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You might love your garden, but are you really making the best use of it? Nobody uses their garden all the time, but our fantastic outdoor living space ideas might just transform the time you do spend outside. With a touch of inspiration and a bit of planning, your garden could be a wonderful space for dining, entertaining, spending time with the family, or simply sitting back and relaxing.
There are some considerations to keep in mind, such as climate and cost. It’s also good to have privacy if you’re spending time outdoors, but decorative garden screens can help with that. Below, we’ll go through 12 unique outdoor living ideas and perhaps inspire you to think of even more…
An unplanned garden can be quite an undefined space. This can be fine if you want a natural, more haphazard look, but you can also transform your outdoor space by thinking about different themes and parameters. You can zone off different parts for different functions or feels, from practical areas for eating or playing, to wildflower zones for a flash of colour. You might also consider using decks and steps to create different levels and focal points. Our composite decking is perfect for this and comes in a range of beautiful colours and finishes, which you can explore with a free sample pack.
Transform your outdoor space into an al fresco dining area with a dedicated outdoor dining table. Size considerations will depend on whether you want it for intimate tête-à-têtes or feeding family and friends – as well as the size of your garden. Outdoor tables may be made of wood, metal or plastic. If you choose wood, it should be durable and suitable for outdoor use. An outdoor dining table also combines well with covered outdoor living space ideas, especially given the unpredictability of the British weather!
Pizza ovens and barbecues can be great for outdoor dining, especially during the summer months. Barbecue costs can range from under £30 for a simple fold-out grill to more than £750 for fixed, installed gas-powered models. Pizza ovens are also increasingly popular and can range from as little as £100 to over £5,000 for built-in installations.
Whether you want patio heating to take the chill off in the evening or are wondering how to heat a shed for winter, there are many different solutions. These include efficient electric infrared heaters, versatile mobile gas patio heaters, and more atmospheric wood-burning options such as fire pits or chimineas. As well as the price of the heaters themselves, you should also consider the running costs and fuels, which can vary considerably.
An outdoor bar is a fun idea for big parties and casual socialising alike. You can get simple fold-out bars pretty cheaply, but bespoke built bars could cost thousands of pounds, with a converted pub shed sitting somewhere in the middle. You might also want to think about installing security measures, and at the least locking everything away if you’re leaving a well-stocked bar of expensive alcohol sitting outside.
Having a specific seating area helps you make the most of your outdoor space, whether it’s for sitting around and chatting, enjoying a good book in the sunshine, or watching TV in the fresh air. Seating choices and costs can vary widely, but you should ensure that your seats are suitable for outdoor use. Removable cushions that can be stored away in wet weather can also be very handy.
If you want to go beyond a simple BBQ or pizza oven, an outdoor kitchen allows you to prep and cook whatever you want without being cut off from guests. It can also add a great aesthetic to your home, often extending and blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. It can be expensive though, ranging from £3,000 to £5,000 for a basic modular design, to tens of thousands for a high-end and fully fitted design.
Outdoor lighting can be a great addition to any outdoor space in terms of both aesthetics and practical considerations. Installing lights can make it easier and safer to use your outdoor spaces after dark, and some solutions can also improve your security. There are plenty of lighting types to consider, from warming candlelit lamps and magical string and fairy lights – which can be hung on trees, fences or posts – to bright automatic security lights. Electrical lighting installations can cost between £100 and £500, but solar lights can provide a cheaper alternative.
Having a permanent firepit installed typically costs between £500 and £3,000, but you can also get small standalone versions for closer to £50. Any kind of firepit can add a warm and cosy feel, but you do need to take reasonable safety precautions, such as keeping kids away and making sure that hot embers don’t touch anything flammable. Sunken firepits can be built into decks, but it’s important to know how to safely incorporate a firepit.
If you have the space, an outdoor pool area can be a brilliant addition to your outdoor living space, for children and adults alike. Non-slip composite decking is a good material to have around a pool area as it has slip-resistant surfaces and is also resistant to water damage. It can also look great aesthetically in any garden design. A full-size in-ground swimming pool can cost from £20,000 up, but above-ground pools are a lot cheaper and you can get smaller inflatable or frame pools to cool off in for around £100.
Water features can be very relaxing, add an aesthetic appeal, and create a unique focal point in the garden. There are different types to suit different gardens, including ponds, waterfalls and fountains. Small self-contained units are the cheapest and easiest to install and will often come with pump systems to make movement in the water. You can pick up an attractive water feature for around £30 and up, while large installed fountains could run to thousands.
A pergola is a structure featuring vertical posts or pillars supporting a slatted roof, offering partial shade, shelter and privacy. It’s great for marking a specific zone in your outdoor living space and also makes an ideal structure for hanging string lights or growing clinging plants. It can cost around £2,500 or more to have a pergola installed, but you can also learn how to install a pergola yourself. There are other types of outdoor structure available, and here you can learn about the differences between a pergola, trellis and arbor.
Vertical gardening is simply the practice of growing plants vertically, on suitable supports such as trellises, pergolas, arbors, or frame poles and teepees. Some of the benefits of installing a trellis for vertical gardening include an efficient use of space – particularly if you have a limited garden area – increased privacy and an aesthetic appeal. A composite trellis offers sturdiness and weather resistance, and you can buy screens for less than £100.
While some additions such as a top-of-the-range outdoor kitchen can be very expensive, the best ideas for outdoor living spaces don’t have to break the bank. You can still make a wonderful outdoor living space regardless of space or budget. You could, for example, improve an existing area by moving chairs you already own outside using weatherproof covers, adding string lights and potted plants for ambience, or upcycling boxes and crates into tables. Old ladders make great vertical planters, and if you’re handy at DIY, you could even try building your own pergola.
By personalising your outdoor spaces, you can really make your garden a place that is a joy to spend time in. There are outdoor living space ideas to suit every taste, budget and capability, from pools and built-in firepits to DIY pallet furniture. Ensuring your privacy can be very important, and establishing hedges, installing fences, or strategically placing garden screens can be great for this purpose. Check out our multipurpose garden screens that can also be used as wind breaks, shades and markers for a zoned garden.
The cost of personalising your garden depends very much on what kind of outdoor living space you want. The cost of a simple layout of a sitting area and lighting could be anywhere from £300 to £1,500 with the furniture and lighting installation, while a larger area with a pergola, fire pit or full outdoor kitchen could be upwards of £10,000. You can also make a wonderful outdoor space for very little, especially if you have a few DIY skills. Prioritise what you really want and keep your budget in mind.
You can use a variety of flooring solutions, from a simple weatherproof rug to a full multi-level deck. Composite decking is perfect for all sorts of designs as it is far more durable than traditional timber decking and comes in a range of stylish colours and finishes. Find out more here about how to install composite decking.
You can use a variety of lights, greenery, pots and other accessories. Arranging furniture so that they also serve as focal points and using matching or themed colour aesthetics provide more ways to make your outdoor living space look stunning.
Having a small garden should be no barrier to creating a beautiful or practical outdoor living space. By prioritising small yet effective items such as lights, cushions and small chairs, you can easily make a cosy and aesthetically pleasing space.
Our sample pack contains a sample piece of each colour currently available. Order your free sample pack today to compare the colours and get a true feeling of the Dino Decking range!
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