Many homeowners spend so much time thinking about how to decorate the interior of their homes that they never think about what they should do to the exterior. Studies indicate that sprucing up the outside of your house is a great way to increase its value because you’re improving its curbside appeal, according to Distinctive Outdoor Spaces LLC.
Your outdoor living space is made up of multiple parts, including your garden, patio, deck or any other functional area. The main issue is that homeowners don’t see all these areas as functional. Let’s talk about four easy ways that you can spruce up your outdoor living space, turning it into something your whole family can enjoy.
Fresh Coat of Paint and Furniture
If you haven’t been using your outdoor space, it probably looks a little worse for wear. This is a problem that you can typically solve with a fresh coat of paint. One great color option for outdoor living spaces such as front porches is white. While white might not be the most fun color, it provides a nice clean look for the front of your home. Also, it allows you to use colorful furniture as accents because it provides the perfect backdrop.
Speaking of outdoor furniture, covering your furniture with weather-resistant fabric is often a superior alternative to simply painting it. The fabric helps protect the furniture from the harsh outdoor elements and adds a bit of texture to an otherwise bland living space. Use the fabric to cover seat cushions and pillows to make your outdoor furniture more comfortable. The more comfortable it is, the more likely you and your guests are to use it.
Bring in Lots and Lots of Plants
Outdoor patios and other concrete spaces usually look harsh and cold. This is an issue that you can solve by bringing in some plants. While planting a garden around your patio, porch or deck is helpful, you have to take it a step further by inviting these plants onto the actual structure. Since you can’t plant flowers directly onto concrete, use pots and other containers to hold your plants.
Try getting creative with your plant containers. While clay pots are great, they may not go with the theme or style you’ve chosen for your outdoor living space. Instead, opt for wooden buckets or plastic containers. The great thing about plastic containers is that manufacturers can design them to look like almost anything, so you should have no problem finding one to fit your personality.
Add a Bit of Shade
One of the biggest reasons why homeowners don’t use their outdoor living spaces is because of direct sunlight and bugs. Thankfully, these are two issues that you can solve with outdoor curtains and shades. Although this tip doesn’t work as well for patios, it’s great for porches and decks with overhangs. By installing rods under an overhang, you can hang weather-resistant fabric to cut down on the amount of bugs flying about and the amount of direct sun your space gets.
Try to choose fabric that’s a bit sheer. Using heavy or thick fabric blocks your view and creates a boxed-in feel and look. Also, try to buy rods that match the paint on your deck so that they blend in better. If you can’t find rods that blend in, try painting them yourself. Depending on the material that the rods are made out of, you may have to buy a different kind of paint.
Outdoor Rugs
Homeowners generally think that there’s very little they can do about their outdoor flooring. After all, most patios and even some decks are made of concrete. Thankfully, some rugs are specifically designed for you to use outside. Just like the fabric we talked about to cover your furniture, these rugs are weather and mold resistant. While you might not want to leave them outside all season long, they will stand up to the elements very nicely.
Try putting a rug under your outdoor patio furniture. Putting it underneath your table and chairs creates a warm and fancy look. Since there are so many different styles of rugs to choose from, you should have no problem finding one that fits with the rest of your décor.
