We all take great pride in the interior of our homes. Many people spend countless hours remodeling and rearranging it. It can be refreshing to spend time outdoors and get away from the confines of your home. This is especially true during spring, summer, and fall. It’s hard to pass up a good day outdoors when the climate is nice.
Spending time outdoors doesn’t have to mean that you give up creature comforts. You can easily make your outdoor area comfortable and inviting with a few simple adjustments. It can be rewarding to transform a patio, yard, porch, or other outdoor space into a living area. This will extend your living space outdoors. You can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine more and have events outside for your friends, family, and neighbors. Learn ten outdoor living space ideas, whether you’re looking to create a front yard, a back yard, or both.
Color Boldly
While earth tones may look great in your living room, they will shrink and blend into the surrounding environment when used outdoors. Black furniture, while stylish in the home, can become extremely hot when exposed to direct sunlight. You can add some whimsy to the browns and greens found outdoors by adding bright, bold accessories. Consider replacing the faded cushions of your outdoor furniture with bold, colorful cushions to add a splash of color. While a picnic table in pink or bright blue, red, and yellow Adirondack chairs might not be everyone’s cup of tea — and they might even seem a little overwhelming inside — outside, these colors will add a touch of fun and playfulness. Other colorful options include a hammock with a vibrant pattern or Chinese paper lanterns.
Light up the Drama
It’s not just the holidays that are a good time to decorate your outdoor space. In the summer, you won’t be spending all your time outside during daylight hours. You’ll need to create a mood with dramatic and tasteful outdoor lighting. Good lighting is important to make your outdoor space safer. This will prevent people from tripping and falling and make it more inviting.
Landscape and deck lighting will highlight the best features of your outdoor area while hiding the less appealing elements. Most outdoor lighting is now electric, but you can add lanterns or torches for a more mellow glow. Lighting around the exterior of a home that is directed upwards can highlight the architectural features of the building, while lighting pointed downwards will create a warmer, softer glow.
Get Big with Your Outdoor Kitchen
A kitchen is at the center of every home. It is only natural that the outdoor kitchen should be the focal point in any outdoor space. It’s not just that a second outdoor kitchen will save you the hassle of constantly transferring between your grill, the indoor stove, and the refrigerator. It’ll also give you a place to entertain. Outdoor kitchens are becoming more popular because they make cooking outside more enjoyable.
A grill is usually the focal point of an outdoor kitchen. However, with the right setup, you can do so much more. You can also build an open-air cooking area around a fridge, sink, food preparation areas, or a wood-fired oven. Seating is another important component of any outdoor kitchen. This can be anything from picnic tables to an entire bar with working beer faucets [source: Patteson].
Add warmth with a fireplace or fire pit
Fire still fascinates us because the ability to control Firet helps us define ourselves and sets us apart from other animals. A simple addition of Fire to a space can transform it into a warm and inviting place. It’s the perfect way to stay outside during cool summer evenings or in milder climates. It can also be used as a winter feature.
It all depends on your budget. A backyard fire could be as simple as a hole dug in the ground or as extravagant as a marble-gas-fueled Fireplace. A portable fire pit is a fire bowl that is elevated and has a screen. It can be placed in many different places. DIYers can make their firepits from anything, including bricks and flagstones. The chiminea is a popular outdoor fireplace with a chimney. Before lighting a fireplace or fire pit, check your local fire codes to ensure that it is legal in your area to have an outdoor fire.
Bring Serenity to Your Home with Water Features
Earth, Fire, and Air are all there. Water is the last classic element you need to add to your outdoor living area. Water can bring a sense of calm and tranquility to your outdoor living space. Water features come in many different shapes and sizes, from simple fountains purchased at the store to large cascading falls. It all depends on how wild you want it to be.
Landscape designers are increasingly using Koi ponds, small garden ponds with carp in them. The fish can transform any landscape into a lush Eastern garden. If you want to keep koi ponds in mild climates, the fish can die if they freeze over. Many hardware stores and nurseries offer small and medium-sized Fountains that can be mounted to a wall or placed on a pedestal.
