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As suburban gardens become smaller, outdoor areas have evolved into more of an extension to our interior living space. So much more thought now needs to be given to designing and decorating the available space so that it becomes a properly integrated area, consistent in theme and style with the rest of your home.

Firstly lets consider the importance of color. Since different colors can significantly affect our mood and change our impression of the space in which we working, relaxing or entertaining, choosing the right color is an important step in designing your exterior spaces. And colour not only means the colour of walls or flooring, but also extends to any plants you may incorporate in your exterior landscaping.

If you’ve already settled on a particular architectural color theme for the interior of your home that you particularly like, then you’ll probably want to incorporate a similar color or theme to the outdoor area so that the transition becomes much more seamless. One idea is to use the same color theme in any decorative features such as outdoor furniture, planters or cushions. And if your interior floor is natural wood, you’ll probably want to create a transition by constructing a wood deck of a similar wood color on your outside patio or deck.

One easy way to extend the wood flooring theme to the outdoors if you only have a concrete or paved area on your patio or deck, is to use interlocking deck tiles. These are modular squares which are laid directly over the top of the existing surface. Such tiles are normally available in a range of wood species so you can match the tiles with your interior flooring.

If your interior floor has ceramic or porcelain tiles, some manufacturers of deck tiles such as HandyDeck also have the option of using slate, granite or porcelain in a range of design a colors. All these tiles feature the same snap into position interlocking system and don’t require adhesives or grout.

When redecorating walls, fencing or paving, experiment by using neutral colours and then by changing decorative accessories and garden plantings, you can create a different look for each season until you’ve found what works the best and give the most pleasing result.

Different textures can also make an exterior space more interesting and inviting., not only on walls or decks but also by using different textures in decorating items such as outdoor furniture, wall hangings, cushions, plants etc.

There’s a surprisingly large variety of textures and shapes in many plants. When selecting plants for your patio or deck, try to choose plants with a particular theme in mind. Choose plants with a theme in mind – maybe you want a lush tropical look, a dreamy Mediterranean feel, or a stark modern approach with decorative grasses and succulents.

But before rushing out and spending a fortune at the nursery, remember that each plant has specific requirements in terms of soil, sun, humidity, temperature and rainfall. If you can’t provide these, your plants simply won’t flourish. Consider how each plant will look in each season, especially the main season when you want to be using your exterior spaces the most.

But remember, too much of anything, whether it’s patterns, textures or colours, can be confusing. Too much variety in small spaces can look excessively “busy”. And with plants, large groupings of just one or two varieties will usually create a much greater impact and look more balanced in a small area than a host of different plants with a riot of different colored flowers.