Building an indoor-outdoor space can be easier said than done. If you already have an existing one, how does it separate from the rest of your yard, let alone the rest of your home. Your outdoor living room is a space for entertainment, relaxation, or focus, depending on your preferences.
If your outdoor living space is mainly for entertaining guests, how does it differ from the indoor living room and dining room, which you already have? Others can say that the indoors is for more intimate gatherings, while the outdoors is for appropriate parties. Others say indoors is in case of bad weather. Whatever it is, it’s nice to know that your outdoors is much different from the indoors so that it wouldn’t be a waste of space.
Building an outdoor bar or outdoor kitchen
A minibar is an excellent place to start, to try it out for the first time. A small bar for your backyard can be optional and detachable in case you and your friends decide to do something different. While your indoor kitchen is only for cooking and dining, your outdoors can be for more than one purpose.
A mini outdoor bar can turn into a proper outdoor kitchen over time if you would want to. An outdoor bar doesn’t have to be solely for drinking and night parties. It can also be useful for barbeque cookouts or pizza making for the family.
Planning the utilities
You can only do this once you have the final decision to build an outdoor bar or outdoor kitchen. At this stage, you must already know your primary purpose. Therefore, you should also know what to prioritize — plumbing structures, electrical wiring, and gas lines. Don’t forget the appliances such as the refrigerator. What kind of cooking will you have out here?
You want to know what type of cooking materials and appliances you should look into. Do you need a smoker, pizza oven, a grill? Pick something that you don’t have yet in your indoor kitchen. You certainly don’t want a television out there since you would be talking with your guests the entire time. Then again, it depends on your purposes and preferences.
Sectional outdoor
This can be an excellent place to start as well. For an outdoor sectional, you can choose to accord with your taste and style. When you’ve already planned for an outdoor bar or kitchen, you can either choose a dining area or a sectional. If you want to, you can do both if they fit your style.
If an outdoor kitchen or bar isn’t your choice, building a simple outdoor living area is just as perfect. You start by choosing your flooring and set it up to where you’re comfortable with it. Start small so you can extend it if you want to. As for a start, a small space is just fine, especially if you only plan to invite a few people over.
Having this kind of area outdoors frames your living space, but not limited as you can use the rest of the ground.
Adding roofing and fencing
This part of the renovation is entirely optional. However, it brings more comfortable and inviting vibes. It makes you experience the indoors, but with extra benefits of nature.
If you don’t want full-on roofing, you can invest in a curtain panel just for little protection and privacy. You can also add aesthetic fences that go with the entire room to serve as a proper divider. A Trex deck gate provides a great divider that matches the fences. This is perfect if you have a growing vegetable garden to protect it from your kids or your pets if you have them.
Adding fencing is unnecessary, but it still depends on your yard and your preference. It completes the look of your entire outdoor living.
Outdoor lighting
While natural light provides light like no other, proper lighting provides does the same at night. It creates ambiance and security. However, you can’t just stay between those, as you can add more for aesthetics and design. You can be much more creative with outdoor lighting since you have more space and purpose. You can explore different options that don’t easily exist when shopping for indoor lighting. So, better to take this opportunity to be more creative. Just remember not to overdo it.
The purpose of having an outdoor living area is to have a more comfortable space in your home. To make the most of it, you want to create something that doesn’t already exist in your indoor home.
