Outside Living
Creating rooms outside to extend your home
Creating “rooms” outside is a great way to extend the space in your house, whether you’re selling or staying.
My family lives in an older suburb with modestly sized and priced homes. Our house and yard are small and within feet of our neighbor’s houses so I’m grateful that we’re blessed with great relationships next door.
One of the first projects we did in our yard was to put up a five foot privacy fence, mostly because we had small children and a dog. It’s a friendly fence with pickets and stained a natural cedar so it blends well with nature. I couldn’t believe how much bigger that fence made our yard feel. Before it was there, I felt like I couldn’t be within three feet of our property line because I would literally be right next to our neighbors if they were out in their yard. This fence really added a lot more usable space to our yard.
After the fence installation, we put in a patio with antiquated pavers that came from the streets that surrounded the Minnesota State Capitol. My husband cherry-picked each paver out of a large pile and only paid 25¢ each. Now they sell for $2.00 a piece.
Some shrubbery softened the fence border and a couple of ornamental crab apple trees provided a natural canopy for our patio table and chairs.
Our outside dining area adds so much more livable space to our house in the summer.
If you’re selling your house, stage your patio area too because we love our summers in the upper midwest. Clean really well and then set the table with something similar to the photo above. Plants, whether real or faux always add a feeling of life and freshness. Some simple white dishes and clear glasses on a tray give off the vibe of clean, inviting, and relaxing. What potential buyer couldn’t envision themselves entertaining on your beautiful patio.
If you’re staying in your house, then treat yourself to a nice outdoor space. Clean your deck or patio really well and then throw something yummy on the grill to enjoy!
