shades a dining table without a pole in the middle; a market umbrella is simpler and cheaper. A shade sail covers more ground for less money, but it needs strong fixing points and should come down before storms. A pergola with slats, climbing plants or a retractable canvas is the long-term answer. On Spanish terraces the classic is the toldo, a retractable awning off the house wall that rolls out at midday and back at dusk.

7. Set a long table for slow dinners

The best coastal terraces are built around a table. A long, simple one in teak or aluminum with benches on one side seats more people than you expect, and benches slide out of the way when the table is not in use. Leave room to walk behind the chairs. The Spanish have a word for staying at the table long after the meal: sobremesa. Plan the patio for it, and keep the menu easy – our easy Mediterranean meals are made for it.

8. Plant for wind: olive, rosemary, ornamental grasses

Plants that grow by the sea tend to have small, tough or silver leaves. Olive trees, rosemary, lavender and ornamental grasses handle sun, wind and salt better than soft-leaved plants, and grasses add movement on a breezy evening. Use large, heavy pots – terracotta or stone – so they do not tip in wind, and group them to make a windbreak along the exposed side. Choose varieties for your climate: in cold regions, potted olives need shelter in winter.

9. Add a hammock corner

A hammock gives a patio a place for the afternoon. If you have no trees in the right spot, a hammock with its own stand – such as the Vivere double cotton hammock on a 9-foot steel stand – can move with the shade through the season. Cotton is soft and breathable but should come inside when rain is due; polyester and acrylic hammocks can stay out longer. Put the hammock where you can see the water, not where people walk.

10. Soften it with cushions in linen tones

Cushions make outdoor furniture comfortable enough for a whole evening. Look for outdoor fabrics in solution-dyed acrylic or olefin, which resist fading and dry quickly, with quick-dry foam inside. Linen, oat, sand and a little navy or sea green keep the palette calm; one striped pillow per seat is enough pattern. Bring cushions in or store them dry overnight and they will last far longer. The coastal throw pillows guide has covers that work inside and out.

11. Hide the clutter in a deck box

Towels, cushions, pool toys and the cover for the grill have to go somewhere. A deck box keeps them dry and out of sight, and a sturdy lid doubles as extra seating. The Keter Westwood holds 150 gallons (570 liters), seats two adults and can be locked. Open it on dry days to air it out, and wipe the cushions dry before they go in.

12. Shrink it for a balcony

Every idea here works at a smaller scale. Choose two folding chairs and a small table, a rug that fits the floor exactly, railing planters with rosemary or lavender, and one strand of solar string lights. Skip the open fire: many buildings and local rules do not allow fire pits on balconies, so LED lanterns take its place. Keep weight in mind on older balconies, and fix anything light – cushions, planters, an umbrella – against the wind.

Shop the look in three budgets

You do not need to buy everything at once. These three steps build on each other, and the pieces from the first step stay useful in the third.

Starting out

• Warm-white solar string lights, such as the Brightech Ambience Pro
• A flat-woven outdoor rug in sand or a soft stripe
• Outdoor cushions in linen tones and two or three big pots with rosemary and grasses
• A deck box for cushions and towels, such as the Keter Westwood

The middle step

• A smokeless fire pit for four to six people, such as the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0
• Two weather-proof lounge chairs – see the best Adirondack chairs, with the POLYWOOD Classic Folding Adirondack as a recycled-plastic classic
• A hammock with its own stand for the shady corner
• A market or cantilever umbrella over the table

The long-term terrace

• A long teak dining table with benches – the teak guide explains what to look for
• A pergola or a retractable awning for permanent shade
• A larger fire pit for a big circle, such as the Breeo X Series 24 (US) or the Solo Stove Yukon 2.0
• Olive trees in large stone or terracotta planters

The cards below show the pieces from these lists that are sold in your country's Amazon store. For furniture and indoor style, continue to Coastal Furniture; for more outdoor guides, see Outdoor Living and the beach chairs with shade.