It’s surprising how many of us, if we’re lucky enough to have outdoor space at our home, fail to make the most of it. If you’re not into gardening, you may find it a difficult space to utilise.
Whether it’s taking on a project to build one of the Quonset Hut kits for extra storage or simply making it a nicer area for leisure and entertaining, it’s amazing what a difference it can make.
Right now, there’s a real trend to start treating our yard as another important feature in our homes, and even as an extra room. So, if you’re in the market for a little transformation, here are a few ideas.
A place to relax and entertain
If you’ve the space, then adding a patio and seating area is the perfect way to make the most of it. There are several options from paving it to installing decking. Create a permanent seating area in a spot where it’s going to get the most sun during the day and make sure there’s shade too for when the temperatures in the 80s and above. For cooler evenings, a fire pit makes for the perfect focal point.
Entertaining outside is always a blast in the summer. So, think about building your own outdoor kitchen or even a wood-fired pizza oven or barbecue. To complete the new look to your yard, bi-fold doors are the perfect addition – and they’ll also let light flood into your home even when they’re closed.
Let nature flourish
Flowers and plants all around make for a great way to get closer to nature. Depending on the size and shape of the plot you can arrange beds or containers and fill them with your favourite foliage. Even if the area doesn’t get much sun plants like ferns can thrive, and many people are getting into living walls, perfect for when space is limited.
If you want to help nature out, then make sure that plenty of the flowers you plant are attractive to pollinators like bees and other insects. Having a corner of the plot that’s given over to a bug hotel is also a great and nature-friendly idea.
Let a water feature flow
Gardens all over the world include water features, so why not yours too? It could be a small pond or a centrepiece fountain. It could even be a mini waterfall with the same water being pumped through again and again. There’s something uniquely relaxing about the sound of running water and, believe it or not, the negative ions that are released are even said to boost your mental well-being.
To add drama to any water feature also think about the lighting around it. This will make it an attractive, and dramatic, element to your garden even after the sun has gone down.
Simply add to your storage space
Of course, a really practical use of your outdoor space will be use it for storage. It could be for the tools and machinery like lawnmowers that you need to keep the yard looking good. Or it could be for the sort of items that are just causing clutter in your house.
The one essential is that it needs to be dry, weatherproof and secure. You can choose to build it yourself, like one of the kits mentioned at the head of this piece or get a local handyperson to do it for you. One piece of advice is to overestimate rather than underestimate the amount of space that you’ll need. You’ll be amazed by just how quickly it fills up with stuff.
Whatever you do to transform your outdoor space it’s sure to make your whole home a nicer place to be. It could even make it a more attractive prospect to any potential buyers when you come to sell up. So now’s the time to decide just how you’re going to kick start the changes – and get going as soon as you can!