Create A Great Outdoor Space
In our neck of the woods we spend nearly six months under a blanket of snow and only about three months under the warm rays of the summer sun. By the time June rolls around we’re pretty eager to get outside and stay outside until September!
There is no place quite like the old backyard to spend lazy days kicking back getting lost in a great book or sharing a great barbecued meal with family and friends. It can be relatively easy and inexpensive to create a warm, relaxing and inviting atmosphere that may make you wish you could live outside year round.
Creating a great outdoor space
1. Greenery. Use plants and flowers to breathe life into your outdoor space. Use hanging baskets where possible, fill them with colorful flowering plants that will spill over the edges. In the corners of your deck or patio and on the edge of steps add a few planters filled with aromatic flowering plants or herbs. A planter with herbs is not only beautiful and aromatic but it’s also yummy!
2. Seating. Comfortable seating is a must if you are going to be spending any amount of time outside. There is a huge variety in patio furniture available now and most of it is pretty affordable. You can get the traditional patio set with table and 4-6 chairs or opt for a living room like set, which is becoming a lot more popular. You could even choose big comfy cushions on the deck or grass or a pad to stretch out on,keep in mind that comfort is key.
3. Lighting. There are so many yard lighting options available from lanterns and torches to strings of patio lights and LEDs. My favorite is still the old fashioned candles. An easy and informal lighting option with candles is to half fill a glass jar with sand or pebbles and place a tea light or small candle on top. You can also use citronella candles to create the same relaxed effect AND keep mosquitoes away at the same time (something we really need here). Just give a bit of thought ahead of time as to how you’re primarily going to use this area. Reading by candle light isn’t always the nicest but having a quiet dinner by floodlight doesn’t work either.
4. Wildlife. Attract birds and butterflies to your yard by choosing flowers that are appropriate for your area. Set up a birdbath, bird feeder and a birdhouse near the back of your yard in a spot that you can still see them but won’t scare them away. Hang a bright red hummingbird feeder in a tree. It’s amazing how your yard can suddenly come alive.
5. Warmth. You can extend your outdoor season by adding a bit of warmth. Propane heaters are becoming more popular, there are tabletop and floor models available. A slightly cheaper alternative, and one that creates a nicer atmosphere, is a fire pit. Depending on where you live and your personal preference you can create a rustic, open fire pit by insetting bricks or stones into your lawn or garden, or choose a less permanent option such as a fire bowl that you can easily move around the yard.
These are just a few examples of how you can create an outdoor atmosphere that is warm and inviting. Integrate as many natural items as you can into your space and use splashes of color to add interest. Make it as comfortable and as relaxing as you can and you’ll enjoy spending your days outside in the fresh air, after all the summer is over before we know it.
What have you done in your backyard to make it an inviting area to hang out in? I’m always looking for great new ideas, so please share in the comments!
See also:
8 Steps to Hosting a Party Everyone Enjoys – Including Yourself
7 Ways To Decorate Your Home With Stuff You Already Have.
Photo courtesy of: domibrez
14 Responses to “Create A Great Outdoor Space”
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OK, so maybe this just shows *my* lack of experience with such things, but I went through three or four sets of outdoor cushions before I realized that you can take them off and store them someplace dry when you aren’t using them.
Like I said, maybe that’s just my lack of common sense, but a useful tip for others who may be a little slow like me
Jay Schryer: last blog ..God Part 2
I love outdoor spaces! It’s the one thing that makes me wish I still lived in San Diego (well, that and the ocean).
I live in Georgia, like Jay, so I know all too well what happens to the stuff when you leave it out in the humidity and thunderstorms. And sure, you can bring it all in… but who wants to be doing that? California is like a weather vacuum, so you can keep all your lovely stuff outside.
Ahhh… one of these days…
Lisis | Quest For Balance: last blog ..Do You Believe in True Love?
good post, gives a beautiful idea for converting your space into a nature bliss.
Ouch, that many months under snow would be a challenge for me. I love the outdoors and having a great place to sit makes you go outdoors of course. We have several chairs in several areas, as the sun moves around so can we! Candle light and citronella candles are my favorite, however bright moonlight is the best.
Wilma Ham: last blog ..There is a trap; there IS more to the 10.000 hours success story. Of course!
Sherri, I recently spent some time in the Rockies and they were lovely in June. I just shiver thinking about being cold all the time though. So exactly where is your neck of the woods? I live in hot humid Houston.
Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Are You Addicted to Speed?
We just converted our deck into a screened porch, and I’m loving spending time out there. We live in GA, too, and we’ve discovered that the covers they make for patio furniture protects cushions from the elements pretty well. Dealing with the covers is a lot easier than moving the cushions back and forth from the garage!
Laura´s last blog ..Classical Music With Shining Eyes
Hi Sherri,
So that I could watch the birds, I’ve set up a bird feeder right outside my office window. Oh what fun I have watching them fill their little bellies.
I love your idea of planting herbs as greenery. It definitely is a win-win. Pretty and yummy.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease
We moved here last summer and we STILL haven’t set up a decent sitting and visiting place in our backyard. This post is so inspiring (and practical!). We need to get right on that!
Megan at Simple Kids´s last blog ..Discussing Nature Challenge #1: Naming Nature
I’m a fan of wildlife. I’m lucky that now and then some deer wander by. I’m not so lucky that some raccoons wander by too.
J.D. Meier´s last blog ..The Power of the Pause
@ Jay – Thanks for the tip! I’m sure you’ve saved a lot of other people from the same pain
@ Lisis – We’ve been to San Diego a couple of times and it IS lovely!
@ manish – I glad you liked it!
@ Wilma – That’s a great idea about multiple sitting areas so you can follow the sun I love it! I also love sitting outside when there’s a full moon some nights you can almost read by it it’s so bright!
@ Stephen – The humidity is certainly not for me so maybe it’s a good thing I live where I do.
The Rockies *are* beautiful! We live on the great open prairies in Manitoba, beautiful in their own right.
@ Laura – Welcome! Oh a screened in porch that’s great! I’ve seen those covers for the furniture but always thought they would be a bit of a struggle getting them on and off. Glad to hear they aren’t too bad. Thanks for your comment!
@ Barbara – Welcome! How lovely! Just this weekend I finished painting a feeding platform for the birds and put it on the porch outside of our living room window. We’ve had a few visitors already and our son thinks it’s just great!
Thanks for leaving a comment.
@ Megan – I’m glad you’ve found some inspiration here. Good luck in setting up your outdoor space.
@ J.D. Meier – Welcome! My folks live outside of town and they too have deer wandering around their yard. The deer eat berries off the trees in the winter and from all their tracks the yard looks a bit like a highway! No raccoons though…I hear they can be quite a nuisance. Thanks for leaving a comment.
I don’t have a back yard myself but I’ve always dreamed of one day living in a place with a veranda and a vine growing overhead. My dream usually puts the house in Italy – but the thought of humming birds means I may change that to somewhere that actually has them.
On second thoughts, I can probably sacrifice the humming birds if I get to live in Italy!
In Romania it’s very popular to have a large 2 seater swinging chair. I can recommend them!
Ian | Quantum Learning´s last blog ..Everyone’s in a hurry
@ Ian – It’s great to have dreams and aspirations
Italy sounds like a great choice! Humming birds are really fun to watch so definitely worth putting up a feeder for. Whenever I see those 2 seater swing chairs I honestly think…oh how lovely! I think I may have to get one and hang it on the front porch. 
Such a great plan, I can feel the warmth and the beauty of it all
Jocelyn of I TAKE OFF THE MASK´s last blog ..Let the Negative Things Inspire You!
As always, a wonderful post about simple life. I love it. We are waiting to get to the back yard because we will need to petition the HOA to change anything back there. We have a basement walk-out that has a pretty steep slope (not very ideal), so I’d love to do a composite wood deck with railing, and a mosquito net cabana for shade and some rest from the bugs, as well as built-in benches, planters, and a sand/water table for the kids. We’d ultimately like to do a side stairwell to a very small “first-floor” deck that would simply hold our barbaque and a small prep table. A ton of work, I know, and that is why my ‘dream’ is on hold this summer. (Maybe next summer!) Right now, we are doing a landscaping face-lift in the front, widening our concrete walk with tumbled concrete pavers on each side, a small retaining wall block raised bed planted with hydranga, verbena, azalea, and astilbe near the foundation, and slate stone pedistals near the front stairs for urns filled with annuals. We are half-way through, and I have to say the excivation was the hardest part…and waiting for the rain to stop. Wish us luck, and I’ll be dreaming about that relaxing back-yard oasis! Abbie