The idea of what’s considered comfortable may vary from one person to another.
Some homeowners with outdoor spaces have yards or lawns without the trappings of comfort like furniture or customized solutions for outdoor cooling, but consider them cozy just the same, and that’s okay.
However, if grass, plants, and trees aren’t enough to fit your idea of what’s comfortable, here are a few ideas for a cozier outdoor space.
1. Build A Patio
Few things are as great as having a patio taking up part of your outdoor space.
With a patio, you’ll have a spot in your home dedicated to making you feel as comfortable as you want to be. You’ll have access to fresher outdoor air, you can soak up the sun, or you can just spend the better part of your day there taking in the view or finishing a book.
Patios are also excellent places to entertain guests. Barbecues, parties, or simple dinners with friends on your patio make for memorable days or nights for everyone in attendance.
A patio also helps boost your home’s value, which means you will likely get a good price for your home should you decide to put it on the market in the future.
2. Buy Patio Furniture
Of course, a patio wouldn’t be that comfortable if it doesn’t have the right furniture.
There are many types of outdoor furniture to choose from, including metal, aluminum, wood, wicker, or plastic. Whatever type you go for, you would do well to have them come with seat cushions to make you and your guests even more comfortable.
3. Consider Installing An Outdoor Misting System
Without a doubt, you’ll be spending as much time as you can on your patio throughout the summer.
However, keep in mind that summers are getting hotter. There’s a very real possibility that your patio time won’t be as comfortable as you hoped, not when temperatures are rising.
You can install outdoor fans if you want, but if you want a better way to stay cool outdoors in the summer, you should consider putting up an outdoor misting system.
Outdoor misting systems use the principles of evaporative cooling to lower the temperatures in your patio. A pump will force water out of nozzles at high pressure, generating a mist of water droplets that transform into vapor, which will then cool your outdoor space.
4. Create Plenty of Shade
You may love the sun, but you can’t have too much of it. Your outdoor space needs plenty of shade to make you comfortable even in the middle of the day.
Trees provide good shade, but you can augment them by putting up patio umbrellas, drop shades, or drapes. You can be sure that all of the above will keep you covered no matter how hot the sun gets.
5. Light It Up
If you love spending evenings on the patio, you need to make sure the place has ample lighting.
There are plenty of lighting options for your patio. If trees surround it, then try hanging string lights from them. If you use your patio as an alternate dining area, have outdoor pendant lights suspended from an overhang. Installing garden path lights or globe lights in or near hedges are also good patio lighting ideas.
6. Install A Hammock
It sounds simple enough but taking naps on a hammock that hangs between two trees is probably the most comfortable thing anyone can do while in their outdoor space.
Install a hammock in your backyard, and you’ll have a quiet retreat that you won’t have anywhere else in your house.
7. Get Some Privacy
Good for you if you’re comfortable with the idea that neighbors and passersby can see you while you do whatever it is you do in your outdoor space.
If you aren’t, then put up something that will give you the privacy you need.
A fence is a common privacy solution, but you can also opt for tall hedges.
If your fence isn’t enough, you can always set up privacy screens around your yard.
The tips listed above are not, by any means, the only things you can do for a more comfortable outdoor space, but you can start with them. Over time, you should be able to think up more ideas that will make your outdoor space the coziest place for you and your loved ones.
About the Author
Anna Fox is the Content Marketing Strategist of Señor Mist, a Phoenix, Arizona-based company that provides high pressure misting systems/fog effects, comfort heaters, patio drop shades, hvls fans and more. When not writing, she makes use of her spare time reading books and hiking with her dog, Blaze.
