Elaborate Outdoor Living Spaces

Where is everybody? Fifty years ago, you would rarely see an elaborate outdoor living space. There might be patios and terraces, statuary and gardens, maybe a fountain or a basketball goal, but nothing on the scale of what you will see today.

The outdoor room (view Family Leisure Outdoor Rooms here) has become the favorite room for some households; the place where the family gathers to hang in the evening; to cook, to dine, to share a drink or engage in conversation. It is the first choice for the place to relax, to kick back, to take a nap or read a book; to catch up on Facebook or download a magazine on Kindle.

Outdoor rooms now offer typical indoor comforts and entertainment like a gas fireplace (view Family Leisure Outdoor Gas Fireplaces here) or a big screen TV. This is where we go when friends or family visit; this is where we entertain. You might be invited to a wine tasting, a hot tub party, a game of poker, even, horror of horrors, to view someone’s vacation slides or movies. Musicians and bands are hired to play at “house” parties, and no one has to go inside to grab ice or refill a glass; there is a refrigerator, a wine cooler, a beer tap or built in keg.

Outdoor dinner parties aren’t limited to hotdogs and jello salads; you can grill, broil, sauté, roast, poach, steam and boil right in your backyard (view Family Leisure Outdoor Grills here). There are pizza ovens and ice cream machines, margarita makers and popcorn poppers. You don’t even have to go inside if the day is warm; there are outdoor fans and air conditioners to keep you cool.

And remember when the furniture in the house was much more comfortable than the furniture outside the house? That is not necessarily the case anymore; seating is just as plush and lush on a patio as it is in a great room (view Family Leisure Patio Furniture here).

So the question is, what are you doing sitting in your family room, breathing that stale air and missing out on all the outdoor fun? You don’t have to be rich to equip an outdoor room; the sweeping popularity of outdoor living has made it possible for nearly everyone to “move outside.”

If you can’t afford a custom kitchen or pergola, a specially built fireplace or firepit, an infinity pool or designer patio furniture, don’t despair! Outdoor kitchens and components are available in every price range; there are portable pergolas (view Family Leisure Wood Pergolas here) and pavilions, DIY firepits and budget friendly furniture that will blow you away. Take a look around, search the internet (Pinterest is your friend!), be creative, go shopping! It doesn’t cost a thing to look and you may be pleasantly surprised at some of the bargains and great ideas you will find.

So spend this summer envisioning and enjoying your own outdoor room; increase your entertainment and relaxation square footage. Where is everybody? They’re outside, of course!