Outdoor Living: Making Your Garden Actually Usable

Most gardens do not get used for over half the year and this is officially a waste of good space. The problem is not the weather – it’s that we do not set up the space outside to be comfortable and cosy. With a few simple tips and ideas, you can set up your outdoor space to enjoy all year round, not just look at.

Getting Started With Garden Furniture

Before heading to the stores and purchasing the first outdoor set you come across, consider how you are going to use the space. Will you be eating your meals outside often? If so, get a full-sized table with comfortable chairs – not the fold-up metal ones that kill your back after half an hour.

In the UK, we have to deal with weather conditions more than you’d think. Sure, cushions should be taken inside at the first sign of rain. The furniture though, should be able to handle the damp, UK summer weather and not get rusty straight away. Long-lasting materials include treated wood, good quality rattan and metal that is powder coated. If you settle for low quality, it’ll go to the tip in under a year.

Making Use of Awnings

Patio awnings encourage you to reimagine the intent of your outdoor space. With the right awnings, you can sit outside even during downpours and high heat. Awnings can be retracted, giving you the flexibility of opting for shade, and retracting for full sun. Awnings are great for bi-fold doors as securing one above the door helps to add room outward for a living space without the costs of a conservatory.

Some think awnings appear too commercial. However, modern awnings can be minimalistic and subtle. Finding a modern one in a compatible colour palette for your home. Straying from cliche designs such as large patio umbrellas designed to look like a garden centre.

Garden and Mowe Outdoor Seating

If You’ve got a large garden, don’t just spread everything around in a disorganised manner. Divide it into zones. Focusing on a large dining area near the house, a lounge area a bit further back, and a fire pit in a tucked away corner. This methodology will make your garden and outdoor space feel and appear bigger, giving you multiple places to utilise based on current weather and sunlight.

These areas don’t necessarily need borders. You can create differences through the types of paving used, varying the arrangements of pathways with gravels, or even with the arrangements of the plants. You can create an outdoor room with a mini pergola covered with a climbing plant, as it won’t need a building permit.

Lighting makes all the difference

This is the segment that is usually overlooked the most. While your garden pieces might be dazzling, if they can only be seen during the day, then you won’t be able to enjoy the best of a summer evening. You may want to stay away from solar lights, as they shed a disappointing glow and won’t even be visible.

The lights used to be seen are not poorly priced either. String lights can add a good deal of atmosphere while wall lights can be mounted nearby seating to help them read or see what they are eating. If you’ll be putting in outdoor lights, add a few more; you will always find more to plug them into.

Making It Comfortable Year-Round

For most people, their gardens are only useful for a few months of the year, but people who are more creatively inclined take full advantage of their outdoor spaces. With the help of a chiminea or a firepit, you can sit outside and enjoy the nice weather even when it is a bit cold outside. If you wrap yourself in a warm blanket, take a glass of wine, and listen to a warm fire crackling, it is a treasure of a moment.

Portable outdoor heaters and infra-red wall heaters can also help warm the space, but often to at a cost environmentally. This is an issue of ethics, but if you choose to go this route, try to choose a quality unit which will warm a decent area, not those ineffective patio heaters which warm only a small defect.

Maintenance Reality Check

Whatever you choose, factor in upkeep. Wood furniture requires an occasional care routine of being treated every year or two. Cushions are best to not keep outside when moisture is present. Awnings should be brought in before winter if you want them in working order when the weather calms. Winter always has a few surprises, but more complex maintenance is often easier to overlook. All of this should feel integrated.

Instead of what you might think, outdoor furniture needs less maintenance. Most of the time you just have to soap and scrub to keep it clean. Teak furniture costs a lot but it will age to a nice silver-grey if you want it to. If you want to keep it a golden color, you have to oil it regularly instead. \n\n## Simple to Complex

There’s no reason to do everything at once. Make sure you have comfortable seating and lighting first. If you can’t use the space because of the sun or a light rain, add an awning. Over time, based on how you use the garden, you can keep adding to the space. \n\nThe best outdoor spaces develop over time as you work out what you actually need versus what you see. \n\n\n