| |

Creative Ways to Add More Outdoor Seating

Are you starting to search for porch and patio outdoor furniture now that it is Springtime? One thing I realized at the end of my outdoor entertaining season last year, is how many people can be seated on my little front porch!

With just a few changes in furniture layout and choosing smaller sized multi-use outdoor patio furniture pieces, you can seat up to 8 people on my porch.  I’ll show you how!

Simple Tricks for More Patio Seating

  • Look for a sectional sofa that is small in scale and has a variety of components
  • Don’t only use garden stools for seating, but also for cocktails
  • Use the railing of your porch or patio as a seat back
  • Upholster your porch swing for more comfort, so two people WANT to sit and swing
  • Create conversation seating, where people face each other

My front porch is VERY small, but I am so happy to have it! It’s great to sit out there drinking my coffee in the morning or wine in the evening.  I’ve even had little impromptu parties and you’d be surprised how many people I’ve crammed in this space.

The impromptu party is what alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t maximizing my seating.  People are amazing when you are hosting a party to make due with what you have and they did!

How to Arrange Patio Furniture

First, let me tell you why I chose the pieces I did. For perspective, the useable space on my front porch is 7 ft deep by 14 ft wide.  That is a small narrow space and my builder hung my swing, but hung it forward and not centered, so I lost a little space from that “mistake”.

My go to for outdoor furniture is Target! They have SO many great styles, at affordable prices and just about all of my woven outdoor furniture has come from them.

Once I found something I liked, I MEASURED MULTIPLE TIMES! That is SO important.

  • Print off the dimensions from the website and use 2 tape measures to make sure everything fits, so you can walk around the furniture with ease.

Choose Individual Furniture Pieces for Flexible Arrangements

For my front porch, I found a SECTIONAL sofa collection that was small in size and came in separates.  Instead of buying the entire 5 piece set, I bought:

  • 1 ea. Corner Chair
  • 2 ea. Armless Chairs
  • 2 ea. Ottomans

Then I also had a few accessories:

  • 1 ea. Garden Stool
  • 2 ea. 3 ft x 5 ft Rugs
  • 1 ea. Small Metal Table

Sitting on my Porch. JPG

Patio Furniture Arrangement for Lounging

Originally, the furniture was arranged for lounging more than entertaining.  So I set up a layout where two people can face outward and put up their feet. Nice right? Then a small garden stool acts as the perfect cocktail table.

The arm chair and two armless chairs I used to make a small “sofa” and because the swing was so close I couldn’t fit another arm chair. NOTE: The walkway to my front door is next to the flowers by the corner arm chair.  Original porch Layout

The ottomans were then placed in front of the chairs on the ends, which left space for a TINY little table. Add 2 ea. 3 ft. by 5 ft. rugs and I had a nice little outdoor lounge space.

Patio Furniture Arrangement for Entertaining

What is SO nice about having separate furniture pieces is that they are FLEXIBLE! They can change with your needs.

Then the party on my porch happened and my guests pulled the furniture apart to create a more conversational arrangement. Then I added throw pillows to make it even more comfortable and prettier 🙂

New Porch Layout

I even pulled a little metal table from my back patio that wasn’t getting much use for people to use for their drinks. It’s stayed out here and been painted a few times.

Pillows Against Chair Railing

Another alternative, which would be temporary if I was planning a “Front Porch Party” is to pull the corner chair out into the walkway (there is plenty of room to get to the door) and then move the small metal table between the two chairs on the wall.

Then people can spread out and we have an area that comfortably seats 7 for an nice conversation.

Porch and Patio Layout with Corner Chair Pulled Out

If I needed to seat 8 people, then I would just pull a chair in from the house for the evening.  See how flexible this space is?

Upholster a Porch Swing

If you like my swing, CLICK HERE to learn how I upholstered the seat!

A Beautifully Upholstered Porch Swing Seat

Affiliate links are included for your convenience and if you purchase through one of my links, I may make a small commission that helps me maintain this web site!

Time to Go Shopping

The season for choosing patio furniture is NOW! There are so many sales in March and April, with free shipping.  You may have to put it together, which I did, but the price is SO worth it!

If you like the look I’ve created I’ll link similar products . Expect that I will be online shopping with you to create a whole new look for this outdoor entertaining season!

Hover over the picture and click on the chain link to be taken directly to the product. 

The 2nd Sectional is the closest to the one I purchased. Called Sedona.

[slide-anything id=’4726′][slide-anything id=’4728′][slide-anything id=’4729′][slide-anything id=’4730′]

Cheers to daydreaming on the porch!

Good luck creating a space that you love for lounging or entertaining.  There is nothing better than daydreaming on the porch 🙂

Porch Daydreamer

Tracey

2 Comments

  1. I never took into account the fact that you can use a garden stool for cocktails and not only for seating. My mother is thinking about remodeling her patio, and we are looking for advice to decorate it. I will let her know about your lovely recommendations to help my mother to build the most beautiful patio.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *