Extending Our Living Space Outdoors
Even the most well-designed tiny houses can be seem cramped, stuffy, and uncomfortable at times. That’s when we can take advantage of “The Great Outdoors” to create for ourselves a vital living space. This little sanctuary doesn’t need to be elaborate to be comfortable and usable.
A nicely-designed outdoor living space will increase the value of your home if you follow a couple simple suggestions. Plan your improvements to complement the existing exterior of the home and the indoor decor, and design them to maximize existing elements like mature trees.
Things to Consider when Extending Your Living Space Outdoors
- How will your outdoor space be used?
We had our deck built by professionals to match tiny existing deck. The Trex deck and cedar fence took most of the budget.
- Will you need children’s toys? Swing set, sandbox?
- You might need a parking spot for motorcycles and other adult toys.
- Do you want a garden for vegetables or flowers?
- Do you want an outdoor cooking area?
- How much space will you allot to a patio or deck?
- What is your budget?
- Do you need privacy?
- What time of day will the space be used?
- Will you need shade or lighting?
- Do you have pets that need to be contained and have potty areas?
Common Essentials of Outdoor Living Spaces
My yard was a blank slate when we started. We needed a privacy fence and a large deck for the hot tub. We also needed shade and a storage shed. The fence and shed used the same wood and stain as the exterior of the house.
If you have mature trees for shade or you’re renting a space in an RV park, your outdoor space requirements would be quite different then ours.
Basics We All Need
Seating
If you want a comfy folding chair, check out the Homall Zero Gravity Chair Patio Folding Lawn Lounge Chairs shown in the widget section of this page. Very comfortable, durable, and they recline. Perfect for stargazing.
Flooring
A deck or patio is always a great addition, but if you move frequently or don’t own the property you could just roll out an outdoor rug like the ones shown below. You might like to put down portable patio.
The Udecx 100 sq. ft. patio decking kit (shown here) features a completely do-it-yourself set of components. The patio deck can be installed without a contractor in minimal time with just a few common tools. The system allows for an array of setup configurations so you can be creative beyond your original design or setup.
Extending Your Living Space Outdoors by Adding Shade, as Well as Rain and Bug Protection
Awnings and Sun Sails are great ways to produce cooler temperatures and keep your seating dry. Sun Sails hold up to a tremendous amount of wind.
A pop-up shade canopy is also good. These can be picked up at Walmart or any sporting goods store. Supposedly they’re for shade, but they do a pretty good job diverting rain too. They can be put up and taken down easily, but can also be blown away in a major wind gust.
Now, a screen room, Laddie…that’s the ticket. This Leedor screen room practically pops up by itself. Actually it does pop-up by itself. The fiberglass frame is flexible and durable. It stands up to the wind.
Check out more information on awnings and screen room on this page.
Create a Restful Image for Your Eyes
A pleasant scene can help you rest by just looking at it. Most of us can’t afford the elaborate landscaping we see on Pinterest, but there are many less expensive options that will work great for us.
Fountains
A fountain adds a pleasant visual plus the nice babbling sound. From the simple table top $29.00* bubbler to the fountain shown here, which also has LED lighting to add an additional dimension at night. I like these one piece fountains because they install quickly and don’t require additional landscaping.
This Sunnydaze Decor Cascading Mountain Falls Outdoor Water Fountain with LED Lights stands 53″ tall.
Add a bit of whimsy and a pop of color with “tasteful” yard ornaments. You can add the pink flamingos if that’s your style.
Flower And Vegetable Gardens
Here’s what the planter is supposed to look like as it appears on Pinterest.
Brightly colored flowers are pleasing to the eye. Tending a garden can also be restful to some. Personally, I don’t like picking weeds, but there are ways around those things.
Raised flower beds allow us to garden in places we normally couldn’t. They also allow us to work in areas where the soil is not conducive to plant life (like my yard).
I made a flower box out of old pallets just to see what it was like to work with old dirty wood. See how mine turned out here.
Find out more about raised garden beds and aquaponics through these links.
Wood fired hot tub works great.
Hot Tubs and Fireplaces
We love our two-person hot tub. It holds just 200 gallons of water and plugs into a regular AC outlet. It’s pretty much a necessity for old achy bones. It wasn’t very expensive.
My talented friend Mark made a wood-fired hot tub, complete with purification system and a circulating pump. It takes about two hours to heat up. They can get about six people and grand kids in at one time.
Here’s more about Mark’s man cave with fully functional kitchen.
There are some very economical and portable hot tubs available. See the product ad on this page for details.
Fireplaces cost a bit more, but add such a cozy warmth you’ll want to be outside even on a cool evening in late fall.
Propane fire pits, shown in the widget section of this page, are less expensive, require little installation, and are safer to use in high drought areas where fires are prohibited.
34 Ways Of Extending Our Living Space Outdoors
Here is a YouTube® video showing thirty four outdoor spaces to give you some ideas.