Have you ever wondered about how great the impact of your outdoor area is? A well-organized outdoor space extends beyond merely being a livable structure. It plays a crucial role in transforming your living space into a harmonious and holistic environment.
Human beings have a natural need to interact with nature. You are not always going to just sit and enjoy a TV show or just walk straight inside after coming home from working in the office. Sometimes, you need to step outside and pause to appreciate the beauty and kindness of nature from your outdoor living space.
Organizing your outdoor area will bring many benefits for your space and you. Therefore, read on to dive into how to improve your outdoor living space to achieve its aesthetic and functional aspects and how you can reap so many benefits from it.
Key benefits of outdoor living organization
Organizing outdoor living areas is not just simply beautifying the area and helping you connect with nature, but also brings a bevy of benefits such as:
Improved aesthetics
You can enhance the aesthetics of your outdoor area through the unity of various elements (i.e., plants, shading, lighting, and other furniture) that create a harmonious blend of diversity.
Aesthetic features play a crucial role in your life, shaping a “sense of serenity” where you reside and interact with your physical surroundings to satisfy your vision. A beautiful outdoor area also can make your home eye-catching to other people who pass by your home.
Other than that, adding decorative elements to your outdoor area with statues or flowers will bring positive energy to your home. Natural elements can evoke various positive emotions, including tranquility, happiness, and creativity, while also aiding in concentration. Being closely connected to nature is linked to better mental well-being, notably lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Enhanced functionality
In this modern time, you can organize your backyard for private gatherings with your family while you keep your front yard for decorative purposes.
Even if you just set your front yard purely for aesthetics, its appeal will catch your neighborhood’s attention and maybe stop for a moment and greet you from outside your fence, which can elevate your social interactions.
Organizing outdoor space is also beneficial for various social activities. If you have children, you can design it for their activities in your backyard, like playing in the sandbox or helping you plant. You can also utilize your outdoor space to work in the morning and relax whenever you feel tired.
Increased comfort
As a human being, you also need privacy and feel protected at home. Because your home is a private fortress to protect you when doing activities that should not be exposed, an outdoor living organization can help you achieve this.
By incorporating plant beds, trees, walls, and paved surfaces, these features can help you to enclose and define the space dedicated just for you. Psychologically, creating spaces that keep you from always being exposed to make you feel more comfortable is important.
Furthermore, incorporating elements beyond the natural, such as a gazebo or pergola with cushion and bench, can help you to achieve comfort in your outdoor area. In particular, if an outdoor area is exposed directly to the weather, having a gazebo or pergola and weather-resistant furniture will protect you from the heat and cold.
Therefore, you can enjoy socializing with your family and friends in the outdoor space without fear of getting sunburned or frost-bitten.
Stress reduction and well-being
Connection with natural elements can help you decrease the production of the stress hormone cortisol, lower blood pressure, and enhance your immune function. Furthermore, physical exercise, such as sports in the backyard, helps you to trigger the release of endorphins and natural mood enhancers and can alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.
Therefore, incorporating natural elements in your outdoor space will help you achieve those benefits.
Increased home value
According to research about the impact that improving an outdoor area has on property value, outdoor area improvements can increase value by up to 17%
From this insight, you can increase your home value if you plan to sell it someday by elevating your outdoor space appeal. An organized and well-designed outdoor area can also attract more potential buyers, so you don’t have to wait so long for someone to contact you to buy your home.
How to organize your outdoor living area
No need to worry if you find your outdoor space a pile of disorganized plants and furniture. Maybe you just need some tweaks for it. Beautifying your outdoor space can be achieved by starting from baby steps. Now, keep reading about how to improve outdoor living space to get a better understanding of elevating the curb appeal of your home.
Declutter and organize essentials
Decluttering is the activity of discarding unused items and keeping the used items in a more tidy arrangement. Applying decluttering activities to organize your outdoor essentials (i.e., gardening and cleaning supplies) will make your outdoor space tidier and cleaner.
Read more: Stop Procrastinating, Start Decluttering
You can start by selecting which supplies you don’t need anymore and discard them. For outdoor essentials that are still needed, try to arrange and store them in an organized manner. For example, storing based on category or color.
Utilize storage solutions for outdoor spaces
You also need to know how to utilize a proper storage solution to keep your outdoor essentials organized so you will not waste too much time just to find one item.
Building a storage shed in your outdoor space is recommended because some items can’t be stored inside your home. However, if building a storage shed is impossible, you can utilize your garage as a storage area. Hang your gardening utensils using garage hooks to avoid cluttering the area.
Other storage solutions you can utilize, which also contribute to beautifying your outdoor area, are:
- Open shelving to arrange your plant pots
- Storage baskets that can be used as a decorative element and storing small items
- A coffee table that can be used in your gazebo or pergola area to keep small essentials
Choose weather-resistant furniture and accessories
One of the biggest challenges to enjoying our outdoor area is thermal comfort. Sometimes, you find yourself contending with harsh winter winds while navigating slushy paths from your door to the outdoor area or enduring intense heat when attempting to enjoy outdoor lunches on sunny summer days. Selecting materials is one of the most important considerations for choosing weather-resistant furniture and accessories.
Wood is the most used and flexible material for furniture. Sadly, its characteristics are not resistant to humidity, cold, and heat. However, you can coat the wood using powder or oil coatings to make it sturdier and more weather-resistant.
Alternatively, you can select furniture made with wood-plastic composite to enhance durability. Those materials are a bit more resistant to the weather compared to pure wood without modification.
Incorporate greenery and landscaping ideas
Trees and shrubs provide lasting aesthetic charm and utility as they grow older. Mature trees often develop unique shapes and canopies that add a sense of grandeur and architectural interest to the surroundings. Shrubs, with their diverse forms and textures, complement this diversity, creating a visually appealing and harmonious environment.
Thus, it is essential to prioritize the strategic placement of plants and employ low-maintenance techniques before incorporating them into your landscape. There are two considerations you should think about when selecting trees and shrubs for your outdoor area, which are:
- Shape: If you intend to block summer winds, choose a tree or shrub with branches and leaves that are more spread out. These types of trees are also effective in filtering the morning sun from the east. Conversely, denser trees are more suitable for shielding against the intense afternoon summer sun.
- Growth: Take into account the speed of growth, durability, and susceptibility to breakage when trees are near walkways or structures of your home.
In conclusion
Your outdoor space is more than just a protective barrier; it can significantly impact your well-being. Enhancing this area goes beyond aesthetics, offering benefits like improved functionality, increased comfort, stress reduction, and even a boost in property value.
By organizing your outdoor space, you create a harmonious environment. Adding decorative elements, like plants and lighting, makes it visually appealing and brings positive energy. This space serves multiple purposes, from private gatherings to promoting physical activities and social interactions.
To create an appealing outdoor space, start by decluttering and organizing essentials. Utilize storage solutions and choose weather-resistant furniture. Incorporate greenery strategically, considering trees and shrubs’ shape and growth characteristics for optimal wind protection and aesthetics.
In summary, by dedicating time and effort to your outdoor space, you can transform it into a visually pleasing, comfortable, and valuable extension of your home. Embrace nature, elevate your surroundings, and create a relaxation sanctuary outside your home because you will feel its benefits as time goes by.
If you would like to see more resources on outdoor living organization, check out the Home Organization Science Labs. The lab uses the research of the Institute for Life Management Science to produce courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other tools. Visit the Home Organization Science Labs today.
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