With summer giving way to increasingly shorter days and cooler evenings, don’t put your porch and deck into hibernation but give them a facelift so that they remain great entertainment areas during the fall.
This is an especially good idea if you’re thinking of selling your property in the next few months. A few smart ideas to extend the period for practical outdoor living will help set your home apart from the competition.
As an experienced neighborhood real estate agent, I meet prospective buyers every day, and know that they value highly the ability to entertain family and friends in their home throughout the year.
And it doesn’t take much to fire the imagination with a few additions that will allow you to enjoy the fall evenings outside. Here are five ideas.
- Outdoor heating – There is a vast choice of quality patio heaters available at a reasonable cost. They will keep you and your guests warm during the cooler evenings that would otherwise drive you back indoors. You can select an electric or propane gas model, and satisfy yourself they can push out the amount of heat you’re going to need.
- Update garden furniture – Cushioned seating of warm reds, browns and yellows will give your entertainment area a real sense of the season. You can enhance the image you’re creating with some beautiful throws rugs that have a practical benefit, too.
- Get fired up – If you haven’t the room to install a fire pit, you can buy a table-top equivalent that will burn wood and keep everyone warm. The best models are not cheap at more than $300, but they add to the atmosphere.
- Pizza power – Everyone loves a pizza, and many varieties of specialised oven can be installed on a deck. The warmth and aroma of your cooking will be sure to impress.
- Go sports-crazy – You can get an outdoor projector and screen – both insulated against all weathers – to impress prospective buyers or the neighbors. Of course, you can rig up a screen with a bedsheet, if you don’t want to go to the expense of a retractable screen. That said, getting friends over to watch a game will never be so much fun, especially if you’ve already fired up the pizza oven.