Maximizing Outdoor Spaces

One of the most attractive features of a new property can be the outdoor space included. Here in Calgary, many properties include nice outdoor living spaces compared to other cities where homes are lucky to have a strip of grass in front of the door. With this space, Calgarians get creative. If you search the city, you can find people who have created elaborate garden oasis’ in their backyard, or crafted mini hockey rinks during the winter. While these features are fun, they aren’t always the best example of maximizing the space.

Outdoor living spaces are something to be treasured and taken care of. In fact, here in Calgary we have bylaws about maintaing this part of the property. Part of taking care of your outdoor living space is properly designing the area to be manageable, comfortable, and as space-effcient as possible. Remember how we said outdoor spaces are often one of the most attractive features of a property? They can add a lot of value to your home and, especially if you are planning to sell soon, staging them is crucial to maintaining a pleasant aesthetic and proper representation of what the space has to offer.

All that being said, here are some tips and tricks on how to maximize your outdoor living space!

1). Plan out everything you want to include: if you want a garden and a fire pit, you need to make sure you size each properly to leave enough space for the other. If your backyard does not already include a deck, do you want one built? If so, that will dramatically shift design plans.

2). Design the space: You don’t need to be a world renowned designer to do this. Simply make a rough sketch of what the space looks like and plan out multiple different layouts that include your list of features. The biggest thing to remember is not to try cramming things in. Less is more. You can also get creative: for example, if building a deck means no fire pit, understand that you can always purchase an on deck firebowl.

3). Make space for little additions: Remember all the extra things that will be added to the space like lawn chairs, children’s toys, the BBQ, etc.. All of these little additions will fill up the space quickly, so make sure to account for them early on.

4). Do your research: See what other people have done with spaces similar to yours! Drive around your neighbourhood and see what has been done and what could also work for you. Remember that google is your best friend: a simple search on any search engine (we highly recommend Pinterest for this sort of thing) can provide you with hundreds of creative, innovative ideas.

Happy planning!

(Image Created With Canva)

Posted by Ken Richter on

Tags

Email Send a link to post via Email

Leave A Comment

e.g. yourwebsitename.com
Please note that your email address is kept private upon posting.