Being in the great outdoors no longer means “roughing it” in the wilderness or, from a domestic point of view, sitting outside in a plastic lawn chair. These days, people are discovering the value and beauty of what it means to have an outdoor living space, and this is especially true if you have a sizable one.
Everything from having a space to clear your mind to simply wanting to enjoy the sunshine and take in all the natural vitamin D you can, being outdoors has more advantages than one might think. And it’s the advantages that fuel people to take the time out to actually design an outdoor space that they can not only benefit from but that will also meet their needs.
Now, in creating a beneficial outdoor space, it’s not going to be as simple as walking into your local landscaping store and picking out the first few things you see. In order for your space to benefit you in more ways than one, you’re going to need to look at some of the major considerations first before investing in a space that’s not accommodating or beneficial to you.
1. Purpose of Your Space
When you make the decision to create an outdoor living space, go back and think about what exactly made you decide to create a space in the first place.
The purpose of your outdoor space can be for a single reason or it can coincide with multiple reasons, but the key is to at least prioritize your reasons from most important to least important. Maybe you’re a big family that likes to entertain but never got around to working on your backyard. Then again, maybe you’re a fitness guru and need a space where you can do your yoga without any interruptions.
The reasons are limitless as to why you decide to take advantage of your outdoor space, but determining your “why” is the first thing you need to do before moving forward in the process.
2. Size of Your Space
The amount of space you’re working with is going to play a significant role in what you can do with your space. Before you invest a dime of your money into your outdoor oasis, assess the space you have.
If you have a large enough yard, you can start a garden and grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables… Before you know it, you’ll have a green thumb. You can even have a deck installed if that’s what will benefit you most.
If your space is small, you’re going to be a little more constricted as to what all you can do with your space, but that’s all the more reason why it’s so important to assess your space first before investing anything into it.
Grab some measuring tape and notate the square footage you have to work with. Once you have your square footage, eyeball the areas of the space to get a general idea of how you want things laid out. For instance, the area closest to your backdoor entrance into the house can be where you set up your patio furniture. Then, the area closest to the perimeter fence could be where you start your small garden.
By assessing your “lay of the land,” you’ll save yourself lots of headache when you go to start actually making purchases to create your outdoor space.
3. Theme of Your Space
When designing your patio, you can’t do it without determining your overall theme. And it’s also important to note that your theme will partly be based on the purpose of your space too.
If your space is for entertaining, then you can invest in outdoor patio furniture and accessories conducive to entertaining. With that as a purpose, you might want furniture themes in palm trees or flamingos, or you can come up with more of a classy resort theme and look into furniture collections and accent pieces that are more reminiscent of travel.
Your theme is totally up to you, but without determining the purpose of your space, you’re going to have a hard time figuring out an overall theme, which will also affect how you decorate your space as well.
Conclusion
After reading these considerations, you can now see that designing your outdoor space is no jump decision or quick fix. Based on your needs, in addition to the purpose, size, and theme of your space, you’ll then be able to decorate and design it in a way most beneficial to you.