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There are advantages and disadvantages to buying an older home. Of course, there is always a little more work to be done because they are older, but then the advantage is we don’t have to start from scratch. For example we have a beautiful yard with lots of nice shrubs and trees, storage buildings, wrap around paved driveway and a very spacious back deck patio area. All of those things would have taken us years to add onto the house if it was brand new, so thankfully all we have to do is make updates as we see appropriate.
One of the things I want to work on updating this year is our patio area, so I have been dreaming and planning for a while. The first place we will be starting is refinishing the wood, after that I will be free to fill it with essential for a functional patio. It is important to me that the space isn’t just pretty but useful as well, and I believe these 5 things will help me accomplish that.
Seating
What is a patio area with out seating? If we plan to ever use this area of entertaining, seating is a must. Plus it would just look pretty empty without it. I would love to have a nice long wooden picnic table for enjoying cookouts and several rocking chairs for relaxing in the evening.
Shade
Our patio stays sunny most of the day. Which is wonderful until it’s the middle of the summer and the sun is burning down on us. Without adding some shade we wouldn’t be able to enjoy sitting on the porch for the majority of the day and couldn’t use it to it’s full potential.
Storage
Our patio is an addition to our house and happens to be our son’s favorite play area. That means there are usually toys laying around that need to be stashed away quickly and easily. The bonus is an outdoor storage bench can also double as additional seating.
Lighting
Some of the best times to enjoy our patio is in the cool of the evening. Our last get together we had to hurry and clean up everything because it would be dark soon. Having lighting will make sure we don’t have to cut the night short, and we can enjoy our company longer.
Plants
We all know I love gardening, so bringing plants onto my patio is only natural. It creates the most beautiful decor, and this decor can be very practical as in herbs or veggies. One year my husband gave all the moms in our family planter boxes with strawberry plants. They were such a pretty addition and they got to enjoy the fruit later in the year.
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas
I love that bench. We have about ten thousand toys on our porch and it is making me crazy. What a great place to put them!!
Patios
Fantastic flower and good plant advice . all is well
Hazel Owens
I don’t usually think of storage as something that’s needed on a patio. However, I can see how storage can be extremely useful, especially in your case with a child that likes to bring toys outside. Storage may not be one of the first things you think of when planning your patio, but you’ll notice its absence if you don’t include it. Thanks for the article!
Heather
Awesome list! Some of these things are easy to forget until one notices the need for them – you might have plenty of natural lighting in the daytime, but once night falls, your outdoor party will have to end too soon. Thanks for sharing!
Aaron C.
Patio’s are the perfect part of the house to invest money into. They are great for enhancing the value of a house.
Jennie Valance
Hi Brenna,
Our family has a small townhome, and I would love to hear your ideas for storage on our patio. Our backyard is fenced in so it would be safe to leave things there, and I had never considered adding storage.
Can you tell us what you use or what you recommend? Also if it matters, we live in Arizona so we don’t get much rain, just super hot in the summer.
Thanks,