Since the pool will be finished soon and the yard cleaned up, I have been looking for design ideas for the patio.  I want something with that million dollar look that I can copy on my budget.  I love all of the gorgeous wicker sectionals that I am seeing everywhere, and I love the soft washed look that I see on a lot of the wicker furniture.

How To Decorate made me gasp when I saw this picture.  Now I would love to have a space like this of course.  All those fabulous wood beams, the rock walls, fireplace and arched windows.  Obviously that isn't what I have to work with.  The other things I really liked were the colors, the pretty weathered look of the wicker furniture and the blue and gray tones mixed with browns.  There is a lot that I can use as inspiration from a picture like this.  I can try to achieve the soft weathered essence of the furniture and the casual elegant feel of the space.
This is another picture that caught my eye from Clipzine.  I think what keeps attracting me is how they have created an outdoor room. Now I don't have a fireplace, but I can create a focal point and I can add curtains and that would go a long way to achieving the feel of this space.

Here's another example of how curtains can create a room.  This one from Decoholic shows how simple plain curtains totally change the feel of this space.  It now feels like a room.  I also like the shutters on the window too.  ...