Environment Magazine

Turning Your Outdoor Space into a Homely Pad

By Gfl

A garden should be a beautiful natural spot sitting at the back or front of your house as long as you regularly maintain it. Of course, if you’re not much of a gardener then you may be guilty of letting it fall into disrepair now and again. The best way to avoid neglecting this outdoor space, however, is to turn it into a real extension of your home. You should create a space in which you actually want to relax and then you’ll want to maintain it. Here are some tips on transforming your garden into a homely pad.

Combine manmade elements with nature

First of all, you’ll need to clear out the garden of all the junk (both natural and manmade). Think of this design project in much as the same way as you would think of an interior design project; you need to lay the foundations. You need to repaint the walls to create a blank canvas on which you can work. In garden terms, this involves mowing the lawn, de-weeding, replacing dead plants and flowers, and generally tidying up the place. Of course, you can repurpose old things to make them look neater or like aesthetically pleasing “artwork”. For example, an old lawnmower could be turned into a plant pot.

Once the boring part is out of the way (unless you managed to turn it into something fun by getting artistic with your design process), you’ll want to start on the fun part: turning this outdoor area into a home. You want this to feel like an extra room in your house – a second lounge of sorts. The best way to achieve this feeling is to create a cozy patio area. Get some modern furnishings with cushioned seating, a nice dining table, and perhaps even a designated barbeque zone for those warm summer evenings. Make the garden a place in which you’d like to relax.

The odd luxury

Continuing from the previous point, there’s no reason you should stop at the patio when it comes to adding fancy flourishes to your garden. Yes, you should be appreciating the natural aspects of your outdoor space such as the trees, flowers, and plants, but that doesn’t mean you can’t throw in a few manmade luxuries to help make your garden feel homely. Some solar lights could look great in the evenings, and a basketball hoop could be a neat little addition for the kids.

You could even stretch things a bit further if you can afford the expense. If you’ve generally adopted a DIY approach to fixing the garden then you’ve probably saved a lot of money and you can allow yourself a treat or two. Perhaps you could install a fountain in the center of the garden or even a pool. Maintenance is something you’d have to consider, of course, but you could look into pool service options out there because there are many companies out there willing to cover all the cleaning, repair, and other maintenance jobs required. Regardless, the point is that a luxurious garden doesn’t have to seem out of reach; if you’re sensible with costs in other areas then you can afford the occasional expense.

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Look after it

The final but most important piece of advice for creating a homely, cozy, and inviting garden area is to simply look after it well. It needs regular watering, mowing, and love. If you have manmade additions to the garden then these will need regular maintenance too, and that should be the extra push you need to get outside and look after your outdoor space.


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