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by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers®
If you’d like to spend plenty of time outside this summer, you’re not alone! Many people have plans to get out and travel, but do you have a good setup to enjoy some fresh air whenever you want at home? Be sure to maximize the potential of your own property—it can provide a mini escape throughout the seasons and makes hosting so much easier. The value of outdoor living spaces has definitely gone up, so whether you want to enjoy yours yourself or you’re planning for resale, here are some design ideas to keep in mind.
Blur the Lines
Outdoor living space starts with the view from inside! Many new homes designed with outdoor space include plenty of windows and/or patio doors in the shared wall. This makes the interior feel more spacious, and depending on the type and breadth of the patio doors used, you can potentially open them up to merge the great room and the back deck or patio—a convenient arrangement for large parties or just to refresh the air in the house!
Have a Focal Point
Inside, the fireplace tends to draw the eye and give focus to a room—that’s why we continue to include them in living spaces despite having modern heating methods. So, if you want to pull your outdoor design together, adding a fire element is a great way to do it! You’ll find plenty of options from traditional fireplaces, to rustic fire pits, to trendy fire bowls. They look different, but they all fill the same niche. And you’ll actually appreciate the heat they offer, allowing you to extend your time outside later into the day and deeper into the seasons.
Plan for Cooking
When feeding large numbers, an outdoor kitchen often outperforms the one inside. Grills deliver more firepower than a regular stove, after all, and they’re made to feed a crowd efficiently. Having an outdoor kitchen may seem like a luxury, but they are what you make them—they can have just a basic grill or include other appliances, running water, and plenty of countertop and cabinet space to keep things handy. If you like to host backyard barbecues, you’ll definitely enjoy the convenience.
Provide Light
A well-lit outdoor space is much more inviting than a dark one. Everything from covered patios to screened porches can feel dim depending on their size—the larger the roof, the farther away daylight will be from the center of the space where you’d put most furniture. It’s a great idea to add skylights to reap the benefits of natural light when the sun is up, but don’t forget to prepare for nighttime! Light fixtures for outdoor use run the gamut from path lighting, to sconces, to pendants and chandeliers, so you can create a safe and inviting experience even in the dark.
Keep Things Tidy
If your yard has a pool or your kids use it as a playground, chances are it can look a little rough sometimes. Invest in some way to make cleaning up easier—it could be an attached storage room, a shed, or a back-facing garage door that opens up access so you don’t have to carry things around to the front. You’ll also be able to store your furniture in the off season, so you can protect your investment in it longer!
Define the Space
Whether you have kids or pets to contain, or just like clear boundaries, you probably want to enclose your backyard with a fence. Most people prefer to use privacy fencing here, because it is solid and tall enough to prevent passersby from easily looking through or over. Even as a primarily functional product, you do have design options, so choose something that adds style. It’ll tie everything together to make the whole yard feel like an extension of the main living/cooking area, which will beautify the entire picture!
Are you inspired to create your dream outdoor living space? Take a look at our Outdoor Living Collection to see house plans with porches, patios, decks, and more! Our home plan advisors can also help you modify any design to have the features you want, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions, need advice, or want to get the process started.