5 Tips for Improving your Backyard Space
27 Aug 2015
5 Tips for Improving your Backyard Space
The week, Organizing Boston welcomes guest blogger Jessica Kane. Jessica has some great ideas to help you make the most out of your backyard.
Your backyard is an open space brimming with potential. Your family and guests will benefit greatly from a backyard that is designed well, and each step in this article will help you make the most of your large or small backyard. The design features you add to your backyard will create another living space that exists outside the walls of your home, and your yard will become the perfect place to entertain or relax.
#1: Add a Patio or Deck
Adding a patio or deck to your backyard adds much more seating space than you would have otherwise. A patio will extend from your back door without any structural support, and a deck will rise above the lawn from a higher rear door. Build a patio when your home does not have a basement, and build a deck when you have a back door over your basement door. You can add as much furniture as you want, and you may use the patio or deck to relax in the spring. You can also include a deck box to store items such as furniture cushions and yard toys.
#2: Add a Gazebo
A gazebo is a small structure that stands alone in your backyard. The gazebo has a canopy that protects you from the weather, and the gazebo will carry its own furniture. You can sit away from the house while you are relaxing. Gazebos have great design features, and the gazebo increases the value of your home. A gazebo is a great place to keep the kids entertained and out of the house even on a rainy day. Add a storage bench to your gazebo to store board games and cards and double as extra seating.
#3: Try an Arbor
You may add an arbor to your home at any time, but you must use your arbor properly. Arbors are used to grow vines, and you may put some seating under the open canopy of the arbor. Grow a simple vine, grapes or tomatoes on your arbor, and you can sit among the plants while you relax in the backyard. Families that love to garden will enjoy having an arbor in the backyard.
#4: Plant a Garden
Speaking of gardens, a garden in your backyard should feature more than plants and flowers. You may grow food in your garden that your family can eat, and the garden may take up a substantial part of your yard. Plant foods that you can eat most of the year, and you may go out in the garden any time you need more food. Herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits can be grown in the garden at any time. Creating a cycle of foods will keep your garden vibrant all year, and you will always have food in the backyard for your family. And don’t forget a tool rack to organize all those gardening tools.
#5: Plant Beautiful Flowers
A lawn that is lined with patches of flowers is more colorful and exciting than a patch of grass, and people who visit your home will be impressed with the amazing flowers you have planted in your yard. You may line walkways in your lawn with flowers, or you may plant flowers along your fence line. Take advantage of every part of your lawn, and you will cover the area with colors that bring life to your home.
People who visit your home every summer will be impressed with the additions you have made to your backyard. The flowers, arbor, deck, patio and gazebo will turn your backyard into a wonderland of color and relaxation. You can relax in your backyard all year, or you may grow a large garden that will feed your family at every meal. Consider what your lawn can handle when you begin planning, and each part of the lawn will increase the value of your home should you choose to sell in the future.
Jessica Kane is a professional writer who has an interest in interior design and home decor. She currently writes for Canopy Concepts, a leading installer of custom patio covers and patio enclosures.
