Creating Great Outdoor Spaces For Your Home
One major trend in home remodeling over the past few years, has been enhancing the outdoor living space. Many homeowners are spending less and less time going out places for entertainment and in turn making their backyard an enjoyable experience that begs them to come back every night.
There are many trends in outdoor living space design, but there are a few key categories that help you decide on what to do when thinking about remodeling your outdoor living space. Here are 5 improvements to consider for your outdoor living space.
Image: Texas Custom Patios
5 Improvements for your outdoor living space
Outdoor spaces can create a sense of calm in our busy, stressful environments. There’s nothing better for your mood and family then to come home and step out on your patio with your favorite food or drink (or both) and put your feet up. Whether you want to entertain like a boss or increase the value of your property, adding a new deck, patio or outdoor kitchen is a great way to make improvements.
Outdoor Kitchen
By far, the most popular trend in outdoor living spaces right now is to install a full-functioning outdoor kitchen. Functionally, this is a great way to entertain outside without making numerous trips in and out of the house. Grills, range hoods, sinks, refrigerators and other cooking appliances can be easily incorporated outdoors and serve a purpose year-round. You can do it all while in your outdoor entertaining space and your guests won’t want to leave.
Fire Tables & Water Features
A water feature can set a more relaxed atmosphere with its soothing sounds and attraction of wildlife. It can also act as a charming focal point of your backyard and enhance your outdoor living space. You might also consider a fire table which will enhance your living space in the evenings substantially and blend into your furniture and decor very nicely. If you also often have parties going late into the night, a source of heat will allow guests to continue enjoying the event without getting too cold in the winter.
Outdoor TV’s or Retractable Viewing Screens
While many people strive to bring the outdoors, inside with plants and natural light, there is also great benefit to bringing indoors - outside. With the advancements in flat-panel televisions, you can purchase electronics that are well-sealed and weather resistant to bring the enjoyment of your favorite shows to an evening of relaxation or music and visual entertainment to weekend party. If you want to go bigger, then you can look into some movie projection options on large wall spaces or even retractable viewing screens for large groups.
Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are a no-brainer in any climate. It gets warm everywhere at some point during the year and keeping a steady flow of cool air can be really important if you like spend time outside. With an outdoor kitchen, the uses of an overhead fan increase as it can circulate the air so steam from the grill doesn’t settle in the sitting area. This is also an energy efficient way to keep things cooled off.
Folding Doors
Stacking compactly to the side of the opening, folding glass doors use a smooth track system, creating a seamless transition between your indoor and outdoor living spaces. Folding doors also help maximize the natural light coming into your home, whether they’re open or closed.
Contemporary outdoor design
Other things to consider
If you live in an area or market where homes don’t have large yards o the ability to build out, then a deck or patio solution is something that has become a premium feature. Some of the most common outdoor projects include outdoor kitchens, workspaces and living rooms — complete with the above mentioned amenities. Whether covered or in the open air, outdoor projects should take advantage of amazing natural views and lighting, or work to create a sense of calm and privacy in dense, noisy areas.
If you’re considering your outdoor living space in your home remodel, remember that it often means investing in landscaping or pergolas, especially around pools and spas. Adding outdoor water features can create a sense of serenity, but also help buffer noises in more urban environments.
Getting prepared
Before starting an outdoor project, you may want to plan in advance and take a full year or more to take some notes on how you use your space. Pay attention to weather patterns, temperature and noises from around your living space.
Budget - the dirty word, we know but you’ll need to identify a budget to tackle the items you’ve now listed as priority. If landscaping and other “heavy lifting” is involved then you’ll likely need a larger budget than you think.
There are so many new outdoor building materials and creative ideas to choose from, you may want to spend some time on websites like Houzz to begin generating ideas on how to remodel your outdoor living space.