Outdoor Spaces

Summertime is for being outside, right? We recently had the longest day of the year and we are definitely in the thick of summer, with plenty of daylight stretching long into the evenings. These extra hours of sunshine just beg to be enjoyed outside of our homes, and should be! Sunshine is so good for us! If you haven’t considered making your backyard the perfect hang out place, you should! Backyards hold awesome resale value, and many memories can be made there as well. Here are some of my current favorite ways to make your backyard a place to enjoy:

• Zen gardens. Zen gardens are such a fun current trend! They are a unique garden, as they do not have any water features included. They are a mixture of raked sand and raked gravel, and stones and pebbles of various sizes. The raked stones and gravel are usually swirled to mimic ocean waves, and the entire garden is intended to produce a calming and reflective effect. A backyard that holds a zen garden is the perfect way to relax, sip some coffee, meditate, do devotions, and so much more. They just start the day off in a peaceful way.
• Recreational areas. Whether your favorite outdoor game is tennis, basketball, ping pong, or horseshoe, your backyard can become the perfect setting to play in! Especially if you have a spouse or children that have a common interest, investing in a backyard court of any kind could be a great way to bond and enjoy the summer months!
• Outdoor kitchens. Okay, this one may be my favorite. Who doesn’t love a fresh and flavorful summer dinner? And when the preparation and cooking can take place in the warm breeze of a summer evening with iced teas in hand, you’ve got yourself a memorable summer’s eve.
• Built-in fire pits. If you are looking for something that will be a focal point of your outdoor living for more than one season, this one might be your thing! Although it’s the perfect setting for roasting s’mores in the summertime, you will get use out of it long into the fall as the weather cools down and you find yourself wanting to cozy up to a warm fire.
• Cane furniture display. No outdoor space is complete without a few comfy places to sit! In recent years, cane furniture has been growing in popularity. It checks all the boxes for outdoor furniture: durable, strong, low maintenance, and beautiful! It is said to last around 15 years on average, which is an amazing amount of use for furniture that weathers the great outdoors!

One of the best things about outdoor spaces is that they make for effortless hosting! And the more life I live, the more I realize that every day honestly is a gift, and relationships are one of the few things that really last. So, let’s choose to savor the moments of togetherness this summer, and investing in an area to make memories is so worth it.