With the sun shining, the smell of fresh cut lawns and a cool drink in your hand, there’s no better place to be than relaxing on your patio embracing the outdoors.
Maximising your outdoor space is essential for summer, especially if you’re the hosting type and keen to have people over to enjoy the warm and lighter nights.
Style isn’t the main focus when it comes to entertaining outdoors though. It’s all about functionality and how you take advantage of the space you have – whether it’s a small yard or a lifestyle block!
Keep it simple
Decide what you’ll be using your space for the most – hosting plenty of guests, retreating on your own, or with family – and buy furniture to suit this. If you need to accommodate guests coming over, it might be best to buy a table that can extend or a sturdy wooden table with bench seats. Take care to ensure your furniture fits the space and isn’t cluttered, because too many small pieces can make it look overcrowded. Lastly, make sure it is comfortable (maybe add some seat pillows if it’s a firm surface) so you get use out of it.
When it comes to cooking
We spend a lot of your time in the kitchen, so during your build it may be worthwhile to consider a built-in barbecue on your patio. Not only is it functional, it saves space and gives your patio a less cluttered look as opposed to having a clunky barbecue in the corner. This might not be an option for all budgets, so consider house plans that have the indoor-outdoor flow that you are after for entertaining. If your patio doors open up near the kitchen, you can still enjoy the view of outside while enjoying conversation with your guests – and you don’t have to miss out on the sunshine or summer breeze.
Let’s get in the shade
There’s nothing worse than not being able to sit on your patio because it is too hot, so it’s essential that you have the right shade set up so you can still enjoy the outdoors. Buying the right shade sail or umbrella is a game changer. Consider what will suit your patio the best – will it be a large shade sail that you can remove, or are you looking at tables that come with umbrellas? If it’s the latter, make sure the umbrella is large enough to cover the whole table. If you have a roof on your patio shade won’t be a big issue, but perhaps consider other entertainment areas in your yard where shade would be beneficial. You can even think long-term and plant trees that will provide you shade in certain areas for years to come.
Entertaining the kids
Your outdoor space isn’t only for the adults to enjoy. If you have a family the chances are any barbecues you host will mean a handful of kids will be running around. While you have the adults sitting at a lovely wooden table enjoying a drink, we all know that the kids need to be kept busy. Maximise your outdoor space for the little ones by providing a cubby house or sandbox in the corner of the yard, so it doesn’t take up a large patch of your lawn. We all know how popular trampolines are, but they can take up a lot of room, so why not invest in an inground trampoline and surround it by plants so it is partially out of sight. Keeping the kids’ activities away from the patio will still allow you to keep an eye on them while also enjoying conversation with your friends
