When you're in a lanai, you want to feel like you're on a tropical getaway or lounging on a beach like a Hawaiian native. One way to give yourself and your guests that feeling is to make decorations using things like seashells that you find on the beach. Seashells are a classic beach decoration, and you can make all kinds of art with embedded seashells. If you're interested, try making beautiful seashell mason jar decorations using these directions by Crystal Owens from a Pumpkin and a Princess.

A lanai is a Hawaiian fixture, so you'll want Hawaiian and island decorations. You can get beach-themed decorations to make it feel like you're spending time in a true Hawaiian getaway, and if you're spending time there at night, you'll need some lights. Think about combining the two by getting a beach-themed light-up decoration like this one from Amazon. It'll be visible at night and create a subtle glow that won't be disturbing if you're trying to relax.

Palm trees and Hawaii go together well, so if you're trying to create a Hawaii-themed lanai, you'll want to put palm trees in there somewhere. If you live in the right place, you could put real palm trees in there, but in most places, that's far from practical. Instead, think about getting a fake lighted palm tree like this from Amazon. Since it flights up, you'll be able to see it at night or in the evenings, and it'll create a wonderful tropical vibe 24/7.

Since your lanai is protected from the elements, you can add all kinds of indoor comforts, though you don't want it to feel completely like an indoor room. After all, a lanai is a place where indoors meets outdoors. One of the best things you can do is design the lanai so that you can walk barefoot in it like a true Hawaiian. If you're unaccustomed to bare feet, don't worry! Add a rug like this with a coastal theme to make the ground soft and comfortable for your bare feet.

Every day you spend in your lanai should be another day in paradise, but after a long day of work, you might need a reminder. Help remind yourself and your guests that this is a place to relax and feel good with this "Another Day in Paradise" sign. There are pictures of parrots on the sign to create a tropical paradise theme, and you can accent it with comfortable furniture and other decorations to make the lanai feel like a small sanctuary on a rough day.

While tiki decorations, bars, and parrots are great ways to create a tropical impression, you might want something more subtle that still gives off island vibes. Sea turtles are a beautiful decoration that’ll make the room soothing, and you can get vibrant-colored sea turtle decorations like these from Amazon to make it feel as if a bright group of sea turtles is swimming through your lounge. The bright green and blue should match other sea decor and tropical decorations like colorful parrots and grass skirt decorations.

If you're an extreme sports fan, you probably use the lanai as a base for playing sports in the yard. You might even watch the game on an outdoor television, but if you're having a small sports party or get-together during the game, you can go a little further by adding outdoor sports decorations. If it's hard to find decorations for your team, you can make your own sports sign using this sports sign generator.

It's time to relax and sit back in your lanai. Maybe you want to have a drink, or maybe you're waiting for your friends and family to arrive for a party. Either way, it's happy hour for you, with all your responsibilities set aside for the moment and a gorgeous day or evening ahead. You can get this happy hour sign with parrots on it to remind you not to limit happy hour. Instead, make every hour happy. This would make a great bar sign, or you can put it in the entranceway.

Unless you only plan to use the lanai during the daytime, you'll need some sort of lighting. Even if it's primarily a daytime hangout, there are probably going to be times when you'll want to stay out late. After all, it's covered to keep out the bugs and keep the cold at bay for a little while after dark. If you think you might need lights, think about getting these beautiful and tropical pineapple-shaped outdoor wall-mounted lights.

Are you going for an island theme to make the room feel more like a Hawaiian lanai? If so, you've got quite a few options. Are you thinking about the beach and relaxing at a beach bar? Maybe you love collecting shells, or perhaps you're charmed by the idea of ancient pirates sailing the seas? If ships are your favorite part of islands, then you can build ship-themed decor like a ship's wheel or even make the whole lanai feel like a sunken ship. If you like the idea, here's a link to some free woodworking plans for it!

Since you're making a lanai, not just a regular patio, you'll want every party to feel like a luau. You can get Hawaiian decorations like the well-known Hawaiian skirts, but for your furniture. This grass table skirt from Amazon would be a neat way to make a regular bar into a Tiki bar, and the skirt is cheap enough that you won't have to worry about cleaning it; just buy a new one for the new season.

Some types of acacia are native to Hawaii, so if you're decorating a lanai in Hawaii or trying to make it look like you are, acacia wood is a great material to look for. You can get acacia wood coasters like these for a bar or end tables, and they have a smooth and simple look that looks nice but won't clash with any brighter decorations. In fact, the smooth wood can pretty much match with anything, and using native wood makes everything seem more authentic.

If you use the lanai every day for dinner, or if your weekend get-togethers tend to extend into the evening, some of what you'll need to do is find lighting. It's not just about what will light the area enough or be safe outside, though. You can make beautiful lights that create a nautical look and make you think of traveling all around the world on an island-hopping tour by making a globe pendant light using these instructions by Taylor Mead.

It's time for cocktails. If you have or want a bar out in your lanai, you'll need bar decorations. For a fully stocked bar, you'll probably want a refrigerator, and this makes it easy to add magnetic decorations. You can get magnets like these that look like a variety of drinks to decorate your bar and give you a place to pin anything you need. You can even have fun with it and use the magnets to pin drink orders if you like to have huge gatherings and enjoy playing the role of bartender.

You can make pendant lights out of almost anything you find around the house, so the questions become, what looks good to you? If you're not sure, we've got another idea for you: embroidery hoops. This might sound strange, but if you look at this Petal and Ply project, you'll see that embroidery hoops can make a beautiful and pendant light fixture that's great for nature lovers. We think this would fit well in a lanai, and you might, too!

Palm trees are common in Hawaii, so if you're trying to make the lanai feel more like Hawaii, but you live in Minnesota, adding palm tree decorations will help. One palm tree decoration that’ll look nice is a palm leaf pillow set like this. The palm leaves look beautiful in the close-up pattern on the pillows, and since they're outdoor pillows, you don't have to worry if people come in out of the rain and sit on them.

If you need lighting for evening get-togethers, you don't have to go with something traditional, particularly if you don't have electricity wired out to the lanai. Instead, you can get decorative string lights like these and run a power cord outside during warmer seasons. They're designed for the outdoors, and they work as both decorations and soothing lighting if you're trying to relax. They're also lightweight if you don't want to hang a heavy fixture from your ceiling.

Pendant lights are one of the easiest light fixtures to make yourself, and you can turn almost anything into one. Find something that looks like it'll make a great nautical, beach, or Hawaiian outdoor light, and then you can use a pendant light kit to make it into a light fixture. This particular kit from Amazon is probably the best one for a nautical- or beach-themed lanai since the pull-cord is a hemp rope. Make sure to use damp-rated bulbs.

Some acacia wood is native to Hawaii, so if you're trying to create an authentic-looking Hawaiian lanai, acacia is a good wood choice not only for decorations but for furniture and even flooring. You can get interlocking acacia tiles like these that are designed for outdoor use so that they won't get damaged by people walking in and out or if the roof has a leak. They're designed to be easy to install, so you should be able to put them in yourself to make the lanai look like an outdoor-indoor hybrid room.

Bamboo might not be the first thing you think of when you think about Hawaii, but bamboo is found in tropical regions all over the world, and it's a great way to create a tropical look. That said, you might be thinking that bamboo is too expensive. Don't be too sure; there are ways to get cheap bamboo furniture that looks just as good with a little bit of work. You can buy some old furniture at a tag sale, antique shop, or flea market, then use the instructions in this article to refinish it for your lanai.

If you want to start giving off tropical vibes before a guest even reaches your lanai, one way to do that is to make a pathway leading into your lanai. That said, what is a good pathway that makes something feel tropical or Hawaiian? You could use a Hawaiian style of stonework or native Hawaiian stone, but rock is expensive, so if it's beyond your price range, try native Hawaiian types of wood instead. They're not as durable as stone, but you can get a walkway that's designed for gardens, like this one.

Macrame is an excellent way to create a rustic appearance, which can be great for a lanai. It's a fun homemade craft that you can even get your kids involved in, and you can tell people you made it yourself. If you want a rustic look, you can use these directions by Jen from City Farmhouse to make a macrame wall hanging. Once you've learned how to make one, think about making a bigger or smaller one or experimenting with what you want in your room.

Your lanai is probably open to the sun year-round, which is wonderful; after all, you want to let sunlight in and feel like you're outside even when you're under a protective cover. There’ll probably be times when you want privacy, though, so installing blinds is a good way to give yourself the option of privacy. You can get wood blinds like this that’ll match a Hawaiian or natural decorating scheme, or look for blinds that fit your theme.

A lanai is a place for relaxing, but also for having fun and enjoying a party! Whether you're lounging around with a family member waiting for some burgers to come off the grill or having a tournament with some friends, table games are a fun way to pass the time. You can build a tabletop bowling game using these instructions from the WOOD store and leave it in the lanai so that it's always there when you feel like using it.

If you're the sort of person who comes home stressed out and needs to unwind desperately, you're not alone. You're probably trying to make your lanai a soothing space where time doesn't exist, and you can stay away from your worries for an evening or even just a moment. That's harder said than done, though, and that's when some Honu wisdom can come in handy. This hand-painted Honu Wisdom tile from Amazon has reminders to help you remember to let your worries roll off your back, take time alone, and slow down to take a breath.

Tiki is probably the most well-known style of Hawaiian decoration. If you love all things Hawaiian and want a Hawaiian theme, you almost can't go without some tiki. If you don't drink or don't have space for it, you don't need a tiki bar, but some tiki totems and masks are a great way to create a tiki theme. You can get a large set of tiki masks like these to hang behind a tiki bar or spread them around to make the whole lanai feel a bit more Hawaiian.