A great backyard can add value, functionality and beauty to any home. Your backyard is also one of the easiest areas of your home to improve, provided you go about it the right way. A little work on your yard makes it an ideal space for family parties, outdoor movie nights, or just somewhere to hang out any time of the year. Here are four simple steps you can take to transform your backyard into the ideal outdoor space.
Build a Great Patio Area
The start of any backyard improvement project should be creating a great patio area. Your patio can be as large or small as your yard allows, but it should incorporate some creative design elements to make it unique. Generally, paving blocks are the best material for patios. Pavers installation is relatively easy, but you may want to bring in a professional landscaping company to make the finished product a bit more intricate. Measure and map out your desired patio area before you get started to make sure that the area is the size you want and won’t take up too much or too little of your precious yard space.
Plant Some Decorative Shrubbery
Decorative shrubs can do a lot to accent areas within your yard. Planting evergreen shrubs is also a great way to create privacy and a sense of separation in your backyard year-round. While it will take your shrubs a few years to grow tall enough to produce their full effect, getting them in the ground today will ensure that your backyard looks its best in three to five years. Once your shrubs are grown you can utilize them for improved privacy, hanging lights, or shaping into fun creatures.
Use Natural Stone
Using large stones is a great way to make your backyard feel more natural and unique. Whether you create a rock garden, line a path with stones, put them around a water feature or just use them to ring a tree, natural stones are sure to add beauty and depth to your backyard. Hunting down the stones can also be lots of fun, especially if there’s a river or beach in your area where you can collect some of your own. If you aren’t sure where to find stone, an online marketplace search is a great place to start.
Build a Gazebo
For entertaining outdoors, few things will add as much to your backyard as a gazebo. Although they do cost a bit to buy and install, gazebos massively increase the utility of your outdoor space. Putting a gazebo in your backyard can also help to increase the value of your home, so it’s a good idea if you think you might want to put your property on the market in the next several years.
By taking these four steps, you can create a nearly perfect backyard for your family to enjoy. Be sure to get creative as you design your new backyard so that you can make it unique. A backyard improvement is one of the easiest home projects to have fun with, so don’t be afraid to add your own twists on traditional design ideas.
