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By Kathryn Weber
Tribune Content Agency

Just because your patio is in the backyard doesn’t mean everything out there has to be green, beige or rust-colored. Summer is all about color, so liven up your patio space with some bold hues. Experiment with these options:

1 Color that plastic: With today’s new spray paints meant for plastics, you don’t have to settle for bland forest green or beige plastic lawn chairs. Use a template and create polka dots in hot pink on a beige chair or turn that forest green to bright lime.

2 Old school with attitude: Try an Adirondack chair in robin’s egg blue like the Generations upright Adirondack or the Wildon Home rich red Adirondack chair to give your seating a jolt of personality ( Wayfair.com)

3 Play up white: Nothing looks better on white outdoor furniture than a bright splash of color. Toss out those blah blue cushions and add a bold new set in aqua or purple.

4 Bold pattern: Ditch those tired leaves-and-flowers prints and solid-color outdoor cushions for a bold, dynamic pattern, like the New Geo pattern in orange at Overstock.com. It will catch your eye – and the neighbors’ too.

5 Dining decor: Take an alfresco approach to your outdoor dining and mix and match bright colors and patterns with abandon. Try mixing melamine dishes to create your look (Pierone.com).

6 Pot it pretty: Don’t be afraid to mix bold plant and flower colors together. A pot of lime green coleus next to some bright red flowers will make a statement in the garden or on the patio. Contrasting colors look terrific together. Mix blues with yellow and lime green, or pair orange flowers with a deep purple potato vine.

7 Pattern underfoot: Who says cool rugs are only for indoors? The Animal Outdoor Rub’s cowhide shape and green zebra stripe will add panache to your porch ($299, Grandinroad.com). A bright striped serape-look outdoor rug will instantly brighten up the rest of the patio.

8 Bright ideas: See your patio in a new light with inexpensive Chinese paper lanterns in vivid colors and patterns. Hang a variety of sizes, colors and shapes to add extra dimension ($2.50,Justartifacts.net).

9 Picnic power: Who says a picnic table has to have a plain wood finish? Repaint yours in a bold shade of aqua, magenta, chartreuse or even red. Set it with patterned dishes and contrasting napkins for a riot of color.

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