It’s Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, you slept in, and you’re excited to enjoy your coffee outside in the backyard. In your pajamas, of course, because it’s the weekend, and you’re not in a rush to change into something less comfortable. You get out and find a spot to sit down, but after about 10 minutes, you notice that the chair is too uncomfortable and the sun is burning your neck.
So, you figure you’ll move.
Where, though? Lawn chairs are all you have, and there’s no shade in your backyard, at least not at this time of day. What a bummer. Oh, well, you get back inside and scroll on your phone instead of enjoying the fresh morning air outside.
That’s what most backyards are. Patches of grass with a few lawn chairs and, if you’re lucky, a wobbly table somewhere where you can put your coffee down.
For the most part, they’re seriously underused, which is a huge shame when they can be actual little getaways.
Why Some Backyards Are Relaxing, and Others Aren’t
When you think of a getaway, you think of a location, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Not that there’s anything bad about it, but you have to admit that it’s kind of restrictive.
A getaway can be anywhere, even in your backyard.
You don’t need anything fancy here.
What you’re really after is the separation from everything that comes with daily life – chores, noise, just the sounds of your house. You want your brain to clock out, and that can’t happen if you feel like you’re still in your messy kitchen or chaotic living room.
The stuff that literally ruins any potential your backyard has is small: your neighbors being able to look in, squinting in the sun because there’s no shade, getting sciatica from awkwardly sitting in an uncomfortable chair, and so on.
But it all adds up, so who could blame you for wanting to stay inside and not give your backyard a shot?
How to Change the Way Your Backyard Feels
Let’s see how to change things around.
Create Zones
In short, you want options, and you can have them even if your space isn’t huge.
Basically, set clear zones for things you want to do. You can have a spot with a table and a chair for drinking coffee and reading, a place for entertaining with a grill, perhaps a corner with a yoga mat for working out…
Each part of the space should have a purpose.
Add Shade
You can’t enjoy your backyard without a palace where you can hide from the sun.
Aside from the sun’s UV rays harming your skin, unless you’re a loaf of bread, you won’t be comfortable baking in the sun. Get a pergola or an umbrella if there are no trees, and cover the spots where you sit.
That way, you can enjoy being outside whenever you want.
Pick Materials That Stay Comfortable
Some surfaces absorb heat and literally burn your skin on hot days. Others get slippery and downright dangerous when they’re wet.
You want to pick materials that work for your particular climate and stay comfortable regardless of the weather.
Pool and Water Features
Okay, this is a big one, but a pool and/or water features make all the difference.
If you have the funds and the space, go all out and build a pool. Again, mind the weather, because it can wreak havoc on anything you put outside if you’re not careful.
Here’s an example for you:
You’ve contacted a swimming pool builder Newtown PA residents would normally use, and you want to put in a pool. You’ll probably focus on the fun stuff, like picking the tiles and the shape, but a pro will tell you that Pennsylvania’s climate means your pool has to have some specific features.
That means good winterization for the pipes and proper drainage, so all those heavy rains don’t put too much pressure on the structure under the pool.
If you’d compare this with a pool builder in Phoenix (AZ), you’d get quite the opposite. He’d tell you that your main focus should be heat resistance and water evaporation (or preventing it, more precisely).
Privacy
This is an even bigger one than the pool because, without privacy, no other feature will help you truly relax and getcomfortable. There’s no need to wall in your entire yard; plants will do the trick. Along with plants, you can also doslanted screens to close in the areas where you want privacy, but not block everything out.
You still want some room to breathe, after all, who can feel good if they feel like they’re in a box?
Conclusion
The point isn’t to build something to impress someone else, so if getting a pool would land you in debt, forget about that. You want a space you can enjoy, and if that means a yoga mat under a tree for you, then that’s all you need to do.
The only goal here is to make use of the backyard you’re lucky to have, and to truly enjoy it.
Once that happens, you won’t have to book a ticket to a different country to feel like you got away from the daily grind; you’ll simply need to step outside in your backyard.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.