Outdoor Living Ideas To Try This Summer
During summer, your garden has the potential to become another room in the home. With the right design and layout, your garden can become the hub of every barbecue, family event or quiet afternoon. Outdoor living is a wonderful tool to maximise the potential of your garden and create an environment fit for all occasions.
From large structural investments to smaller design details, outdoor living takes many forms and can be customised to your specific landscape and lifestyle.
As a premier landscaping company, Taming Mother Nature understands how valuable a well-maintained and attractive outdoor living space can be for homeowners. In this post, we are sharing some of the best outdoor living ideas for you to try ahead of the warmest season to encourage your family to spend more time in nature and take advantage of the longer days.
Summer Outdoor Living Ideas To Get You Outside This Season
If you do not feel the urge to spend time in your garden when the sun is shining, then it is likely that your space has unmet potential. Your garden should be an inviting and comfortable environment that welcomes you whenever you desire.
The space can be prepped for entertaining, relaxation, or dining with outdoor living features, ensuring it is ready for every occasion. However, by sticking with the same design and layout, you will not be able to experience the joys of a summer spent outdoors.
To make better use of your garden and create a space you can’t wait to be in, consider these outdoor living ideas:
Comfortable Outdoor Furniture
Garden furniture is a staple of all outdoor living ideas and one of the easiest ways to transform your landscape into an additional room in the house. With furniture options of all sizes, styles and budgets, there is simply no excuse to continue using the worn plastic garden chairs for another year running.
Transform your garden into an outdoor living haven that is comfortable and accessible with weather-resistant sofas, armchairs and loungers. Adorn seating areas with soft cushions in bold colours and a vibrant garden rug to give the space a homely vibe.
Whether you have a dedicated patio area or a simple turfed lawn, strategically placed outdoor furniture can create a comfortable environment that is just as cosy as your living room.
For those with smaller gardens or narrow landscapes, consider easily stored garden furniture to make the most out of your space this summer. Foldable chairs, adorned with cushions and throw blankets, and stackable seating allow you to create an outdoor living area on demand, without compromising valuable ground space.
Al Fresco Dining Inspiration
One of the biggest pleasures of summer is eating meals outdoors. Evoke the feeling of a well-earned summer holiday by having your meals outdoors on a sunny day, whether it is a kid-friendly barbecue or a gourmet three-course meal.
To get your garden dinner-ready, ensure you have accessible dining furniture. Whether you opt to invest in a complete garden kitchen and patio area or simply dedicate a corner of the landscape for your new bistro set, creating a space to enjoy meals outdoors makes this a possibility every day.
Get the kids involved and set up a corner of the lawn for a picnic blanket, or invest in a timeless outdoor dining table made from beautiful carved wood. For a romantic evening meal, add lanterns and candle lights to the table and bring out the best cutlery or sit under the pergola to admire the blooming plants and flowers around you.
Ambient Lighting For Any Occasion
Set the mood for every occasion with carefully chosen garden lighting. While lighting is a practical addition to your garden design, as it allows you to keep the garden accessible and safe at night, it can also be a wonderful tool for ambience.
Warm lanterns, twinkle lights, and bespoke lighting structures can be used around dining or seating areas to make the space comfortable. Prolong those dinner parties and family events well into the evening with solar-powered lanterns and spotlights, which illuminate the pathway, patio, and sheltered seating areas.
Solar-powered lanterns or spotlights can be installed alongside the path to keep it accessible and safe in the evenings. Lighting should also be installed up the steps and along the decking to avoid injury. Opt for warm colour lighting, such as fairy lights, which can be draped along shrubs, fences or pergolas, to create an inviting, cosy atmosphere every evening.
Highlight your favourite features of garden design by including up-lights, spotlights and cool LED bulbs in planting beds, against trees, and garden structures. Not only will this keep your favourite corners visible at the end of the day, but it can also create unique displays of shadows and elongated forms.
Cooling And Shade Ideas
As well as keeping the garden comfortable at night, you need to think about the daylight hours. While sunny days are a great occasion to get outside, too much sunlight can be bad for you.
This is why incorporating shade, through parasols, garden sails, and covered pergolas, is one of the best outdoor living ideas. This prolongs the use of your garden on even the hottest days and makes it a suitable environment for people of all ages. Place these coverings and shades around seating areas and in the prime sun spots throughout your garden.
Another great way to cool down your garden so you can enjoy it in the summer is to rely on light colours. Light coloured paving stones and patio slabs, such as natural stone or porcelain, reflect heat and will remain cooler than dark tones, even when in direct sunlight. The same rules apply to garden furniture, tables, and benches.
Finally, water features are an elegant addition to your garden design that can also make it cooler. Fountains and running water features not only give you a place to dip your feet or let the kids play to cool off, but can also cool down the atmosphere naturally.
Family-Friendly Activities
Whether it is your own children, grandchildren or family friends, spending time outdoors is wonderful for developing brains. Not only does it encourage physical activity and better health, but nature can be a fun place for children to explore.
With the constant temptations of screens and indoor play, make your garden a fun place to be with these outdoor living ideas. The foundation for family fun in the garden is turf. With options for both artificial and real grass, ensuring you have a lush, green area for your activities is vital.
A combination of soft, safe surfaces is a great way to encourage children to explore and allow them to play freely without concern. Make sure your garden is well-maintained and all hardscape surfaces are seamless to avoid injury.
For additional fun in the sun, consider lawn games. Incorporating oversized board games, such as chess, snakes and ladders or connect four, can add entertainment to any afternoon spent in the sun, and is a great way to engage both big and little kids alike.
To accommodate the influx of visitors, your garden is certain to have once you incorporate these outdoor living ideas, and use flexible furniture. Foldable seating, large sofas, and outdoor rugs can create comfortable environments for children and adults who may pop in unannounced as the season goes on.
Design Your Outdoor Living Space With Taming Mother Nature
We are a premier landscaping and garden design company that specialises in outdoor maintenance. Our team of landscape gardeners are passionate about creating attractive, fun, and healthy landscapes for our clients, and this has been the vision for our company for decades.
Taming Mother Nature is a leading name for landscaping and design in Surrey, and we are ready to take on your next project. If you are looking to incorporate these outdoor living ideas or are seeking new inspiration, our experts can help.
All gardens are designed using high-quality materials and industry-approved practices to ensure longevity, so your investment is safe with us.
Conclusion
Many outdoor living ideas can be used to maximise the potential of your garden and create a space you love to be in. From ambient lighting to family games, water features to fresh turf, it is possible to create a garden that is just as comfortable as any other room in the home.
As we approach summer, now is the perfect time to make changes to your landscape and create an outdoor living space suitable for the whole family.
Contact Us Today
Are you ready to transform your garden? Contact the team today to learn more about our services or to request a quote.
