Summer is almost here, and for many of us that means spending more time outside. In fact, you may even be hoping to have a party or two at your house this Summer. There’s only one problem – while you recently completed an indoor home makeover, your outdoor space isn’t really equipped to handle guests. If you’re looking for some ways to spruce up your yard so that you don’t feel embarrassed to have guests over, here are some things you can do.
Clean Up Your Yard
To start, you need to clean up your yard. You can add in all the extra features that you want, but if your yard is a mess, you likely won’t want to host anyone there. Luckily, cleaning up your yard doesn’t take too much work. It’s just a matter of mowing the lawn, trimming back some of your bushes or trees, maybe pressure washing the house, and picking up any debris around the yard. No matter the condition of your yard, you can likely make it look presentable after just spending a day cleaning it up.
Get the Right Furniture
Now that your yard is looking a little neater, it’s time to start thinking about the things you can add to it to make it more suitable for guests. The first thing you’ll want to think about is outdoor furniture. When your guests come over, you don’t want everyone sitting on the lawn or on old wooden benches that have the paint peeling. You want everyone to have a nice seat and some tables they can put their food and drinks down on. Take some time to find the best patio furniture for your yard, then add the pieces you can afford.
Add in a Fire Place or Fire Pit
A great feature you can add to your yard for those cool Summer nights is a fire pit. There’s nothing quite like gathering around a fire with your friends and family, sharing a drink or listening to some music. If you want to do this, there are a few ways you can go about it. You could purchase a fireplace that goes outdoors, and then you’ll just need a flat, safe place to put it.
Another option is to build your own fire pit. This is when you dig a shallow hole in the ground and use it to host the fire. This option requires a bit more manual labor, but it could save you some money. If you’re interested in digging a fire pit, here is a guide that you can follow. Whichever method you decide to go with, make sure you’re putting your fire pit or fire place in a safe location, so that nothing around it catches on fire.
Install a Water Feature
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could add a water feature to your yard. Water features add a relaxing element to your space, along with making the yard more visually appealing. You could do something small like adding in a fountain or bird bath, or you could do something bigger like building an entire backyard pond, complete with a running waterfall and fish. How big you decide to go will depend on how much time you have, how much work you want to do, and your budget. For ideas on water features you can add to your yard, here are some suggestions.
Upgrade Your Tech
Finally, to complete your outdoor renovation, you’ll want to upgrade some of the technology in your yard. To start, think about your lighting situation. You likely don’t want bright spotlights on your space, so instead opt for something like string lights. Or you can even get bulbs that change color and really give your outdoor space a unique look.
After that, think about if you’ll want music playing. If you do, you’ll need a good speaker system in place. Find one that can easily connect to your mobile devices (as this is likely where your music is), preferably wirelessly. The speaker you choose should also be safe for outdoors, as it will have to stand up to the elements.
Finally, no one likes to be away from the Internet for too long. To make your guests more comfortable, make sure your Wi-Fi reaches to your outdoor area so that everyone can connect to it. This will also help if you want to stream music over the Internet to your speakers, or if your lights are connected to a smart device.
And there you have it – a few simple things and you can make your backyard a place you actually want to spend time. All it takes is a little planning and maybe a small amount of manual labor and you can turn your yard into the best hangout spot this Summer.
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