Many people are avoiding conventional travel right now, so you may be wondering how you can create a personal getaway in your own backyard. Luckily, there are a lot of ways you can repurpose that vacation savings to create lasting improvements that mean you can have a great getaway right in your own backyard anytime you want.
Deck or Patio
If you have a deck or patio outside your home, now might be the perfect time to dress it up and create some real outdoor living space. You can make the area more functional by adding dedicated space for lounging, cooking, outdoor games, or even outdoor movies. Adding plants can bring life and color to the space, and you can add a pergola or canopy to create some shade for those hot days. If you don’t have any dedicated outdoor space, now might be the right time to add that deck or patio you’ve been dreaming of.
Outdoor Theater
Miss going to the movies with your friends? These days, it’s not that hard to create a movie theater experience right in your own backyard. Digital projectors and speakers are getting cheaper all the time. With a little bit of technology and some comfy seating, you can watch all your favorite movies outdoors all summer long. Bring some popcorn and enjoy movie night every night.
Privacy
If you love to spend time outdoors, but lack privacy because of close neighbors, there are a lot of ways to enclose your outdoor space to give yourself more privacy. Depending on your budget, you can:
- Build a privacy fence all the away around your yard.
- Add lattice or a pergola to your deck or patio to enclose a smaller space and make it feel more intimate.
- Use landscaping, such as trees, shrubs, bushes and hanging plants to create a lush oasis that also blocks line-of-sight from neighboring homes.
With the right set-up, you can almost completely forget you have neighbors and enjoy more privacy right in your own backyard.
Shade and Lighting
The sun can often be brutal in the summer, and make it difficult to enjoy time spent outdoors. Adding additional shade to your yard with trees, canopies, or pergolas can help you spend more time comfortably enjoying the outdoors at home.
Likewise, if you have no outdoor lighting, it can be inconvenient to be outside after dark. Adding well-placed outdoor lighting will make your yard feel more cozy and inviting in the evening and allow you to continue enjoying your outdoor space at any time of the day or night.
Game Center
Nothing beats a good outdoor competition in the summertime. A backyard game center can give your family just the place you need to spend more time together having fun. You can include traditional outdoor games like cornhole and horseshoes or jazz it up with new favorites like giant Jenga, lawn chess or yard dominoes. If you want to get really ambitious, consider adding a small mini golf area, disc golf space, or obstacle course. If your family is competitive by nature, this inexpensive addition will create hours of fun for everyone.
Fire Pit
Everyone loves a campfire, and adding a firepit to your backyard can be a simple and fun way to spruce up the space and encourage your family to spend more time together outdoors. If you’re on a tight budget, you can even build a DIY fire pit. Once the pit is installed, you can gather everyone together to toast some marshmallows and spend some quality time together. The best part of a fire pit is that it can be used almost all year around, since it creates great ambiance in the summer and the warmth can make spending more time outdoors appealing in the cooler months, as well.
Pool
The dream for many homeowners is to have a pool in their very own backyard. With more people than ever spending their time sticking close to home now, it may be the perfect time to put in that pool you’ve been pining for. Adding a pool to your home can not only provide hours of fun and recreation for your family, but it also adds value to your home in the long run.
From above-ground to in-ground and traditional to saltwater, there are many options for adding a pool to your home. These days, saltwater pools are really making a splash with homeowners, because they’re much easier to maintain than traditional pools, which means you can spend more time playing in the water and less time maintaining the pool itself. If you really want to go all out for fun in the sun this summer, a saltwater pool is one of the best things you can to turn your home into a backyard getaway that no one wants to leave.
Infographic Provided by NewTechWood America, Inc.
