Thanks everyone for your feedback and great suggestions! I need to keep in mind what will look good for a while. At this point, the house exterior needs to be painted and I will likely pick a new color scheme. I'm not sure about that yet. Sounds like I can't go wrong at this point with repainting the patio furniture black/satin black or another dark color. Yes, there will be cushions. FYI, when you enter the family room you look directly onto the patio (through 8' sliding doors), so I am trying to take that into consideration, too. I will go check out the Rust-oleum colors. Thanks again for all your help.

Hi, Wilmember(4b) saw your old post, but it's about that time of year again! First ,look at your local garden centers, use Google for convenience, and realize it's still cold in N. C. so imagine it is there, also! I have been patio gardening for a few years, and enjoy it so much. I don't know what you love specifically, but will share my things. The seeds are also a good idea above for a look but flowers close at night. Ever heard of Moon flowers? Find a seedling going on already for your front piece, and keep in mind, it is light green, grows like crazy, and will vine if you get the correct one. The white blossoms open at night, and smell heavenly! I wanted to place growing vines along the sides for privacy, so put a white English Jasmine which is slower growing than the yellow, which will take over literally. IT is staked for our purposes, so it grows up the center, adding height, and it is evergreen with beautiful aroma from the flowers in spring and summer. Slow grower, but worth waiting for. Also I always have another large container, ceramic, with a Hibiscus the size of a shrub, not a tree, to which you can add vines, like ivy, or flowers, like trailing pansies this time of year and later wave petunias. They fill out the bottom; the frost will destroy the bush but you can buy another, unless you have a greenhouse, it is worth it buying yearly, as the flowers are huge, and it is also always green 'til frost. It screens the side near the jasmine container. THEN,, on the front entrance and street side, I always have a container, several feet long plastic in white like you can easily find at at Lowes Hardware, to blend with any trim and gutters. I always change it out seasonally so normally, keeping it simple, so the winter has a trailing green normal ivy, you can control growth by clipping, and I am now moving it down to the garden, and about to add some blooming things, yay, like wave pansies which means trailing, look in summer for the light green hardy sweet potato vines, you will not be disappointed. One cool weather favorite is Snap Dragons, the tall ones, center all the way down. For height in the middle, you could add if the container is long and wide enough a small evergreen tree but it will become bored and want to be in the garden. There is one I used in a container at Christmas light green, lime, sort of, and still going strong. They do not mind being cooped up! I recommend you stick with tall flowering plants, and water them, feed, and enjoy. They do create a center piece for the front-facing our driveway area. I also potted some things for the birds who visit, dragonflies, and butterflies too, so try out a container (notice I found lime green ceramic garden pieces I use for color and often seating!),on the third side with lavender, attract hummingbirds with salvia and some added herbs, flowering things they like such as coneflowers, are and idea I am thinking of doing AND they are also tall, so need a large pretty ceramic pot, look on Houzz gardening ideas for containers! I use them a lot, and write them ideas, too. You want it large as it's outdoors, but not crowd your area. Our's isn't huge, but it's perfect for this house, we have an awning overhead that stays out if nice day, and self-closes during higher winds than average. AND I had the dragonflies last summer, because I just had added a water feature! SO beautiful to see them, and within a day they appeared! It's NOT a fountain, a friend who is a landscaper provided the man-power, the pool, and a single, incredible lotus, which I always wanted, as the center piece, within a black, above-ground about 4 x 4' pool, it sits atop balcony near the front, with my favorite glass- topped found- "beachy" table, and chairs from World Market on sale; also 2 others are there but slid back near the sliding glass door. With anything heavy like a pool, one must be sure it is supported beneath--our former owner's plans for a jazuzzi I bet had done this! Anyway, no fish, but will be next year perhaps some fat little goldfish with plumage tails! I so - loved the water lilies ! Waited ten years to do it, we did not live in this coastal town full time at first. Just if you do decide to do it, be sure to buy only from local reputable supplier, and the lotus, well it bloomed for a month, each one lasting 3 or more days per blossom..then the other only require is a "bubbler", get a good one, it's for air, anti-mosquito, helps fish breathe. I now wish for one with lights!, Also must have outdoor extension cord and a safe outdoor socket, or have it installed, it's worth it! Of course, need to fish a hose up for the water-filling, and simple feed for plants as per directed, simple.... you insert a little square of it into the rocky mix that's holding the flat-but at least 4 or 5 inches tall, and round pot it is in, monthly or so, ask your helpers; for for fun, you can add lights ,water grasses, I have a spectacular but not huge plant that floats about, with a pattern like a spiral...and enjoy your own space for relaxing and for creatures, like the ones I got the first day it was hauled up here! Birds drink along the side of it this time of year which is so lovely. Also ask around for aquatics people who will have good advice; so that is one idea for a space about 4' by 4'....even is easy to keep trimmed, cleaned and all year-round.and downstairs outside I have another one, to which I added 3 small but growing, gold fish, but with a fan tail that looks like they are wearing a skirt! So cute, they dive deep during the freezing weather. Not to be disturbed til spring! The water feature was my dream but you will do your own way, love twining the vines up bamboo sticks I have lashed together as it cannot do well to extend onto the railings which need painting/treating anti-rust treatments. yearly and they would be sad to have to be pulled off them. Perfect. I hope this helps! And remember it all depends ,too ,on which way your patio is facing. We have a lot of sun up here, but there are also many many plants for shade! Best and good luck. p. s. behind the brown chair you can just see the sticks higher than the railing, with the white blossoming vine, jasmine. The ivy long container that drapes down a yard or so, is to the left side of same photo, so you can see the corner of it! Behind the photo's white chair,is a butterfly attracting small but growing, plant! You can get taller features.

I’d imagine every umbrella would need to be tied up closed, doesn’t matter if it’s an $80 umbrella or a $15k umbrella. We’ve had recent gusts up to 80mph, the only reason the umbrella didn’t go flying is because it was tied closed. There’s a reason sails are made of large swathes of fabric. Oh yeah, like an umbrella.

the terra cotta isn't meant for freezing, so you may have to find some ceramic look-alikes (wayfarer has ceramic tiles like this) but I do like tiling the stairs like this the true Talavera Mexican tiles are made from terra cotta (like the Saltillo tiles) and aren't meant for freeze/thaw areas. but you could look into substituting the ceramic glazed tiles If you want the prints, look at some that Tilebar has, or other tile stores. Etsy or Ebay carries the mexican tiles. they aren't that expensive. (out here in SoCal I can get them for a buck each) maybe order some these? https://www.etsy.com/listing/565588168/25-assorted-mexican-ceramic-4x4-inch?ref=shop_home_active_3&crt=1 this is a basic patio cover frame so you can see how it starts. Really not that difficult to do. the beam gets attached to steel faster brace to keep the water from wicking up into the beam on concrete. (diff types. ) pergola base setting: On the spanish one I showed you, we built it up on a concrete base so that water won't collect around it