Brummet's Conscious Blog: Home Improvements, Back Yard Advice

Matthew Laphet

The arrival of warm weather heralds that time of year when families look to their backyards for summer fun and recreation. A dull, boring or shabby-looking garden, however, can quickly send everyone back indoors. The right home improvement can spruce up your yard and ensure that everyone gets the most enjoyment from their season in the sun. Some projects also offer a great return on your investment when it comes time to sell your home. If your backyard is bland and boring, here are five outdoor upgrades that can turn any summer weekend into a fun-filled "staycation."

1. Consider a Swimming Pool

An amenity that offers years of summer fun, a swimming pool creates the ideal setting for outdoor entertaining and family activities while promoting healthy exercise too. You can expect to recover around 50 percent of the installation costs of an in-ground swimming pool when you sell your home. If you're not ready to take the plunge and invest in an in-ground pool, above-ground pools offer an affordable option. While they won't raise your home's market value, they provide an affordable way to elevate the quality of your family's life at home.

2. Summer Grilling

Few summer pleasures offer as much enjoyment as a meal cooked on an outdoor grill. Investing in a professional grill set lets you take your summer barbeque to a new level of taste and style. Upgrade the grill with amenities like a refrigerator, sink and cabinetry, and you'll raise your home's market value too. An outdoor kitchen that qualifies as a second kitchen can pay for itself when you're ready to sell your home.

3. Add a New Deck or Paved Patio

That cement slab outside your sliding glass doors may offer a surface for a few potted plants and some patio furniture, but it won't contribute much to your summer fun or the value of your home. According to the nation's leading remodeling publication, you can expect to recoup around 77 percent of a wooden deck installation when you sell your home. A stylish wood deck or stone-paved patio not only invites everyone outdoors but adds style and comfort to your outdoor living spaces as well.

4. Seasonal Gardening

Nothing beats the taste of vegetables picked fresh from your garden. Turn a sunny spot in your backyard into a garden that can provide tasty produce for your family the year round. Whether installing a raised bed in a section of your lawn or planting rows of seeds in a sun-baked corner, every member of your family can get in on the fun of designing, planting and tending a vegetable garden. To keep your garden plot looking neat and tidy, add a border of colorful flowering plants or annuals.

5. Install a Stylish Wood Storage Shed

Keep all your garden tools, pool supplies and recreational equipment stored out of sight in a shed that adds a distinctive focal point to your yard's overall design. Instead of a generic-looking vinyl, plastic or metal prefabricated structure, choose wood materials and design plans that give you options to customize the shed to match the architectural style of your home.

For info on ideas for shed plans, check out this site: http://www.shed-plans-online.org

Source: http://consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com/2013/07/home-improvements-back-yard-advice.html

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