Add Value to Your Home with Outdoor Living Spaces

This is the first in a series to help you plan your perfect outdoor living area.

Start Planning Now for Your Outdoor Living Space

The calendar may say February, but now is the time to let your backyard fantasies take flight. Most of us are still looking at snow or partially frozen ground, but now is the time to get thinking about how you can transform your boring backyard into a outdoor living space that will bring you and your family that summer-time you’ve been dreaming about all winter, extend your one-season yard into a four-season space, and increase the value of your home.

A bland yard in February…

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…becomes an entertaining oasis in June:

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Cost v. Value

When it comes to making investments in our homes we don’t want to blindly throw money out the window. And considering the expense of many home remodeling projects, we want to know just how much they’ll cost and the value we’ll get from them. Of course for many of us, the value comes from the enjoyment we’ll get after the work is finished, and if you’re a master do-it-yourselfer, you’ll get plenty of satisfaction in the planning and the work. And with more of us opting to buy homes that we intend to live in for many years to come, the value isn’t to be looked at in the short-term gain, but in the years of fulfillment we get out of our home. Still, there are some projects that will add value, and landscaping projects are among those projects that will bring you a short-term return on investment. To learn more about how much value a landscape remodel will add to your home, link here to realtor.com to see their seven top seven ROI remodels.

Modern outdoor living with fireplace as the focal point for gathering and entertaining:

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Homeowners are Onboard

According to real estate experts, for every dollar you invest in landscaping projects you can see up to a $2 return on your investment. According to the National Gardening Association, homeowners in the US spent close to $40 billion last year on all garden- and outdoor-related services and products. The average homeowner spends about $3,502 for landscaping and $1,465 on landscape designers to help them create the perfect outdoor living space, according to the American Nursery Landscape Association.

Outdoor areas give you more living space without the cost and time involved with adding four walls and roof. That means you can spend more on higher-end features like fire pits, outdoor fireplaces, and outdoor kitchens without the expense you’d incur if you were adding the equivalent cost of doing those projects to the interior of your home.

Yhis covered space in Atlanta provides for year-round outdoor living:

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So, what are the things we most want to have in our dream backyards? Well, according to the folks at American Society of Landscape Architects, 95% of us want a complete outdoor living space with an outdoor kitchen and outdoor living area. And what are the most popular features we’re including, or want to include in our outdoor living spaces?

What would you most like to include in your dream outdoor living space? Have you started planning your outdoor projects?

Up next in the series: Planning Your Outdoor Remodel