At its core, outdoor living means expanding your lifestyle into the garden. It provides you and your family a space where they can relax, play and cook together.
Spending time outdoors has numerous health advantages. It can reduce stress, improve cognition and lower blood pressure; plus it may boost vitamin D levels to support bone health.
Create a Focal Point
Focal points help people gain insight into a landscape. They draw people in, drawing their eyes towards other features in the garden and leading them down various pathways within it. Without focal points, the space may feel disjointed and overwhelming.
Bulbs make excellent focal points in outdoor living spaces due to their range of colors, shapes and sizes. Not only can bulbs add color and visual interest; they can also fit seamlessly with any style home and landscape design while providing functional lighting pathways or spotlighting specific spots at night.
An urn on a pedestal can serve to highlight stairs in a yard with sloped ground, or it could serve as the end point of a garden walk-through path. The key is ensuring the feature looks natural in its setting rather than like something crafted by a designer to impress his or her audience.
Organize Around a Water Feature
Water features can add soothing sounds and a sense of serenity to any outdoor space. From koi ponds and waterfalls, to reflecting pools and fountains, you can design something truly one-of-a-kind for your landscape that adds beauty and delight.
Consider installing a wildlife-friendly water feature to attract native plants and wildlife into your garden or outdoor living space. No matter whether you live in the city or country, there are various approaches for creating a habitat garden which supports local ecosystems.
Be mindful to strike a balance between design and maintenance requirements when setting up your water feature. This could involve preventing stagnation, controlling mosquitoes, minimizing erosion or maintaining optimal levels of water through evaporation and replenishment, while regularly clearing away debris.
Add a Rug Area
An outdoor living area provides the perfect setting for socializing and relaxation, offering the chance to connect with loved ones while adding great value to your home. A well-planned space complete with amenities such as fire pit, seating area and pool can make this area truly impressive.
An effective way to make any outdoor space feel cozier and more relaxing is with an outdoor rug. In warm climates, an outdoor rug can keep dirt off of furniture and feet when relaxing outside.
There are numerous rug shapes and sizes to choose from, with natural materials that can be hosed down for cleaning as well as ones designed to resist mildew being available. A Boho-inspired outdoor rug in blue hue would make an excellent addition to a contemporary or rustic patio space.
Add a Fire Pit
Fire pits provide warmth, ambience and an inviting gathering place in any backyard. Ideal for roasting marshmallows for s’mores during warm summer nights or gathering around during crisp autumn evenings – fire pits make ideal additions.
Consider where you intend on placing the fire pit when making this decision, keeping in mind its location relative to other seating areas and how your space flows. Make sure it’s far enough away from any wood decks, patio umbrellas or low-hanging branches which could become damaged from its heat and flames.
Before settling on a location for your fire pit, unfold a large box or tape some paper together into a rectangle to serve as its footprint and help visualize where best it fits within your yard and whether or not it’s the appropriate size for where you plan on placing it. This will enable you to determine where it can best serve as part of its use in terms of size and functionality.
Add a Grill
Making an inviting and functional outdoor kitchen requires more than simply setting out a grill. Consider including prep stations, bars, storage space or pizza ovens in your plans for creating the ideal gathering spot during parties. These features will add character and excitement to your backyard space!
Add a warming drawer to your grill area for even greater convenience when hosting large gatherings – these devices keep food and sauces warm until it’s time to serve, ensuring everything goes off without a hitch!
Entertaining outdoors during barbecue season is made much more enjoyable when guests have quick and easy access to trash cans for throwing away plates and napkins. Placing several trashcans throughout your outdoor living area will make cleanup effortless. Extra Space Storage offers convenient self storage facilities nationwide; find one near you and store patio furniture, tablecloths and other renovation materials while work takes place!
