We’re sharing the various ways we’ve designed our Chicago backyard as an outdoor living room that can be used well into the cool weather of fall.
This resource was originally published in October of 2023. It’s been completely refreshed and updated for today.
Our Chicago backyard works hard for us! Over the last 13 years, we’ve tweaked it into the best version of itself. We use it constantly as an extension of the inside of our home. It’s a small space measuring around 20′ x 25′, but we’ve designed it with multiple zones to keep it comfortable and practical for use throughout the year. Not just in the warmest months of summer!
The sweet weeks between summer and fall are one of our favorite times of year and we’ve designed our outdoor spaces to truly shine through the season. In the upper midwest, it’s mandatory to extend the summer as long as possible before we all go into hibernation for the winter! Here are our top 5 tips to keep things cozy well into the cooler temperatures of fall.
In This Post
1| Use Upholstered Outdoor Furniture
Upholstered furniture provides an extra layer of insulation from the cold and allows for the most comfortable lounging. In our fireplace zone, we’ve recently added a pair of these beautiful upholstered outdoor Burkel sofas from our friends at Article. We’ve been on the hunt for the perfect pair of loveseats to allow two couples so cozy up next to the fire pit and these are exactly what we had in mind! The cushions are nice and firm while still encouraging cozy lounging and the powder coated aluminum frame will withstand our wild temperature fluctuations. For extra protection, we plan to cover them them with a pair of appropriately-sized Hofte sofa covers when the weather takes its final turn for the year.
We’ve also paired the loveseats with a new outdoor rug, which brings some warmth underfoot. We can’t stop talking about how much the space looks like a real living room now!
2| Install a Fire Pit or Heating Element
There’s nothing better than bundling up next to a warm fire pit on a cool fall evening. We’ve gone the complicated route with a repurposed vintage model that we’ve had powdercoated and adapted to run on natural gas. The Chimnea below (1) is a wood burning model with a beautiful patina that’ll offer a similar perfectly-imperfect vibe. If an actual fireplace isn’t an option, electric or propane heaters are available to keep things toasty no matter what! Adding a bit of extra warmth is probably the most impactful way to extend your outdoor season without busting out the bib overalls in October, so this might be the #1 priority to keep you outside through the cooler months!
3| Install Lighting
Here in Chicago, it’s already getting dark earlier and earlier. By the time the clocks ‘fall back’ in November, there are days where it’ll be pitch black outside before dinner time. We overcome this obstacle with multiple lighting options. We’ve installed a few sconces around the back yard and and have had some standard landscape low-voltage landscape lights installed for many years.
Unfortunately, a few of the lights have begun to fail after many harsh seasons. Next spring, we’ll likely add on to our existing front yard Hue system so the entire property can be set on one schedule. In the meantime, these handy little rechargeable lamps have been a game changer to cast warm light onto tables and eating surfaces.
We’ve also recently added a V-shaped run of string lights overhead (not pictured)! They add an incredible amount of warm, glowy ambient light overhead. The other night, we unplugged them after watching a movie out back and were shocked by how dark the space felt. We couldn’t believe we lived without them for so long!
4| Select Evergreens and Plants With Fall Blooms
This step requires a bit of planning (like months or maybe even years in advance), but it’s very much worth it! We’ve done our best to plant the planter boxes and auxiliary planters in our backyard with both evergreens and plants that flower into the fall. Ideally, we’d have something in bloom at all times, but that can be tricky to manage. To account for that, we’ve planted six large emerald arborvitae that provide greenery and interest throughout the year. As our perennials start to brown for the winter, we trim them back accordingly and rely on these beauties to keep things green and lively.
5| Assemble a Blanket Basket
On cooler nights, our portable blanket basket (12) is often the star of the show! We’ve got a habit of picking up plaid wool vintage blankets at thrift stores (we currently have at least a dozen) and the smaller sizes make them the perfect accessories to our blanket basket. We keep it stored in the guest room closet so it stays organized and it’s easy to grab as soon as temperatures dip.
6| Add a TV for Outdoor Entertainment
We get constant questions about our outdoor TV setup! We’ve been using it nonstop for evening Netflix sessions by the fire pit while the weather is still considerably mild. After many attempts at projectors with high enough brightness values, we bit the bullet and bought a Fire TV on sale. Ours is a 55″ 4K smart TV (link to 50″), so we can completely eliminate all wires except the power cord. To be specific, this is not a television rated for outdoor use, so install at your own risk! For our specific installation, we have an 18″ deep eave/gutter on the back of our garage that protects the TV nicely. When not in use, we also cover it with this simple waterproof cover that has a handy pocket for the remote.
We hung the TV from the exterior window casing using this mounting kit that works kind of like a picture frame wire. The TV is relatively light, so at the end of the season, I simply unplug it and lift it off of the mount and store it safely in the garage over the winter. We’ve had this system in place for around 18 months and it’s worked flawlessly for us so far!
7| Bring the Tunes Outdoors With You
We love our Sonos system and the Move (6) and Roam speakers allow us to bring the best possible sound with us into the front or back yard.
As a bonus, both of these speakers feature Airplay and Bluetooth, so we can easily pair them to the TV above. This provides much better sound than the TV’s built-in speakers and allows us to bring the sound source closer to us to keep the volume down. We’ve also installed discreet wall mounts (similar) to keep the Move speakers off of surfaces and sounding great! Also, if you’re on the hunt for a fresh fall playlist, we’ve got you covered! We also recently inherited a second working turntable with a collection of records that we purchased. On a nice evening, we’ll even set up this the turntable and spin some vinyl.
Get the Look
Sharing the look below, as well as a lookalike wood-burning fireplace!
1. outdoor tv cover + insignia tv | 2. carson wall sconce | 3. sonos move speaker | 4. solar table lamp | 5. stargazer garden lights | 6. kona planter | 7. outdoor dining chair | 8. outdoor dining table | 9. patio lounge chair | 10. iron outdoor side table | 11. washable outdoor rug | 12. sunbrella lumbar pillow | 13. outdoor pillow | 14. burkel outdoor loveseat | 15. solina outdoor stool | 16. waterproof table lamp | 17. hyacinth tote basket | 18. 2 pack cordless table lamps | 19. newport coffee table | 20. mosquito repellent incense sticks | 21. steel wood burning chiminea
Looking for more outdoor ideas? Here are some great outdoor rugs, a look at our urban front yard, and how to install a porch swing!
More than beautiful and functional, this outdoor space is a dream. As a michigander I too maximize as much time outside in the fall as possible. My deck becomes an extension of my house for as long as possible!
Can’t beat the cool fall air!
It looks so cosy and inviting! You might want to remove the pokeweed plant though, maybe the birds planted it? It has an insane tap root and the purple berries stain everything.
It was part of a wildflower pack! It likely won’t return next year.
String lights are so dreamy, and a real wood burning outdoor fire is the best. 13 years and it’s still one of your favorite “rooms!”