Make your outdoor space work for you

Gardens are an extension of the home. It is another area for homeowners to inject their personality with how they choose to decorate it. This could be how they choose to paint the colour of the fence, the plants they have growing or a space where friends can gather and enjoy sitting outdoors.

A staggering 85% of potential buyers mark having a garden high on their wish list for their house. For those looking for ways to make their outdoor space work for them and their lifestyle, these tips might help you to achieve your goal.

Envision Your Dream Space

Before tearing your garden up or moving things around, you should envision your dream space. Think about how you want your garden to look once any work has been completed. Decide on the layout, colours, plants, seating and any other additions you want to have featured in your garden. This will help you plan out what work needs to be done, what you should invest in, and how to move forward with your project. There are free online garden design apps, such as smart draw, that can help with this. Follow the plan in place, as it will help prevent you from overspending on items and materials you do not need to achieve the garden of your dreams.

Decide How Much Space Is Needed

With your vision for what your garden will look like, use this to help measure up the space. If you are adding a summer house or a greenhouse, you should measure your garden area to see if you have the space available to add this. If not, you might add it to another area of your garden. 

Spend a morning or an afternoon taking the measurements for different areas of your garden. You can use these measurements to help you create a more detailed plan about what is possible to achieve in your garden. On this more detailed plan, you could add the exact choice of flowers and plants you will grow, the layout of your seating area, and other key changes to your outdoor space.

Invest In Additional Storage

As mentioned, you might choose to add a greenhouse to your garden. If you have been getting your fingers green with a newfound love for gardening, a greenhouse could make the perfect addition to your garden. Greenhouses are ideal for those that want to grow vegetables throughout the year as you can have greater control over the temperate and humidity the plants are exposed. Alternatively, you might want to add a shed or a summer house to your garden to create additional storage space. Having plenty of storage space is a dream for many homeowners. 

Create An Outdoor Office

Adding a summer house to your garden can offer more than just additional storage space. It can also be used as an outdoor office space. If you or someone in your home works from home, having a summer house could be a great space for them to create an at-home office that allows them to separate their work life from home life. Separating the two is a struggle many who work from home have, so having an outdoor office space could help tremendously reduce this struggle.Spend time searching for options, and look at the 1st Choice Leisure Buildings summer houses they have available. You might discover the ideal option for your outdoor office. After all office equipment has been installed in your summer house/home office, any additional space can be used to create additional storage solutions.

Build A Seating Area

You could also use any additional space in your summer house/home office to add a few comfortable chairs and a sofa if there is space. This could make a cosy social space to retreat to you if you wanted somewhere outside of your home to retreat to. When the temperatures begin to rise and those rare sunny days appear, you will likely want to spend time outside soaking in the sun’s rays. 

A seating area will be the perfect place to retreat when the weather is warm. If you have a patioed or decked area that catches the sun, this could be the perfect spot to create a seating area. If not, you can consider the costs of adding decking or a patioed area to your garden for outdoor furniture. Whichever route you take, the outcome will likely lead you to your ideal social space, one you can enjoy on your own with a good book or with friends.

Consider The Choice Of Plants

Plants are a simple and effective way to inject your personality into your garden. It could be the choice of colours, the type of plant, or a mixture of the two. You might even look for plants to add height and dimension to your garden. Or your might want to plant low growing, low-maintenance plants with vibrant colour to make a statement without needing too much upkeep. Use the plan you created to help you choose the plants featured in your garden.

Aside from the visual benefits plants can bring to your garden, you have to also consider the maintenance of caring for these plants. It could be how many times they need watering a week and ensuring that they are planted in the best spots in the garden that will help them thrive. If you are up for the challenge, spend time searching for how to properly care for plants in your garden. This way, you can help ensure that your garden always looks bright and colourful, even on the dreariest of days.

Add Elements Of Privacy

Of course, when the summer months come along and temperatures (hopefully) rise, you will likely spend as much time as possible outside. It could be lying in a deck chair soaking the sun’s rays, or you might choose to exercise outside. Regardless you might want to do these without the prying eyes of neighbours or those passing by. As such, consider adding fences or hedges to help add privacy to your home. Fences and hedges are also a great way to add a level of security to your home and enable you to define what parts of the land surrounding your house belong to you. If you have pets or children, having fences and hedges can help offer peace of mind that they cannot wander off when playing in the garden.

Think About Your Future

Before you start investing in transforming your garden, consider your future. If you plan to sell your home in the near future, you might choose to make minor updates to your garden and save bigger renovation plans for your next home. Alternatively, you could be planning to start a family. 

As such, consider what garden space you want your children to enjoy when they get older. If you plan to extend your property, you should tailor your garden to what it would look like once renovation work has been completed. Thinking about your property’s future will help you plan what changes you can make to your garden that will work for you and your lifestyle.

In Summary

There is an abundance of ways to make your outdoor space work for you and your lifestyle. It is a case of comparing the options and finding the ones that suit you, your budget and your lifestyle the best. Use some of the tips mentioned above as a starting point. You might choose to implement one or two of the options and others you find. Regardless, any work you invest in your garden will help to transform it and make it more appealing.