The backyard of your home should feel like a small getaway from your regular day-to-day life. You may not be able to kick off your shoes and relax in a nice cottage getaway every week, but having a peaceful space just outside your backdoor is easily achievable. Too many people overlook how important it is to have a nice backyard they can go to. Considering how much time you spend at home, you should realize how valuable this space of your yard is worth. It could be for hosting a barbecue or birthday party, or just for some quiet reflection and appreciating the fresh air. Whatever it is, you need this space to be perfect.
Your backyard could always use improvements. Even if you have this yard you like to spend time out in, or if you’re looking at overhauling the entire space, there’s something for you on this list. If you, like so many others, need to revamp the look of your yard, here are some impressive additions to boost the value of your private space.
Plant and vegetable garden
Nature is always first and foremost when it comes to your backyard. This is a place where you can disconnect from TV, leave your phone inside, and enjoy the dirt beneath your feet and the cool breeze around you. One of the best, and rather simple ways to do this, is by creating a plant and vegetable garden. Adding some greens and unique flora and fauna to your backyard is a good hobby to keep you outdoors during the growing seasons, rather than cooped up inside. It doesn’t take much to create your own garden, but mastering it is a fun, long-term hobby to take up. You could even grow enough vegetables to help you cook in the kitchen and cut down on your grocery bills, even if just by a little.
Patio cover
If you’d rather kick your feet up with a drink in your hand than get your hands dirty with a spade and shovel, then your patio is the highlight of the backyard experience. It might have some nice stonework already, but what good is it if you’re constantly being blasted by the sun and need your shades on? This is a good reason as any to get a patio cover to fully enjoy the shade and the sun, and an equinox louvered roof has the best of both worlds. Most patio covers aren’t capable of switching between full shade and an open style, which is a good addition for those sunny days when you want to relax with the sun rays streaming in, or when you want to sit outside and read a book without any sun getting in your eyes. Patio covers help protect your furniture from fading or from rain as well, and make a great addition to your backyard.
Barbecue station
Any good backyard has a barbecue spot, but that might not be enough to secure your place as the number one backyard entertainment spot. Having a barbecue station is what you need, and it means more than just having a reliable grill. The best ways to improve your barbecue situation for your backyard and patio area are by adding things like a smoker, encasing the barbecue in a protective stone setup, and adding a prep station, which can be an addition to that stone countertop. This helps keep your barbecue secure, adds more dimensions to your cooking abilities, and adds an eating area that allows guests to sit down, and gives you more serving area for dishes. If you want to go even further, you can add a mini-fridge or a drink cooler to keep guests from having to stream in and out, so everyone can stay socializing in the backyard.
New soil and grass
The backyard can have all of the coolest toys and additions, like a smoker or barbecue pit, but none of it matters if the grass looks atrocious. Installing new soil/sod and grass is a must for the overall look of your backyard. Patchy, yellow, dry, and dead grass, or even worse, exposed dirt, is a bad look for any backyard, so you need to lay down the law and redo the landscaping. A good grass job is better on the feet, better for the biodiversity of the backyard (i.e., if you have a garden), and it’s much less jarring to look at. This is one of the most important features of a backyard and will help tie everything else together.
Patio stone walkway
Speaking of grass, if you love how it looks and feels, but want to avoid damaging it going to and from your patio, front yard, or shed, you should think about adding a patio stone walkway to keep that new or improved grass looking great. Patio stone walkways are useful for protecting your grass and yard, and they also add aesthetic quality. It’s a good idea to have a solid walkway for people to use, and it’s also important to pick the right material. Stone and brick are the most durable, but a concrete base could be less slippery in wet conditions. Wood is also a great rustic look but could be slippery or hot depending on your climate zone, and gravel is an easy to install but a rougher choice. There are plenty of material options and designs to pick from, and they all add something of value to your backyard.
Sauna and hot tub
Everyone loves a little spa treatment here and there, but the problem is that it can be so darn expensive to get it done on a regular basis. What if there was a way to have that level of pampering and luxury just feet from your home? Enter hot tubs and saunas. These are two luxury items that are definitely not on the essentials list, but are definitely worth it. You can even build your own sauna, which is a big task, but saves you some money if you sacrifice some time and effort to build it, or you could go the installation route. The best addition for a sauna in your backyard is to give it the complementary hot tub. Imagine hopping in and out of one another on a cold night, and feeling the relaxing and restorative properties of each. The best choice would be to combine the two into a mini-pool house, so they are within arm’s reach distance.
Tool and utility shed
Building a shed isn’t the most difficult task in the world, and it can help keep your yard organized. It provides a safe spot for all of your tools, and if you have kids, keeps their playthings out of the way. Tool sheds are a good place to keep your backyard well-organized, but they offer a lot more than that in terms of being a space you can put excess things from inside your home in. Having this addition in your backyard is useful for anyone who’s serious about yard work and home projects. You can store lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, whipper snippers, or you could add a work table and be able to cut wood and make what you want in a dedicated space. The value of a tool shed is so important for any backyard, and you can find a good reason for it – as a storage space or workshop.
Pool
Lastly, and certainly not least, you have the king of the backyard additions – a pool. Pools are by no means a small investment, and it’s essential to know this before you start planning. Pools can add a lot of value if you live in a warmer climate because they can be used year-round, but the sheer purpose of owning a pool is personal enjoyment, not resale value. There are two pool designs – above and in-ground. Above-ground pools are cheaper, so more people opt for these, and because they require less work to install, but in-ground pools are considered more attractive because none of the sidings are exposed, and you don’t need a deck to access it. These are things you need to consider when investing in a pool, but there really isn’t much that can top this addition to your yard.
Going through this list, it becomes apparent how many different things you can do to beef up your backyard’s look. Some are rather easy and relaxing like a nice garden, and others are more expensive and extreme additions like a pool, sauna, or hot tub. Whatever it is, you need to make your backyard an extension of your home, and have somewhere to go and hang out or entertain guests. The backyard is a big part of a great home, and ignoring the need to improve it is a big mistake, but with these ideas, you can find something that will hit the spot for your home’s exterior.
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