You Will Love This Modern Boho Patio Addition Full of the Best Patio Must Haves

Well, toss me into one of the thousands of people who has turned my attention to maximizing more of our outdoor space. After the past few years, we are all wanting to make the most of our home spaces – indoors and out. This led the Hubs and I to put our focus on our backyard this summer with a modern boho patio addition off of the back porch. I spent a lot of time this summer planning this outdoor living space and choosing the best patio must haves.

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Our house was built with a narrow covered porch which runs along the back kitchen and dining room windows and doors. Although I appreciate the covered aspect, this space has never served us well due to the confinements and limitations of the narrow, rectangular design.

This summer, the Hubs and I realized we could enjoy our outdoor living space more by simply adding a concrete patio slab or a paver patio addition. By extending upon the covered space we already had, we could make this into more of an outdoor event space for hosting barbecues, family parties, and other events on the small scale.

We had two big things to consider. First, we had to decided if we wanted to pour concrete patio slabs (by hiring a contractor) or lay a concrete paver patio (and do the work ourselves). Second, we had to decided whether we wanted a covered back patio or open air patio.

Adding a Concrete Patio Addition to Our Existing Covered Porch

Previously, the Hubs had installed 33 concrete pavers (12×12 size) extending off of the porch as a place to put plant pots and such. We first considered adding many more matching concrete pavers and making a concrete paver patio. Two or three years ago, we paid around $4 for each of the 33 pavers. This came to around $132. To add to this for a full-size patio like we wanted, we would have needed probably 165 or so more pavers. This would have come to around $660 dollars plus the cost of leveling sand, etc. The price seemed reasonable for the size we wanted.

Next, we contacted a local concrete contractor to ask his price to pour a concrete patio slab. He came and did some measurements and gave us the estimates for poured concrete patio costs. It would be around $3,200 for a 21×17 foot concrete patio addition.

Obviously, we spent some time considering the pavers vs. concrete patio cost. The pavers were much more budget-friendly. However, in the end, we decided we liked the permanency of the poured concrete and the fact that the Hubs would not have to constantly spray and pull weeds like he does with the pavers we already had in place. Even with the black weed control cloth beneath the existing pavers, weeds still managed to sneak through.

Our contractor gave us a wait time of five weeks before he could start the concrete patio installation. Our concrete patio cost included the four-inch concrete patio thickness that we agreed upon. He also suggested we include a very slight concrete patio slop for drainage purposes.

So five weeks meant we would go most of the summer without the patio since we didn’t come up with our patio addition idea until late June. But it also gave me time to plan my modern boho patio and order my patio must haves so everything would be ready when the concrete slab was poured.

I am going to link all of my purchases at the end of the post in case something catches your eye!

Covered Concrete Patio Addition or Uncovered Patio?

Now, that we had the first big decision handled, we had to decide if we wanted to cover the concrete patio with a pergola of some sort or leave it open aired. In the end, we decided since we have a covered back porch, we are going to leave the patio area uncovered for now. This way, we can enjoy both a covered porch and a to-the-Heavens-above view when sitting on the patio.

Who knows? Next summer, we may decide we want it covered and we may look into pergolas at that time. But for now, it works!

Modern Boho Patio Colors

Since I’m naturally drawn to colorful vibes, it was a no brainer we would incorporate a bright theme and color combination on the patio addition.

Our color combination is based around vivid pinks, orange, yellows, and teals.

Tropical Patio Decor

I added some tropical patio vibes into my modern boho patio decor by adding in a few flamingos and a few jungle motif patterns. I tried not to get carried away with any specific summer theme (like flamingos) since my tropical patio plants are the real star of the show!

My Favorite Tropical Patio Plants for a Perfect Jungle Patio

This back porch and back patio get a lot of morning sun which means I am free to add some of my favorite tropical patio plants back here for a true jungle patio vibe.

Man, do I have a thing for high-drama tropical plants! My favorite tropical patio plants are…in no particular order…

• banana plants
• elephant ears
• Birds of Paradise
• Heliconia (known as the false Birds of Paradise)
• Hibiscus
• Majesty Palms (of which I don’t have this year because the nurseries were sold out for the season by the time our patio was ready)
• split leaf philodendron
• Cordyline

I also have a mix of other container plants like pansies in hanging baskets, fall Marigolds (since they were already hitting the nurseries when we styled the patio), lemon grass (which help with mosquitoes), and others.

We have watered our plants nearly every evening since this backyard patio was installed in middle July. They are thriving in this Arkansas summer heat with the daily watering.

River Rock Border to Dress Up the Patio Addition

My poor sweet Hubs battled the 95 degree heat to install a river rock garden border around the perimeter of the patio. Since we installed a basic concrete slab, we needed something to dress up the space a bit. Rather than painting the concrete slab with permanent patio concrete finishes, we opted to leave the concrete plain and to carry on the river rock landscaping that flows around the existing porch and wrap it all around the patio.

Years ago, the Hubs ordered a bulk river rock delivery for the porch through a local landscaping company that delivers the rock from a local rock quarry. A year or so after that, he ordered another river bed rock delivery to match the first rock delivery. This summer, the landscaping company was able to deliver a very similar looking bulk river rock to outline the patio, even though it came from a different rock quarry. I am pleased with how well it all blends and flows together!

There is a mix of brown river rock, grey river bed rock, and black river rock. I recommend going with large river rock if you have a choice. It just seems to make more of a statement than the smaller river rock landscaping. If you aren’t sure you have a river rock supplier in your area, you can always Google “bulk river rock near me” and see what turns up. A good landscaping outfit should be able to answer the “how much river rock do I need for my project” question for you.

We finished up by adding stenciled pavers in a few places over the rock to serve as potted plant place markers and stepping areas to access the yard. I love a good dose of black-and-white graphics! Our young daughters helped me with the painting and stenciling so they aren’t perfect, but they are perfect for us!

Favorite Patio Must Haves from Amazon and Other Suppliers

To fulfill my quest for a colorful patio with tropical decor, I headed to Amazon and a few other preferred vendors. I will link all sources (or at least similar ones if the items are no longer available).

Most of my patio must haves are from Amazon, Anthro, Etsy, Target, At Home, Ikea, Lowe’s, and Article. A few things are special vintage pieces like my mom’s white plant stand from the 1970s. I love mixing a little vintage into the new stuff!

Patio Seating Area

• Outdoor Wicker Sectional 7 Piece Set – It seems most outdoor patio furniture sits low. This wicker patio set sits somewhat low but it does have a few extra inches than many other sets. It also has velcro to keep bottom cushions in place and strings to tie back cushions in place. I love the modular set up so we can move around the pieces as we wish. So fun!
• Fab Habitat Cancun 8×10 Rug – This reversible rug can be purchased directly from Fab Habitat or through the Amazon shop. It is a recycled outdoor mat made from discarded plastic bottles. When it gets dirty (which is always because…hey…it is on the back patio), we just hose it off with the water hose.
• 10 Foot Umbrella With Cross Base – This crank umbrella comes with it’s own base. After ordering an umbrella with a separate base and having troubles earlier on, this is my second try. We are happy with it! The dirt dovers won’t leave it alone, unfortunately, which is why you see little brown dots on the umbrella.
• Wood and Metal Accent Table – My table was purchased years ago from Hobby Lobby. I did spray mine with a wood protectant spray before putting it out in the elements. If I were buying new, I would probably prefer this steel side table or this solid steel outdoor side table with no wood so I don’t have to worry about wood rot. I was just trying to use some furnishings I already had.
• Dot Plastic Chairs – These happy yellow chairs from Article are so handy. They are light-weight and stackable and have been used all over the house. Now, I do keep them on the patio when we are expecting guests. But they do not need to be in direct sunlight full time as they may fade. If you prefer to shop through Amazon, this teal curved back plastic chair set is super cute, too! I think adding some curved and rounded pieces to balance the lines of wicker sectionals is a must!
• Cooler Table Combo – This cooler table combo might be one of my favorite purchases yet! It is an accent table for seated guests that can also elevate to a cocktail table for standing guests. BUT…it is also a drink cooler! Yep, see my pictures below. You can fill these bad boys up with two bags of ice and load it down with your favorite drinks. Close the lid and use it as a table to keep everything cold inside. Our ice lasts well through our parties in the heat of summer. There are other colors.

• Graphic Outdoor Pillows – I highly recommend purchasing outdoor pillow inserts and then changing covers to your heart’s desire. This helps with storage issues for all of the seasonal pillows. In this case, some of my pillows do not allow to change covers, but I love the assortment of pillows I got from At Home, Ikea, Target, and Home Goods.
• Outdoor Sectional Cover – As much as I detest spending my money on practical things, this sectional cover was money well spent! It fits our sectional perfectly with room to spare to shove the cooler table and the yellow Article chairs underneath.
• Galvanized Metal Tray – A metal tray on the table is a perfect spot for keeping coasters, candles, bug spray, remotes, and whatever else you need to keep close.
• Silicone Patio Coasters – These lightweight patio coasters are made of low-maintenance silicone. They collect the drink sweat at the bottom of the coaster for a no-mess table situation.

Patio Dining Area

• Bar Height Patio Set of Wicker Table and Chairs – I actually bought my bar hight patio furniture set with table and chairs years ago (and ordered the brown wicker sectional this summer specifically to coordinate with it) from a local supplier. Bar height patio sets seem rather difficult to find online. This one I have linked is a very similar outdoor hightop wicker table but it has wicker stool chairs rather than the high back wicker chairs like my set.
• Solar Light – This solar light is so cool! I will say it has to be super dark before it comes on. Keep it away from other light sources or it will not come on. I place a coaster or two on top sometimes to trick it to coming on when there is still a bit of light in the sky.
• Patio Dining Table Cover – Another practical and totally useful purchase was this heavy duty cover to protect the dining table and chairs.

Grill Area

• Dual Fuel Grill for Propane and Natural Gas – The Hubs upgraded to this new Char Broil grill when we added on the patio addition. Rightfully so. His other one was like 15 years old and was giving us issues. This 4-burner infrared grill has been amazing and our meats have been cooking more consistently.
• Grill Cover – This grill cover is heavy duty and offers great protection to the grill when not in use.
• Stainless Steel BBQ Grill Cleaner – This spray helps keep the new grill looking…well, new!

Covered Porch Seating Area

• Porch Rocking Chairs – These outdoor wooden rocking chairs have probably been the most used new item for our patio addition. They are made with a nice acacia wood with a teak finish. We sit in these porch rockers morning, afternoon, and night! They are sturdy so even my 6-foot something husband enjoys them. They actually come with beige cushions which I replaced with orange Duck cushions (linked two bullets down on this list). In the fall, I will probably use the beige cushions for a fall or football themed porch.
• Fab Habitat 4×6 Cancun Rug – This cute striped outdoor rug is made of recycled plastic and matches the larger one under the wicker sectional.
• Indoor Outdoor Duck Cushions – These fun tropical cushion covers add a punch of fun to our summer porch! They are very well made. I do wish they came with ties to tie them to the chair backs. But so far, slippage has not been an issue.
• Bamboo Lanterns with LED Candles – I ordered these beautiful bamboo lanterns from Anthropologie. I added some remote-control operated LED candles (linked later in this post). Since I saw the lanterns staged in Anthro’s summer patio collection, I assumed they were weather proof. Unfortunately, no. The humidity and sun have done terrible things to my beautiful lanterns. Anthro did replace my lanterns for me though. When I received the new ones, I sprayed them each three times with clear polyurethane. Still, I only put them out when we are entertaining now. If I were to do over, I would just order weather-proofed outdoor solar lanterns.
• Cooler Table Combo – I already linked this table above in the patio seating section. I love the idea of them so much, I ordered two for our patio addition! Note that I ordered the “red” online from Walmart. Amazon carries the grey, a beautiful teal, and sometimes a white. Walmart has a “red” which to me is actually coral (but clearly I love it!). Target also carries this product online.

Porch Bar Area

• Patio Cocktail Bar/Potting Bench/BBQ Station – Okay. This might be my second favorite purchase for the backyard glow up! This patio cocktail bar is actually a multifunctional product. It is marketed as a potting table, which I happily use as such. But I also change it up occasionally to become a self serve patio bar cart, decked with outdoor bar accessories! On top of that, sometimes this potting table becomes a grill station to hold spatulas, pots, and pans, etc. while the Hubs grills. I do intend to keep this multifunctional piece under the covered porch as I’m not sure how it will hold up to the elements.
• Metal Bar Stools – These counter-height metal bar stools can be moved around easily to use whenever you need some seating. I like to leave them right beside the self-serve patio cocktail bar so people can perch and chat while making drinks. When not in use, they serve as plant stands. We have them in three different colors, and they once were the stools at our kitchen peninsula. They are so useful, I have never been able to bring myself to get rid of them even when I changed out my kitchen decor.
• Colorful LED Bar Sign – The hubs doesn’t love this colorful in-your-face Bar sign nearly as much as I do. “What will the neighbors think?” he asked. I don’t know. What WILL they think about my porch bar area awesomeness?!
• Bottle Opener – This bottle opener is made to hang on a wall or upright surface. It has a catcher box in the bottom for the loosened bottle caps.
• Small Ice Bucket – This ice bucket is small but it packs a big punch with it’s removable condiment tray. You can place lemon slices, strawberries, olives, or any other garnish you need for drinks inside to keep flies and other things off of them while they chill.
• Rubber Bar Mat – This rubber bar mat keeps the top of my multipurpose patio bar and potting station as dry and clean as possible. The silicone mat collects spilled liquids and sweat from chilled glasses.

Other Patio Accessories and Garden Accessories

• Anker Speaker – This Anker speaker system has been amazing for all of our nights on the patio this summer! It’s a small little speaker that does an outstanding job!
• Tiki Torches – Arkansas is mosquito country. We would be out of our minds to build a patio and not have plans for mosquito control! We keep these tiki torches burning at night, and we also have our exterminator spray for mosquitoes a few times in the summer.
• Plant Watering Wand – This watering wand attaches to the water hose and has made this crazy plant lady’s life so much easier! It is amazing to be able to reach all the plants from pretty much anywhere on the porch and patio. There are different settings, depending on what kind of water streams you want.

• Flexible Garden Hose – This water hose moves and grooves on it’s own, snaking around and coiling back when the water stops flowing. It’s a bit creepy (since it looks like a snake), but it works so well!
• Patio String Lights – Who doesn’t love a good set of cafe lights romantically draped on the porch or patio?
• Modern Porch Lights in Cylinder Shape – I was thrilled to change out the original porch lights on the house and add my own style. These modern black lights reflect light above and below. We also added them to the front of the house.
• Planter Bench – This wooden planter bench adds a touch of sophistication to our porch. Made with a dark red meranti wood finished with teak oil, this is a classy piece for the side area of our porch. I like that the planter boxes do not have a bottom so I can feel free to water as much as I need.
• Outdoor Trash Can with Locking Lid – If you are planning to entertain outdoors, a good outdoor trash can is a must. This one has a sliding lock top so critters can’t get into it. It uses 30 gallon trash bags.
• Flamingo Planters – I bought my flamingo planters last summer from an online shop. I waited until this summer to use them. One week in the sun, and they were faded and looked AWFUL. Luckily a good can of hot pink spray paint brought them back to life. I am linking a similar set from Amazon because I would certainly not recommend the actual set I purchased due to the paint issue.
• Wall Planter Set – I bought my colorful wall planters at At Home several years ago. I haven’t stumbled across the same colorful ones, but I am linking a set of three white ceramic wall planters and some super fun geometric black wall planters.
• Flameless Candles with Remotes – This set of flameless candles comes with two remotes. I keep some candles inside with one remote and others on the patio (like in the Anthro baskets mentioned above) with the other remote.
• Aztec Tile Stencils – These Aztec Tile stencils are so simple to use that my two young daughters helped me with our stenciled pavers for our rock garden.

More Patio Wish List Items for Our Modern Boho Patio Addition

There are still a handful of things on my Amazon patio wish list. Some will likely make their way over here in the next season. But others might just stay wishes. We shall see!

• Smokeless Fire Pit – I really hope to add a smokeless fire pit this fall. There are so many cool ones that use propane and operate without the ash and heavy smoke. If I were to replace my current patio coffee table, I would go with a round style like this fire pit coffee table combo. I especially like the patio fire pits with a multipurpose. This rectangular wicker coffee table and fire pit combo is also nice.
• Patio Space Heater – In Arkansas, we will be able to use our patio well into early winter, especially if we deck out the space with an outdoor heater.
• Patio Cooler (Swamp Cooler) – On the flip side, we also could use this patio cooler (which some call a swamp cooler). This outdoor patio cooler can be used in the garage and in other areas when not needed on the patio. This would be so handy here since we stay rather warm to insanely hot between mid April to late October.
• Patio Mister – Likewise, I would love to have this patio mister set. I see these misters on restaurant patios and friends’ patios. They are so refreshing!
• Outdoor Deck Box – We definitely need a deck box for storing extra cushions, kid toys, etc.
• Bar Cooler Table Cover – We could use two of these to cover our coral bar cooler tables.
• Outdoor Recliner – I would love for the Hubs to have a wicker outdoor recliner to use during football season when watching his games outside.
• Hammock Chair Swing – I’m obsessed with hammock chair swings! In the current state of the porch and open-air patio addition, there is no good spot to hang a hammock from the house frame, unfortunately. But that is where self-standing hammock stands come into the picture!
• Umbrella Cover – After some trial and error, we are still in search of the perfect umbrella cover. When I find it, I will update it here!

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed a peek at our new modern boho patio addition and the links to our patio must haves! It may not seem luxurious to all, but for us it’s the perfect little luxury outdoor living space! I’m already planning how I can change things up for fall!

If You Like This Patio Addition, Check These Other Porch Ideas

Be sure to check out some of my other porch posts!

Spring Front Porch Ideas

Autumn Decorations