Few things in life are as pleasurable as relaxing at home with friends. There’s the opportunity to show off your culinary skills or to provide lots of tasty drinks. It can be fun chilling out in your own house whilst catching up on all the gossip too.
If you have a yard or garden where you can take visitors, the options for hospitality increase. During the dry months, you can entertain more people and enjoy the sunshine while you do it. It may be that you have a backyard space you wish to develop for this purpose. If so, let’s discuss together how you can maximize the area that you have.
An Awning
This is a great option if you don’t have a conservatory at the back of your home. It’s a device that attaches to your house, usually over the windows or doors. The temporary roof can either be pulled out or it will occur electronically. If you are having guests round you won’t need to worry about the weather anymore - be it rain or excessive sunshine. If you have space for a large awning it could cover an entire patio area.
New Jersey is one of the most affluent states in America, based on the average household income. According to this awning manufacturer in NJ many people go online to request free curbside quotes for retractable and residential awnings. Whether it’s for peoples’ homes or businesses, they frequently want to read customer testimonials before they buy.
A Swimming Pool
If you pursue this option your purchase will depend on your budget and yard size. If you have one installed, you’ll need to be prepared to maintain it on a regular basis. This could include changing filters, raking the water and applying chemicals. You can choose from having recreational swimming pools to plunge pools, spa pools and more.
It’s important to think about safety, especially if you have young children. If you only want to entertain them, an inflatable paddling pool may be the most practical and cheap option. These products are especially suitable if you are limited for space, because you simply put them away afterward.
image © Ralph (Ravi) Kayden
Patios
They are a simple design that can earmark a specific part of your garden for seating and entertainment. They are also an obvious place to store a barbecue. Paver patios are easy to maintain, and brick patios can come in more colors than just the traditional red. Flagstone patios can look very decorative although they are harder to put together.
If you choose to install a slate patio yourself, it can certainly be done. Having said that, you need to be prepared for lots of heavy lifting and bending. There’s nothing to stop you from putting gravel over a certain area of your yard, but if people are walking around barefoot they won’t enjoy stepping on it. Tile patios are better in this regard, and they are easier to clean once your guests have gone home.
Childrens’ Play Areas
Let’s face it: if the kids are happy the parents will be happy. If you are planning to entertain young families there will be less work if they can self-entertain. Play areas can provide added
security if the children are happy in a secure location rather than straying towards your entrance and the surrounding roads.
Whilst the children won’t be thinking about sunblock, it’s wisest to choose an area that provides a measure of shade. You could brighten up the play area with things like fairy lights or brightly colored external paint. It’s possible to choose anything from swings and slides to sandboxes and trampolines. From a safety angle, you should consider using chippings or another type of soft external flooring. If you don’t have enough money for these options, don’t despair: You could set up your camping tent in the garden and customize it for the kids.
Barbecue Areas
This is a subject we briefly mentioned earlier. Your friends would be delighted to arrive at the smell of steak or chicken sizzling away. Obviously, you won’t want the barbecue so close to your doors and windows that smoke billows inside your home. Having said that, don’t place it at the far end of the yard as you’ll be regularly bringing things in and out of the house.
You can either buy a basic barbecue that requires charcoal briquettes or purchase a gas burner that acts more like a kitchen oven. As regards flooring for this area, you could use concrete or decking.
Harness The Power Of Nature
You can do this whether you have the space for sprawling lawns and flowerbeds, or just shelves containing pot plants. You could landscape the area in such a way that there are different sections for different purposes.
You can even use things like walls or sheds to create areas of privacy. Whilst some people will prefer to stay on the patio and socialize, others will enjoy sitting on a garden chair admiring the flowers.
Space For General Seating
As with all these ideas you need to choose what most suits your yard shape and size. If you have wooden frames or vertical posts they could be used for external lighting or climbing plants. This could also be a good place for external speakers for music.
If you purchase garden heaters this could keep your guests outdoors longer in the evening, and reduce the strain on the space indoors. These days there’s some fantastic garden furniture available; it can look like indoor seats and sofas and yet be weather compatible at the same time. You could alternatively consider wooden benches or foldable chairs - be they from indoors or kept for camping purposes.
If your backyard becomes more visitor-friendly there will be many exciting benefits: Not only will your guests enjoy being there, but your household will also use it more. It can become a place that is stylish, practical and hospitable. Thanks to things like plants and lawns, it can also become a place of beauty.
