When it comes to outdoor living spaces, you want them to not only complement your aesthetic, but also be practical and useful.

Even if you’re entrusting your space to reputable landscapers like Boise Landscaping Company, it’s always better to know what’s going on so that you can give input where necessary and improve the final outcome.

Now, when it comes to practicality and aesthetics, it can sometimes be a gray area. Adding a barbeque grill may not exactly fit into a Japanese Zen landscape, but it sure does make your outdoor space much more functional.

Given that each person’s landscaping style and aesthetic are different, it would be hard to say for sure whether each functional element would fit into your outdoor space.

As such, we’ll leave that up to you, and instead, we’ll simply focus on what’s functional and increasing your living space’s usefulness. We’ll leave the aesthetics to you to decide.

1. Space-Saving Furniture

No matter how big your yard is, nobody’s space is unlimited.

Even if your space is big, with space-saving furniture, you’ll have much more extra room to use for more functional items or just to move around.

Maybe you originally planned for a patio with a shelf, a coffee table, and a sofa. Well, with a sofa that can double as storage space, you may not need that shelf, and you could instead add a sculpture or whatever you like.

And even if you still ended up getting that shelf, well, now you have the storage space from that shelf on top of the sofa’s storage space.

Either way, more space is never a bad thing.

Another example of space-saving furniture is foldable chairs, tables, and even whole sofas. When not in need, these can be kept to make space for other things.

Or they can be tucked away in a corner until needed, such as when you have more guests and you need more chairs, tables, or sofas.

Multi-purpose furniture is another way to save space. One example is fire pit tables, which can be used as fire pits, but also covered up if needed to act as regular tables.

2. Observe The Conditions

An outdoor living space is usually relatively permanent, in the sense that once you’ve built or installed it, you’re probably not going to ever move it given how much trouble it would be to move spaces like outdoor kitchens, patios, and decks.

This means that once you’ve set your patio or deck down in an area that gets lots of sun, or lots of wind, or little privacy, it’s going to stay there. Some people prefer sunny spots and others like to have more wind, so if you’re one of them, you won’t mind the extra sun or wind.

But what if you don’t like it? It’s a very expensive process to move your outdoor living space.

As such, before you go ahead with your outdoor space, while it can be exciting and you may want to embark on it immediately, don’t do that. Instead, take some time to observe different areas of your outdoor space and see which one has the best conditions.

Observe how much sun, wind, shade, noise, and privacy the various areas of your outdoor space have before you make the decision.

This is obviously going to take some time, but unless you want to end up with a patio or outdoor kitchen in a position that you hate, you don’t have a choice.

If you already have a garden, which most people do, you’ll also have to consider how your outdoor living space fits in.

So in most cases, it will be better to build your outdoor living space right at the beginning when you’re landscaping your entire outdoor space, rather than to try to fit in later, which may not always be easy to do.

3. Integrate Technology

Many people are happy with a nice sofa and a coffee table on their patio. But why stop there? Don’t settle for less just because it’s the normal thing to do.

As technology gets more advanced, our lives are becoming increasingly comfortable. By incorporating technology into your outdoor living spaces, you can make them more comfortable and functional and much more enjoyable to use.

First off, an important piece of technology to have is temperature control, ideally ones you can control with a remote without having to get off your comfy sofa. Whether it’s a hot summer day or a cool day in the autumn, you’ll feel right at home with your temperature control system adjusting the temperature to however cozy or cool you want it to be.

Another great piece of tech to have is retractable awnings. A retractable awning allows you to extend it when the sun gets too hot and retract it on days when you want to feel a mellower sun or you want to suntan.

You can also consider getting devices like wifi extenders, motion-activated lights, and security cameras, all devices that may not directly result in more comfort, but are still very useful to have.

And of course, devices like weatherproof TVs, projectors, speakers, and so on are all great additions to your outdoor space to make it more enjoyable.

4. Enhance Privacy

You might not always be able to position your outdoor living space in a space where it’s safe from prying eyes. But worry not, because that can always be easily remedied.

No matter how well you’ve designed and built your outdoor living space, it’s just hard to enjoy yourself knowing your neighbors and the passers-by can see whatever you’re doing.

To remedy this, you can simply use privacy screens or grow tall trees. Living walls are a great type of privacy screen to add more greens at the same time as privacy.

Conclusion

Outdoor living spaces are wonderful additions to your outdoor space, but it’s important to make sure that they’re done right, from the positioning to the items you use.

Of course, outdoor living spaces like outdoor kitchens and patios can bring lots of functionality and joy even without implementing the various tips listed in this article.

But again, why settle for less? If you’re already going to spend all that money, time, and effort on an outdoor living space, why not maximize its potential?

The tips in this article do take more effort to implement, but the rewards are well worth the effort, so get started today!