Now that summer weather is upon us in Minnesota, our outside lawns, gardens, patios and even driveways become extended “living space” for a few long-awaited months.
Enjoying outdoor living space is becoming more popular than ever with “staycations” and home entertaining at an all-time high. Trends in outdoor rooms and furnishings are a natural invitation to enjoy time with your family and friends in the warm open air.
Functional and beautiful outside spaces are often simply a comfortable expansion of a home’s interior. Patios, porches, even widened sidewalks create unique and useful surfaces for landscape structures, interesting plantings, art, or even lounging areas.
Furnishings and accessories for the summer outdoor lifestyle can include everything from pizza ovens, built-in or portable grills, hot tubs, high-top bars, pillowed furniture areas, awnings for weather variations and more.
For those serious about expanding home décor into the elements, consider creating a color theme for potted plants or annuals planted in garden spaces near your social space. Extend the same or coordinating palette in outdoor tableware, patio furniture cushions and pillows. Your artistic friends will take notice and everyone else will subconsciously know it “just feels right”.
Beyond furnishings, colors and fun design, it’s important that the foundations for your outdoor areas are built correctly. It’s crucial that the landscape design, both esthetically and functionally has proper grading, gravel and/or sand base, rebar, forms and adequately placed sections, so water drainage, winter heaving from frost and other factors are addressed..
Whether creating or enlarging a patio or sidewalk, building a third stall on the side of the garage, wanting a smooth garage floor or a killer driveway, doing it right matters. Beautifully crafted paved spaces not only extend the functionality and beauty of a home beyond the structure itself, but also improve and maintain the property value. Cracked or damaged floors would certainly be fixed inside the house – keep that in mind for the outside as well.
As you create your garden room, outdoor kitchen or meeting place for the neighborhood happy hour, make the most of the summer by creating a space that is inviting, comfortable and beautiful.
