But here’s the deal: You don’t have to buy a new house to gain access to outdoor living. With the right plan and strategic projects, you can turn your current backyard into the backyard of your dreams.
Read on to discover some of our top tips and techniques for designing the ultimate outdoor living space.
Create a family wish list.
Start by calling a family meeting and getting everyone’s input. Ask each family member to come up with three to five things that they believe would make the backyard compelling to them.
For example, you might want a space to grill, while your spouse wants a shady spot to read, and your son wants room to kick the soccer ball. By getting everyone’s wishes, you can create a space where the entire family will want to spend time. It won’t necessarily be possible to do all of these things, but you can at least try to incorporate as many wish list elements as possible.
For example, you might want a space to grill, while your spouse wants a shady spot to read, and your son wants room to kick the soccer ball. By getting everyone’s wishes, you can create a space where the entire family will want to spend time. It won’t necessarily be possible to do all of these things, but you can at least try to incorporate as many wish list elements as possible.
Think about comfort.
The first priority is comfort. You can have a beautiful outdoor living space, but nobody will use it if it’s uncomfortable.
The first thing is to clean up the backyard so that it’s as free of bugs, rodents, and other critters as possible. The second thing is to optimize your living space for various seasons.
Depending on where you’re located, there will be certain times of the year where your backyard isn’t usable (like the dead of winter or dog days of summer). But it’s those flex times, like late fall and early spring, that you want to capture. If you can make your backyard comfortable during these times, you’ll get a lot more use out of it.
One way to increase comfort in the cooler months is by buying a backyard fire pit. They come in all kinds of sizes and types, including propane, natural gas, and charcoal. There are concrete block fire pits, brick fire pits, steel fire pits, above-ground, in-ground, etc.
Do your research and find one that’s big enough for the entire family to gather around.
The first thing is to clean up the backyard so that it’s as free of bugs, rodents, and other critters as possible. The second thing is to optimize your living space for various seasons.
Depending on where you’re located, there will be certain times of the year where your backyard isn’t usable (like the dead of winter or dog days of summer). But it’s those flex times, like late fall and early spring, that you want to capture. If you can make your backyard comfortable during these times, you’ll get a lot more use out of it.
One way to increase comfort in the cooler months is by buying a backyard fire pit. They come in all kinds of sizes and types, including propane, natural gas, and charcoal. There are concrete block fire pits, brick fire pits, steel fire pits, above-ground, in-ground, etc.
Do your research and find one that’s big enough for the entire family to gather around.
Prioritize privacy.
If you live in an urban area or residential neighborhood with neighbors close on all sides, you have to think about privacy. (After all, you don’t want your evenings in your backyard to be interrupted by nosy neighbors and ‘peeping Toms.’)
Every backyard will need a unique solution, but there are several creative ways to achieve privacy. This includes raised terraces, vine-covered trellis, screens, vertical gardens, fences, and privacy panels. The key is to make sure it looks good (otherwise, it could actually have a negative impact on the ambiance of the outdoor living space).
Every backyard will need a unique solution, but there are several creative ways to achieve privacy. This includes raised terraces, vine-covered trellis, screens, vertical gardens, fences, and privacy panels. The key is to make sure it looks good (otherwise, it could actually have a negative impact on the ambiance of the outdoor living space).
Add some color.
The best backyards are fresh, lively, and beautiful. And while greenery is certainly a huge part of having a comfortable and natural backyard, you don’t want everything to be green. Injecting a little color into the landscape can take your outdoor living space to the next level. This can be done using a variety of methods, including colorful outdoor furniture and outdoor rugs, painting walls, and planting fresh seasonal flowers in your garden.
“One of the easiest ways to create a more colorful garden is to incorporate containers in shades of blue, magenta, orange, purple, or even red. This is an opportunity to create a striking color variation,” gardening blogger Noelle Johnson writes. “Pairing colorful containers with plants prized for their foliage, such as herbs, hostas, and succulents, is another easy way to create vibrant interest in the landscape.”
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to add a little color to your outdoor living space – and it doesn’t have to blow your entire budget. In fact, this is one of the more cost-effective hacks on the list.
“One of the easiest ways to create a more colorful garden is to incorporate containers in shades of blue, magenta, orange, purple, or even red. This is an opportunity to create a striking color variation,” gardening blogger Noelle Johnson writes. “Pairing colorful containers with plants prized for their foliage, such as herbs, hostas, and succulents, is another easy way to create vibrant interest in the landscape.”
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to add a little color to your outdoor living space – and it doesn’t have to blow your entire budget. In fact, this is one of the more cost-effective hacks on the list.