Outdoor Spaces and Extending Your Living Area- So Many Options

If you’re the sort of homeowner who really wants to make a beautiful home a lot more beautiful, the temptation is to tinker with the outdoor spaces around the home. The trick is to make up your mind, and that can be difficult. You can choose between an outdoor patio, a veranda, a pergola, or even a gazebo.

The advantages of using your outdoor space creatively

The great advantage of these outdoor features is that they create living space, and they can do it on a large scale, if you’ve got the area to work with:

·        A veranda can double as an outdoor living area quite easily, with enclosed spaces, storage, and other features.

·        A patio can create an excellent outdoor entertainment area, and creating a useful architectural “join” between the indoor and outdoor spaces like gardens.

·        A pergola is functional, as well as beautiful, and can add an extra dimension to any living space.

·        Gazebos can be standalone or big, majestic looking things attached to a home. Some of the modern gazebos are true works of art.

Dollar values and outdoor spaces

If you’re starting to get the impression that you’re also able to do some significant value adding to your home with these outdoor features, you’re absolutely right. These are very high value architectural features, and they add dollar value, as well as appearances, to any home.

This really is a case of “having the cake and eating it too”. You get all the benefits of these outdoor areas as well as the added value, which can be quite significant. They’re the win-win options for home improvement, in so many ways.

Verandas, patios, pergolas and gazebos have another thing going for them which is less obvious- They don’t involve renovations, or other potentially expensive outlays. The top of the range verandas can be cheaper than some quite modest renovations which are usually pretty costly and don’t add much but a reshuffle of the home with no major increase in actual living spaces.

Making a good home a great home

If you’ve got a family and you’re looking at needing some outdoor space anyway,

verandas  and patios should be the first choice for creating that space quickly, simply and efficiently. These areas make great safe play areas for the really young kids, and they’re somewhere for the older ones to park themselves and have parties. (An option which often strongly appeals to parents, for some reason.)

The whole point of verandas and patios is their flexibility and adaptability for everything from a good de-cluttering entertainment area to an actual added living area. You can quite literally build a whole outdoor environment, including Jacuzzis, barbecues, outdoor entertainment theatres, and elegant al fresco dining areas around them.

For new homes in particular, the verandas, gazebos and patios are a step up from that “unfinished” look most new houses have. They can help the home to develop and mature. This is customization for home owners, adding on the extras they want. For older homes, they’re the makeover these great old buildings need to be reborn as modern homes.

Take your time, check out your options, and you’ll have a ball with your new home features.