A carport can be a great place to keep your car in the shade, but it can also be used for a range of other purposes. If you want to soften up your carport and turn it into an outdoor living area, there are several decorative touches that you may want to add.

To create a comfortable, functional and inviting space, try these ideas.

1. Add Patio Stones

If your carport is over dirt, you may want to lay patio stones. If there's already a slab of concrete in this area, consider acid staining it so that it appears to have patio stones. Both of these options make this space look more like a covered patio and less like a car storage area.

2. Throw Down a Rug

Textiles can really make a space feel more comfortable. To add a bit of softness underfoot, consider putting in a rug. Even though the carport is covered, you should still choose an indoor-outdoor rug made of a durable material such as jute or bamboo.

3. Hang Some Curtains

Speaking of textiles, you may also want to add some outdoor curtains to this space. You can hang fabric curtains from the edge of your carport to add color. When open, the curtains provide a decorative frame to the area, and when closed, they give you an extra layer of privacy.

4. Experiment With Wooden Shutters

Curtains aren't the only way to add privacy and colour to the sides of your carport. You may also want to experiment with wood shutters. These can be arranged in a variety of patterns to create your desired effect.

5. Integrate Some Plants

Plants can also help to turn your carport into an outdoor living space. If you want to use the space sometimes for lounging and sometimes for car storage, you may want to choose plants that are designed to purify the air.

Otherwise, if you just want to decorate the space, consider putting in some large potted plants around the edges of the carport. Then, wrap some vining plants up the supports of the carport.

6. Turn the Pillars Into "Stone"

If you want to dress up the metal legs holding up your carport, you may want to add vinyl stickers to them. In particular, you can get vinyl stickers that look like stone. That can create the look of stone pillars.

7. Paint the Ceiling

Finally, you may want to paint the internal ceiling of the carport. A warm colour along with some lights can create a truly relaxing vibe.