Patio Possibilities
Turning your backyard into an outdoor living room is a growing trend. It offers an extension of your indoor living space and additional areas for entertaining and relaxation. There are countless ways you can liven up your yard to create a perfect outdoor living area for you and your family to enjoy. Thinking of the backyard as an outdoor room allows you to design and decorate a whole new area of your home.
A small backyard can be an inviting, intimate retreat.
Before you can effectively plan your patio, you should think about all of the possibilities to achieve the outdoor environment of your dreams. These spaces can range from understated to imaginative, and with careful planning, the simple backyard patio can become a deserved retreat with beautiful plantings, bird and butterfly sanctuaries, water features and nooks with fireplaces or fire pits, kitchen and dining areas with seating for guests, or a luxurious spa complete with a hot tub and pergola.
Today’s patios can be more than just backyard grilling stations. They can become a part of our lifestyle– extending our family rooms into the outdoors to take advantage of nature, sun and fresh air. They are transitional spaces that blend the best of indoor and outdoor life. More than ever, patios are where we entertain guests, spend time with families, or just get away from it all.
Planning Your Patio
The size and style of your patio depends on how you plan to use it. It should be a comfortable, well-planned solution to your family’s needs. If you entertain often, you’ll want an area large enough for guests to comfortably converse, mingle and dine. If the patio is used for occasional family barbecues or for relaxing and reading, it can be fairly small. A well-designed patio features different areas that fulfill a variety of expectations. There can be cooking centers, meditative retreats, and outdoor entertaining areas. Often patios are combined with additional elements such as complimenting plantings, water features and low-voltage lighting. Adding one or more of these elements will add another dimension of pleasure to your yard. Listing your primary goals is the first step toward effective planning.
A large backyard can be multi-functional.
Once you have created your ‘wish list,’ you can work to create a truly unique and enjoyable outdoor living space. Not only can you take advantage of usable square footage to add to your home environment, but you can also enjoy nature at her very best throughout the season.
Nature’s Perspective Landscaping, Inc. is celebrating its 30th year of design and installing beautiful and sustainable landscapes in Chicago and Chicago’s North Shore. For more information, please call us at 847-475-7917 or visit us at naturesperspective.com.
