Guest Post: Alfresco - (Adverb) Out of Doors; In the Open Air

As a reminder, my guest bloggers are taking over my Thursday posts until December. This is Tyler's first. Enjoy!

Outdoor entertaining is one of my favorite things to do, so when we bought our home in the summer of 2010, I couldn't wait to put together a seating area on our back patio. 

I had a vision of lots of comfy seating where our friends and family could unwind.  As soon as I began looking at outdoor furniture I realized that most of the sets out there were either not my style or they were completely my style and completely out of my price range!  So off to IKEA I went. 

I ended up finding the Ammero line and fell in love with both the style and the price. One of the great things about this line of furniture is that each piece is sold separately, so you can always buy a few key pieces and add to your collection over time.

You can find the Ammero line here:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10228960/

Once we got the furniture put together (which includes a water proof storage bench for all of the cushions and pillows), I knew I wanted to find some pieces to personalize the area.  I ended up getting the tan accent pillows at IKEA and the orange pillow on sale at West Elm.

To finish the look, I began my search for lanterns.  I ended up finding the ones we have here on sale at Z Gallerie. 

 We use this area all the time and it has turned out to be one of my favorite parts of our home.