Create an Outdoor Space to Improve Your Lifestyle, Your Home Values, and Even Your Work Life
Health experts will tell you that individuals do not spend enough time outdoors. Lifestyle experts will tell you that there is a reason we don’t go outside. In most cases, people simply don’t have enough incentive to stay outdoors when the indoors is so comfortable. Fortunately, you can actually improve home values while improving your relationship with the natural world. Let’s see 5 amazing options to create an outdoor space.
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Create an Outdoor Living Space
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Working from home is now common practice for many of us. This adds time and flexibility to our day, and it may mean the chance to sit outdoors while we work. Thus, creating an outdoor living space is an excellent idea to improve our lifestyle and, in the process, including our home values.
Plus creating an outdoor space should be less costly than adding a room to your home. IT may not need a roof. It won’t need plumbing. You may want to include an electrical outlet for charging your laptop, but that’s optional.
Easiest Choice: A Deck
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Decks can be added using materials that do not degrade like wood. These include vinyl and composite choices that will last for years without needing to be painted or replaced. Zero rot equals a long lifespan for this type of deck. Even if you can’t afford a big one, a small deck design gives you the chance to step outside for fresh air and sunshine on nice days.
Most Lasting Choice: Hardscapes
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Of course, the most classic design is a hardscape, such as a patio made of concrete, brick, or stone. If the design matches your home, you will have created something handsome and durable that will make your home values go up. You may want to include a kitchen area in your design, perhaps with a spot for a grill or a fire pit.
Quickest New Office: Screened Porch
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If you already have an attached porch, you could consider turning it into a screened-in porch that allows you to enjoy the fresh air while being protected from bugs. This puts you near the kitchen and bathroom, and you should have access to an electrical outlet. Yet you will still feel refreshed by the outdoor sights and smells.
Most Fun Ever: Treehouse
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Treehouses aren’t just for children. They can be an incredibly fun way to create an outdoor space where you can enjoy some fresh air. These can be freestanding with room underneath for a helpful shed or they can literally be built into a tree. You’ll want to consider such things as security and safety when finalizing a design. If you think you may work up there, you may want to consider adding an electrical outlet for keeping your laptop charged.
Most Beautiful Addition: A Gazebo
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A gazebo is a beautiful round building often seen in parks. Yet these aren’t prohibitively expensive to build in your own backyard. If you create this retreat under the trees, it is sure to get a lot of use. Imagine the chance to escape from your desk and work from a chair in this lovely outdoor setting. You can paint it white like a traditional gazebo and add lots of ornate woodwork. Or, you can keep it simple. Either way, it will be a fun place to work.
Additional Considerations
Your budget must include material purchase and labor. It doesn’t necessarily need to include an architectural plan. Your goal should be to keep your costs down while maximizing the space’s value to your home and to your daily life. If contractors are charging too much, you may want to go with a different plan. Remember your goal is to add value, not to overspend on the project.
When drawing up a contract, you’ll want contractors to protect the topsoil and grass. It should be an easy matter for your contractor to put down an access system. These crane mats should be made of composite material and joined together to be a temporary road or work platform.
As you develop your budget for the project, keep in mind your softscape. That’s the trees, bushes, gardens, and lawn that make the area beautiful. When adding a structure, you should seize the opportunity to add plants for shade, for birds, and for beauty.
If you are a bird watcher, you will want to consider where bird feeders can be positioned to be seen from your new outdoor living space. There’s some mess that comes with birds, and you won’t want that on your deck or patio. Yet you will want to have the feeders where they can be seen easily and reached easily for quick refills.
With less money than it would take to build a new room, you should be able to establish an outdoor living space that will give you joy, fresh air, and a sense of freedom every day.
