Extending the amount of space you have at home doesn’t always mean disruptive building work. Instead, if you create an outdoor living area with plenty of room in which to relax, you’ll be making the most of your property, and be able to enjoy a wonderful spot for entertaining friends and family, while also enhancing your home’s value. (People are no longer taking outdoor space for granted, and so it’s become a real selling point. Since we’ve all started working at home more, we’ve grown keener to have somewhere pleasing where we can step outside and breathe in the fresh air.)
What’s more, the benefits of simply being outside are well known, from improved mental health and mood generally to greater take-up of Vitamin D and a boosted immune system.
Happily, there are a number of straightforward ways of improving your outdoor living space and upgrading your garden and patio immediately:
1. Add some decking
Increasingly, we’re blurring the barriers between the indoor and outdoor parts of our homes. Decking helps do that, and has multiple uses and benefits. It’s flexible, while professional decking installers can usually do the job pretty quickly, plus they’ll know what looks best in your garden. Additionally, decking looks great and creates a special spot for open-air living.
2. Build a garden office
If you work from home in a bespoke, fully insulated garden office, you can enjoy all the advantages of hiring an workspace without the cost of rent, or the expense and hassle of commuting. You may also be pleasantly surprised at the stress-busting benefits and the impact on your mental health. These structures can be put up pretty quickly, and you’ll have a personalised area in which you can really focus – not to mention, again, enhanced property value, along with a better work/life balance.
3. Invest in some teak garden furniture
There are many sound reasons to invest in decent-quality garden furniture. We all feel healthier and happier for being outside, and your garden is the perfect place in which to spend the summer. After all, who wants to be cooped up indoors when the sun is shining?
The warmer months are, of course, the season for informal entertaining and socialising, whether that’s with immediate family or friends. Having somewhere to sit, eat, drink and relax helps you create your own little oasis away from the pace of modern life. And you wouldn’t leave an interior room unfurnished, so why do the same with your garden?
The material in which you have your garden furniture really matters. If you go for teak, for example, you’ll have a wood that’s highly durable. Indeed, it can withstand the most extreme weather conditions for years on end. This timber also naturally resists rotting, decay and insect damage, as well as being seriously low-maintenance.
What’s more, it looks beautiful, since its natural oils lend teak furniture a gorgeous golden-brown colour that naturally changes over time to a silvery-grey patina that appears every bit as elegant. Finally, teak is also the naturally sustainable choice.
So if you’re after high-end, garden furniture teak table and chair sets are hard to beat for longevity, quality and sheer style. And whether you want a simple table for two or one seating 14, extending models, parasols or matching chairs, there’s a huge amount of choice.
Consider installing some of these improvements now, so you’re all ready to enjoy al fresco living once spring and summer roll around once more.