With the price of travel today more and more homeowner are opting for vacations closer to home. How about a vacation in your own backyard! As a homeowner you should look at your backyard as your place to escape and a place to enjoy family and friends. What would it take for your backyard to become your oasis from the world? It may be simpler than you think to have the backyard of your dreams. And the best part is that any improvements you make in your home is the best money you can spend.
Look around your backyard as it presently is. Do you have an area designated for entertaining such as a patio or deck? If you don't, is there a place for either or both of these to be built? If there isn't enough room for deck, or enough money in your budget for one is there room for a gazebo or a pergola? Either a gazebo or a pergola can be built to suit a particular size, and to suit the style of your home and can be done inexpensively.
Maybe you already have an outdoor space but don't use it because of the sun. A lot of lovely decks and patios can be blasted by the hot sun all day long making them too hot to use. Look into having an awning placed, or into having a pergola built to give you shade so you can use the space again. Maybe you don't have comfortable furniture outside, or your furniture needs a facelift. Don't throw your old patio furniture set away. A good cleaning, a fresh coat of paint and new cushions will give it new life. If you do want a new patio set look at cast aluminum patio sets. Since they've hit the market they've become very popular. Cast aluminum furniture is lightweight and durable.
Perhaps you don't have enough privacy in your backyard. No one wants to think that every neighbor can see his or her every move. It's time to think about having a privacy fence put around your property which will shield you from prying eyes. If you already have a fence, but have a deck high off the back of your house you could think about other types of screening for your deck. Try using climbing vines and flowers on trellises. Use lattice work to build screens.
Think about updating your landscaping. Make your backyard a place you're proud of and a place that you want to be. The addition of a flower garden will help add color and beauty to your backyard, as will the addition of flowers placed in containers. Perennial flowers are wonderful to use in a in ground garden as they come back year after year. Annual flowers that flower from spring to fall add color all season long and a real impact when they're placed in colorful containers around the yard. Perhaps you have the room to add a water feature, such as a pond. A pond is easier to put in your backyard than you think and possibilities are endless. There is a lot of great information online and many local garden centers can help you plan and place a water feature or pond in your backyard.
Using an small old charcoal grill or an old gas grill? Think about replacing them. There are lots of quality gas grills at very reasonable prices. Also try to make your outdoor cooking area within a comfortable and convenient walk from your kitchen. If you have your kitchen upstairs in your home and you cook on a patio downstairs someone has to carry the food up and down the stairs and you're running up and down the stairs to watch the food. It can quickly become a hassle. When you are planning your backyard entertaining space keep this in mind. If you're having to carry trays of food long distances it may keep you from doing it.
Another way to make you outdoor more inviting is with small additions. Lighting is one. Solar lights and low voltage outdoor lighting can really enhance a backyard landscape. Along with adding lighting and ambiance they can make an outdoor area safer to use at night if they light up paths and walkways. Outdoor fire pits also add warmth and coziness to an outdoor area. The come in a wide variety of styles and sizes and you can find one just right for your outdoor spot.
Invite some of the local wildlife into your backyard, it's easy to do. Simply adding a birdbath that is kept clean and filled with fresh water every day will bring your feathered friends. Adding birdhouses is another way to invite birds into your backyard. Plant bushes and flowers that attract butterflies, put out a few Hummingbird feeders. Add a feeder for squirrels. This is a great way to teach your children about wildlife too.
