How to Upgrade Outdoor Spaces Affordably

With stay-at-home orders becoming the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are spending more time at home than ever before.

As millions of Americans transition to remote work, many families are struggling to adapt spare rooms into home offices. For those with children, this is an extremely challenging time. Staying indoors for hours is a painful experience for parents of young kids, and an undeserved punishment of sorts for active young people.

As an investor, this provides an opportunity in every new property. How do you make more space to alleviate these issues?

One of the best ways is to look outside. New remodeling jobs should give added consideration for yards and patios. After all, even a small patch of outdoor space provides a welcome relief from the cabin fever of a basement.

Here are a few ideas, taken from Sundae home renovations, to give you inspiration for converting outdoor space into an outdoor oasis.

1. Go for the green!

This option is arguably the most important. If you don’t already have one, we strongly suggest you look into adding a lawn to your property. If you have children or pets, creating grassy space for them to play practically pays for itself. Along with this, homebuyers always look for yards when they’re shopping for a new home, so adding a lawn will instantly make your property stand out. Doing Sod provides instant gratification as the grass is already grown. However, by seeding your lawn with proper irrigation you should see bright green in only two short months.

2. Build a Pergola in the back yard

Since COVID-19 began, more and more people are finding that they spend the majority, if not all of their time, at home. Creating space in our yards for us to either work or relax is a must, especially for those living in areas blessed with constant sunshine. Building a pergola is much less expensive than a full covered patio, but still adds shade and interest to your backyard. With a little ingenuity this could be a great DIY project that is guaranteed to add value to your home. 

3. Install a paver patio 

While outdoor patios are typically made of concrete slabs or wood planking, a paver patio can be a less-invasive take on creating an outdoor living space. It’s a lot less expensive, too. Not only is this option easier to install, but it’s also visually appealing and works with several home styles. 

4. Add an outdoor fan to your patio

If you already have a patio with electricity in your backyard and are spending more and more time out there due to shelter-in-place, you might find that it gets a little warm from time to time. An inexpensive fix to this problem is to install an outdoor ceiling fan. Fans are easy to install and will save you from the heat in the long run. NOTE: We recommend hiring a licensed electrician to do any electrical work.