Before you can revamp your indoor/outdoor spaces, you’ll need to inspect them to determine what needs repair as well as what features you may want to change. Many people are spending more time at home and even working from home. Transforming your house with improvements may help you maintain or even increase its value and enhance your enjoyment of your indoor and outdoor setting. Use this guide to inspect some key interior and exterior spaces with essential maintenance and improvements in mind. Making positive changes around your house will ensure that it functions better and may even make it your favorite place to be.
Indoor/Outdoor inspections and upgrades
You can begin your home improvement plans with a careful inspection of some of your favorite indoor/outdoor features and spaces. Whether you work from home or just want to improve your setting with fun and functionality in mind, you can use these tips to help you make positive changes to your space.
Lighting
Begin your home inspection by examining your lighting. If your home is older, you may even want to ensure that your electrical is up to code. An electrician can provide you with this type of inspection. Before adding more lighting to spaces like your deck, patio, or porch, you’ll want to be sure your electrical system can meet your indoor/outdoor lighting needs.
As you inspect your space to gauge your lighting needs, you may also want to add some decorative lighting features to your setting. You can string indoor lights in sunrooms, add trend-right pendant lights to your pergola-topped dining space, or introduce more outdoor lights to areas where your household members or guests are likely to congregate or walk.
Indoor/Outdoor Office
If you don’t have a spare room to devote to your office space, consider revamping your patio or even your porch to create an outdoor niche for getting your work done. You’ll need to inspect your space to ensure that you have:
- Shade: Consider adding an umbrella or awning to protect you from the sun.
- Power: You’ll need convenient access to electricity. If you don’t have an outdoor electrical outlet, think about installing one in the area where you intend to work.
- Sturdy table and chair: You’ll need a sturdy table to work at with room for a laptop, tablet, or other work materials. Try to choose an ergonomic chair with good support.
- Outdoor structure: If you intend to work in the evenings, you may want to install a screened gazebo, so you’re protected from insects. You can install outdoor lighting on your gazebo as well.
By blending your office with your interior/exterior space, you’ll be able to enjoy more fresh air and make use of natural light. For many workers, one of the worst things about office work is being stuck all day indoors. You can remedy that problem by working for at least part of your day on your deck or patio when you work from home.
Exterior inspections and upgrades
With a thorough inspection of your outdoor space, you can ensure that your deck and patio features are in optimum condition. Be sure that your walkways are in good shape to promote safety. Then, you can plan some upgrades that will enhance your enjoyment of your outdoor space.
Patio
A patio is a classic backyard feature, but you can adapt it to your favorite activities. First of all, you’ll want to inspect your existing patio to ensure that:
- The paving isn’t cracked or crumbling
- There are shade features (i.e., awning or umbrella)
- There is working electricity (i.e., outdoor electrical outlet)
- Working faucet and hose nearby (to keep the space clean)
- The landscape around the patio is weed-free
- You have some sort of insect control (i.e., citronella candles or pots of lemongrass, which repels mosquitos)
We’ve already discussed how you can revamp your patio to serve as an outdoor work setting, but you can also transform your patio into an:
- Outdoor kitchen
- Outdoor living room
- Outdoor media center
- Space for entertaining
- Space for fitness or yoga
- Space for kids to play
A well-designed patio can support your outdoor needs when it comes to additional living space. Moreover, spending time outside ensures that members of your household have access to plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
During your inspection, you can begin to develop a plan for installing features that will enhance your outdoor living space, such as:
- Patio cover: this can be an elaborate roof system supported by pillars, an awning, or a garden structure such as a pergola
- Wet bar: this is an excellent addition for informal and formal entertaining
- Outdoor kitchen features: include a grill and food preparation station as well as storage for your grill utensils
- Firepit
- Trampoline
- Comfortable seating and tables for guests
Once you know how you intend to use the space, you can develop your renovation plan accordingly. If your inspection uncovers problems, be sure to schedule repairs before proceeding with your upgrades.
Landscaping
Your landscaping can enhance your enjoyment of your outdoor living spaces too. It’s essential to routinely inspect your landscape features like trees and shrubs to ensure their health. You’ll also want to trim these features to keep your yard neat and support the plants’ pruning needs. As you inspect your current landscape and garden, look for signs of pest infestation too. It doesn’t take long in many cases for pests to ruin a lawn or detract from the health of your trees, shrubs, and other plants.
Planting for function
There are lots of ways that landscaping features can double as attractive plantings as well as shade features. For instance, if you don’t have a privacy fence, you can rely on taller shrubs to enclose all or part of your patio area. You can also rely on vines and climbing plants to provide privacy and shade. You can train them to grow on pergolas, lattice fencing, arbors, or other supports to add visual interest to the space and some shade.
As mentioned, lemongrass is a great plant for repelling mosquitoes, but many other plants also provide this service. Consider installing other insect-repelling plants near your patio, deck, or porch, such as:
- Marigolds
- Lavender
- Catnip
- Citronella grass
- Basil
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Bee Balm
You might also install a small herb or kitchen garden to support your cooking needs. Gardening is an enjoyable recreational activity, but there are several ways, as you can see, that your landscape can function to support your household’s needs.
Also, you don’t have to install these plants in the ground if you prefer not to. Your soil may need considerable amending, depending on your setting. Instead, plant them in containers that are easy to care for. Your container plants will help you transform your patio, deck, and nearby landscaping.
Merging your interior and exterior spaces
You can create attractive segues between your interior and exterior to enhance your living space and make it more attractive for guests. As before, begin with an inspection. Check your sliding doors to ensure they’re functioning correctly and that their screens are in good condition. Look for cracks around entrances as these can become entrances for pests. Then, you can consider ways to create optimum ways to merge your interior and exterior spaces.
Replace your doors
While sliding doors are commonplace and serve a useful function, you might upgrade these so you can widen the entrance for your guests. Choose french doors so you can leave them open during outdoor gatherings. Check all of your screens for signs of damage. Even the smallest holes in screens can allow unwelcome pests to enter.
Add a sunroom
A sunroom addition will add value to your home, just as it makes the ideal bridge between your patio area and interior home. It’s an excellent place for entertaining and can be used for a wide range of activities such as working out, reading, gardening, and more. A sunroom addition, of course, is a significant investment. You’ll want to hire a contractor to inspect your site and help you create a plan for adding this feature to your home.
Upgrading your interior/exterior spaces begins with a thorough inspection. This allows you to make any necessary repairs before revamping the spaces to suit your household’s needs. Routine inspection helps you maintain your interior and exterior home so that it’s always company-ready and ready for you to enjoy. Many homeowners are putting more careful thought into making their indoor/outdoor spaces function in unique ways, and you can too. Whether you’re looking for outdoor office space or a place to relax with company, you can enhance your setting to suit all of your needs.