Get Your Garden Summer-Ready With These Outdoor Living Ideas
Summer is the perfect time to get outdoors and spend quality time with loved ones, which will be much easier when your garden has been renovated. To ensure you can spend time outdoors and enjoy all occasions this summer, your garden likely needs an upgrade.
Outdoor living is one of the best methods for garden design and allows you to take advantage of this additional room in your home. Your garden can become a comfortable and inviting landscape that is ready for any occasion.
Using our expertise as leading garden designers, SilvaTree is sharing some of the best outdoor living ideas to give your landscape a much-needed renovation this summer.
Designing Your Outdoor Living Space: The Value Of Zoning
To create a cohesive outdoor living space, the layout of your garden needs to be considered and carefully arranged. The size of your landscape does not necessarily have to hinder your garden design, as long as the layout has been planned out well.
As outdoor living encompasses a range of features, it is a good idea to zone your garden. Zoning requires different surfaces and defined borders to keep each area of the garden separate. By creating unique zones, your garden can become multi-functional and support a range of outdoor living ideas, from dining to entertaining or children’s play.
Zoning is often done using a combination of hard and soft landscaping, such as decking, turfing, paving and patios to create defined areas in the garden. This can be tailored to suit your specific landscape, with bespoke installations and designs available from SilvaTree.
Outdoor Living Ideas To Try This Summer
There are various ways you can incorporate outdoor living into your garden design to create an environment that is suitable for all occasions and that the whole family can enjoy. Some of the best outdoor living ideas include:
Al Fresco Dining: Seating And Eating Arrangements
One of the biggest pleasures of summer is eating outdoors. Whether you opt for a traditional family barbecue or a gourmet, home-cooked meal, eating outdoors evokes feelings of holidays under the sun and can be a welcome escape from the daily stressors.
To create an al fresco dining paradise, you need to invest in quality seating and dining tables. With options such as small bistro sets, ideal for intimate meals or solo seating, bespoke dining tables, or foldable picnic sets, there is something for everyone.
Create a dedicated area for al fresco dining by setting your table on the patio or deck. This solid foundation can be used in all weather conditions, especially when covered by pergolas, and can be kept separate from the busier areas of the garden, such as the lawn play area or pollinator-friendly flower beds.
Adorn your dining tables with solar-powered lanterns or hang twinkle lights across the fence to create a warm, intimate setting that can be enjoyed well into the evening.
Cosy Seating Areas: Relax And Unwind In Style
Dedicate your decking to comfortable outdoor seating so you can enjoy more time in the sun. Adorn with rattan sofas, outdoor armchairs or sun loungers, complete with bright cushions and outdoor rugs to create an outdoor living room.
These outdoor living ideas are popular in all kinds of gardens, as any corner can be used as your seating area. Whether you need a large, multi-person sofa or a single lounger, place your comfortable chairs in the sunniest corner of the garden so you can make any day feel like a summer vacation. Enhance the comfort with soft furnishings, such as outdoor rugs in bold patterns and colourful cushions with weather-proof coverings.
To enjoy these seating areas safely, invest in an automated pergola to provide shade. Alternatively, garden curtains, sails or parasols can be used to cover the main seating area so you can enjoy the sun safely. With movable options like this, you have more flexibility to arrange your garden based on the occasion and the weather.
Family Friendly Entertainment: Fun For Big And Little Kids
Creating a safe environment for children to play freely is one of the best outdoor living ideas because it makes your garden appealing to the whole family. Ensure your lawn is fresh, green and free from debris so children can run around, roll in the dirt and play freely on summer days.
Make the garden more entertaining for big and little kids by investing in garden games, such as oversized board games, or active sports like swingball. Make sure you have plenty of space around the lawn by installing edging and borders, and keep garden seating in a separate zone.
While the children take over the lawn and explore freely, garden bars and rooms can be used to keep the adults entertained. Adorned with colourful LED lights and neon signs, you can keep the party going well into the evening. Place on raised decking to provide clear views of the children’s play area, while also keeping separate for comfort and safety.
Styling Your Outdoor Living Space
Once you have the foundation for your outdoor living ideas, it is time to get creative and decorate the garden. Garden design is a way for you to create a unique, personalised environment that reflects your family well.
From the materials you choose to the planting and decorative items installed, your outdoor living space should be like no other. Whether you choose to create an outdoor dining space, comfortable seated areas or family-friendly entertainment, consider the following design tips to decorate and personalise:
Garden Lighting
Not only a practical addition that will make your garden usable both day and night, garden lighting is an essential part of outdoor living as it sets the mood. Consider warm coloured bulbs for decorative lighting, as these create an inviting atmosphere.
For entertainment spaces, neon lights, colourful LEDs and twinkle lights can be used for glow and appeal. Alternatively, create a comfortable, intimate atmosphere with tea lights or solar-powered lanterns.
As well as considering what type of garden lighting you desire, pay attention to placement. Spotlights and spike lights should be used along pathways, on stairs and on decking to keep the space accessible and safe at night. Colourful or warm mood lighting can be used along fences, seating areas and in plant beds to keep the visual appeal.
Garden lighting aims to combine both practical and decorative items for a garden that is as functional as it is beautiful this summer.
Planting Design
A great way to ensure flexibility and appeal is to plant in pots. Pots can be easily moved and relocated to align with the theme or occasion of your garden at any given time. Potted plants may also be easier to care for, which makes them ideal for low-maintenance gardens.
From colourful flower pots on the deck or upcycled wooden planters along the lawn, there are various ways you can incorporate seasonal blooms to suit your garden design. For small gardens, consider vertical planting using climbing flowers or tall grasses, which can draw the eyes upwards. These not only save valuable ground space but can also create the illusion of a larger garden, and are a great way to adorn your fences or garden structures.
Soft Furnishings
Outdoor living is centred on creating a garden that is just as comfortable as any other room in the home, which is why soft furnishings are such a great accessory. A staple in outdoor seating areas, soft furnishings such as rugs, cushions, throw blankets, and tablecloths can be used in multiple outdoor living zones to make the spaces more habitable.
It is important that you have a suitable storage space for your outdoor furnishings so they can be reused every year. Avoid leaving cushions and throws outdoors during the wet weather, even when waterproof, as this can lead to mold and mildew over time.
Conclusion
This summer, transform your garden into a comfortable, engaging and entertaining environment with these outdoor living ideas. Use a combination of surfaces, outdoor furniture and planting to create a space that is both comfortable and attractive.
With outdoor living ideas suitable for people of all ages, you can get your garden ready for every occasion and ensure you enjoy a summer spent outdoors.
Contact Us Today
Are you ready to transform your garden? Contact the team today to request a consultation to get started.
