Stay-at-home orders have many people feeling anxious and unsettled. One way to get through a difficult time is to focus on the positive. By planning for the future, you’ll gain optimism and hope, and keep your mind busy with creative thoughts. Here are some landscape design ideas to get you started on planning for an enjoyable summer in Troy, MI.
Related: Ideas for a Side Yard Patio
Patio Expansion
A crowded patio is no fun. It may even discourage you from going outside if you’re always pushing patio furniture around to make room for games or other activities. You can take a couple of different approaches with a patio expansion: increase the main space as a whole or put an addition on the patio.
For example, adding a circular “room” could be the perfect cozy spot for a fire pit or outdoor fireplace area, especially if it’s surrounded by a seat wall. Or it could become a chic dining space. You don’t even have to choose the same materials if you request an addition like this. It can have its own personality, and still be connected to the main patio space with a seat wall or feature creative inlays or borders. Creating a unique, slightly separate space for a key activity (dining or hanging out by the fire) would go a long way in making your patio feel more spacious.
Creative Side Yard Ideas
Many people put a lot of emphasis on the appearance and functionality of their front and backyards, while side yards are often treated as afterthoughts and primarily used for storage or a passageway. However, this part of your landscape can be turned into more of a hidden gem that will delight everyone with their versatility.
If you have two side yards, consider making one into a tranquil retreat and the other into an area that sees more activity.
For the quiet yard, you could opt for a beautiful zen space with a tall privacy wall, a small paver patio, comfortable seating or a hammock, a pergola for shade, and a water fountain to add ambience. Fair warning: you might never want to leave this cozy retreat, but if it’s within range of your Wi-Fi, you might.
The active yard would be a great place for a play area for the kids or a family game area.
Shelter in Place
Weather is one of the main reasons people may not use their backyards as much as they would like to. Beat the blazing hot sun and rain with a pavilion—an open-sided permanent structure with a solid roof that protects you from the elements while letting you enjoy cool summer breezes. This is another wonderful option for an outdoor “office” if you can work on a laptop. If you add an outdoor fireplace, a beverage cooler, and comfortable furniture, you’ll want to spend as much time as possible in this beautiful outdoor living room.
A pergola is a more open structure (it doesn’t have a solid roof) that offers shade and lets the heat escape if you have it installed over an outdoor kitchen or grill area.
A gazebo is a small circular or octagonal structure that can be the perfect shelter solution for a side yard, or it can stand alone as a backyard focal point.
These are just a few landscape design ideas that will pay off in terms of hours of enjoyment in the coming years. Not only will they increase the value of your home, but they will give you more usable space that’s both attractive and functional. The time to plan is now, so you can enjoy your outdoor space this summer.
