The Outdoor Room

Curb appeal refers to how your house looks from the outside when someone is coming towards it. Curb appeal can make the difference between selling your house for the price you want or reducing the price to make the sale.

If you really want to add dollars to that sale price or are simply looking to extend your living pleasure then it is time to stop looking at you backyard as merely a yard and to think about it as another room.

Naturally depending upon where you live, you may only use this room fro a few weeks a year but you can design it in such a way as to get maximum use for those few months and to be able to enjoy the view for the rest of the year.

You back yard increases your living space but just like your living room, you want the furniture and accessories to make the most of the available space and to be in good repair and to match.

The first step is a literal one, take a step into your yard and look around. What is there now? How do you and your family use this space? How would you like to use the space?

Are you seeking a breakfast or brunch nook? - a reading room or a more formal space for entertaining?

Do you have children, pets or both? If you do then you must incorporate their needs into your overall design?

Do you garden; vegetables, flowers, herbs or all three? Do you have a large garden or are your plants designed to accent the yard.

Trees, shrubs and hedges can make great room dividers, but so can a small herb garden.

An arbor covered in clematis can be a doorway that leads you from one room into the next.

Pathways can guide your guests from the brunch nook into the lounge where a pond or small stream provides background music to your conversation. A pathway can make your space appear larger than it is as it trails away into the distance.

The fence that divides your property from your neighbours is an outdoor wall and can support a trellis, hanging floral baskets or even a mirror; it all depends upon the effect that you want.

A strategically placed rose bush, or another shrub, can also divide the space and add beauty to your yard.

Perhaps you want a deck or a patio to make a clear distinction between the yard where the children play and the pets roam and the area where you enjoy food and conversation or sit with a good book.

Like all sound design, the outdoor room begins with a thorough understanding of what you want and what you need.

So just as you do when planning a garden take sometime and develop your plan; be sure to put it on paper and not simply try to keep it in your head where so many other items are seeking your attention.

The plan can be changed, as you go, but you may never get started, if you have no idea where to begin, or may go wrong if you have no idea of where you are going.