One of the easiest ways to increase the value of your home is to create a fully featured and intimate outdoor oasis. Homebuyers are always looking for fully utilized space, and making use of every square foot of the property is a great way to show off the potential of your home.
Bring the Inside Out
An outdoor area that offers the convenience and comforts of the living room is a very desirable feature of a home. Bringing amenities outside is a fairly simple task when you keep in mind indoor features that contribute to comfort, specifically the flooring, roof, and walls. A wooden deck or patio of stone blocks is a great way to create a solid, dry floor that can handle traffic and furniture, and can be comfortable for bare feet in the summer.
A roof is a little trickier, as complete coverage defeats the purpose of moving outside, while leaving things too exposed can mean sudden storms will force the party back indoors. A retractable awning, large umbrella, or a wooden pergola are all excellent backyard options. As for walls, privacy is the goal, but keeping the area open and airy should also be important. Lattices of cedar or pine will do the trick, and climbing plants like ivy or Virginia creeper will work if you want to create a small garden and add extra visual appeal. Adding trees and bushes are a quick way to add privacy to a yard as well.
Add Select Features
A home that features a beautifully furnished outdoor entertaining space is a huge selling feature and will add great value to your home. People enjoy entertaining outdoors—well into the fall, in fact—and for this reason, it is important to highlight the features of the outdoor space, regardless of the season. An outdoor oasis set up for entertaining should include a variety of seats where people can comfortably carry on conversation, as well as tables where food and drink can be accessed. Having an outdoor speaker system or a small stereo is a good idea, as music can create atmosphere and stir conversation. Some homeowners choose to add an outdoor television set to their patio area so they can host a party centered on watching the “big game.” Chimneys, fire pits, fountains, and plants also work to create atmosphere in an outdoor space.
To maximize the value of your home, choose furnishings that take full advantage of the outdoor area while allowing potential buyers the option to redesign the space to fit their personal taste.
Invest Wisely
As with many home improvement projects, creating the perfect outdoor space requires some investment. Bricks, fence panels, and propane fire tables all cost money. Although they will contribute to the value of your home, be careful not to spend too much–you still want to get a profitable return if and when you sell the house. Making a plan and deciding what you want in the space is a great way to make sure that the things you buy end up being used to their full potential. Take measurements of the backyard and any conversation pieces that you plan to include to see how things will fit.
Take care to ensure that not all fixtures are permanent so that potential buyers can easily make changes if they wish. The amount that the investment adds to the value of your home depends on the taste of the buyer, which means their tastes must be considered also. Keep the plan flexible so that changes can easily be made and the space remains versatile.
