Spring is certainly in the air as temperatures start to rise. Soon enough you’ll be wanting to make the most of your outdoor space. This is why it’s so important to put the effort in now to create a great outdoor area.
Lockdown has certainly inspired us to rethink our indoor and outdoor living areas. Why not dress up your garden space as a luxury resort-style entertainment area. You may be lucky enough to have a pool, but if not, there are plenty of other elements you can bring which will provide you with the glamour and make the neighbourhood certainly envious!
Whatever your garden size, there are plenty of options
With a growing number of us living in apartments, the concept of gardening is changing. Creating a balcony oasis will give you the benefits of a garden but without having the maintenance. Don’t forget there are no rules to where your garden starts and ends. If you’re limited with outdoor space, you can start your oasis inside with some colourful indoor plants which extend out towards your doorway.
Another option suitable for smaller areas includes vertical gardens or even adding some window boxes. If you have an old wooden ladder, use it by fixing it against a wall and placing potted plants onto each step.
Hire A Hubby can help you with all your DIY needs including adding trellis, fixing wall planters, or building window boxes for you.
Fire Pit
A fire pit becomes a centrepiece to any garden for family gatherings, cooking up a BBQ feast, or just simply to toast marshmallows with the kids. Fire pits bring the ambience so you can enjoy the outdoors on a cool spring evening.
Fire pits come in all shapes and sizes with some smaller models made for indoor use with environmentally friendly bioethanol fuel.
If you have the space, why not go for a real head-turner and have one of our Hubbies build you something big! Make sure you have good enough clearance from overhanging trees.
Retaining Walls
Give your backyard some shape by landscaping and installing retaining walls. Create distinct areas and give your garden some purpose. They provide a variety of benefits including drainage, safety aspects from soil erosion, as well as creating something aesthetically pleasing in the garden.
Hire A Hubby can help you with a new build or even replace or repair an existing failing wall.
Always check with the local authorities. A retaining wall may impact your neighbour’s garden with the flow of water and create drainage issues. Speak to the experts and contact Hire A Hubby for a quote.
The Outdoor Kitchen
If you love cooking, and you have the room for it, why not dress up your outdoor space to include an outdoor kitchen and dining area. With it, you’ll have everything you need to enjoy the weather and comfort of the home. It also provides that additional space to entertain the family.
The key essentials to an outdoor kitchen include:
- Built-in gas grill
- Side burner
- Compact refrigerator
- Trash bin
- Storage cupboards
Additional options include:
- Griddle
- Smoker
- Pizza oven
- Wine cooler
- Sink & faucet
- Ice maker
Some outdoor kitchens you can buy are complete and ready to install. If you’re on a budget, you can always find some second-hand accessories on Marketplace or Gumtree e.g. a small fridge or wine cooler. Our Hubbies can help you design and put it together.
Some outdoor kitchens come complete and ready to install. The deciding factor is usually budget, Work out your budget and get an estimate from Hire A Hubby on how much the installation will cost. Remember to add in the cost for the utilities you’ll want for your kitchen area.
Kitchen areas are best placed under shelter to protect them from the outdoor elements.
Don’t forget safety!
If you are building with combustible materials as many outdoor kitchens area, you’ll need an insulated jacket built around the grill. This is basically a stainless steel buffer that retains in the heat to stop it from scorching the counter and also acts as a protector from weathering and corrosion. Make sure your grill area is ventilated and has good clearance from low ceilings and is not too close to the wall of your main residence. Never install cooking and cooling appliances together – they both need to ventilate as they generate a lot of heat. You don’t want to build yourself a fire hazard! There is usually a zoning code requirement for outdoor kitchen spaces. You may need to check with local property laws.
Got an outdoor kitchen area already?
Why not dress it up or give it a theme? Consider hiring a wall muralist or graffiti artist to paint your fences or walls with a beach or tropical scene. By surrounding the backdrop with colourful flowers and exotic plants, you’ll bring the backdrop to life. You can find local mural artists online or be bold and give it a try yourself or with the children.
Photos: By Hannah McFarlane: instagram.com/tropical_plant_addict
Bar Area
By adding your own bar to your garden, you’re opening up the possibilities of outdoor family entertainment and certainly looks great against any BBQ area or outdoor kitchen you may have. Simply have a garden shed built or utilise the one you may already have by clearing it out. Have one of our hubbies cut you out a serving hatch, create a bar top and give it a colour of paint. Simply dress it up by printing and laminating a few well-known drinking brand labels and imagery. Add a few bar stalls, bar snacks, and dressing it with shelves of your favourite beer, spirits, or wine.
If you’re bold enough, how about building a Tiki Bar?
Dressing up
Dress up your garden with some colourful beach towels laid out across your sun-lounges. Follow the colour through to matching cushions, tableware, or cloths. Add plenty of outdoor ambient lighting to give your garden a party-style atmosphere and consider having some outdoor speakers fitted in and around your space.
Cubby House
Get your children outdoors and away from the television! We’re all spending far too much time these days sitting in front of screens. Curb the battle early and hopefully, they will get into the habit of spending more time outside, especially while so young.
A cubby house is their space to play and learn as they grow. It also gives you the freedom to stop worrying about them playing out on the street and gives them a sense of independence and personal space.
Hire A Hubby can help build and install your cubby house for any occasion or birthday present surprise.
Paving and Pathways
Garden paths are used to guide us and designed correctly they bring the experience and beauty of your garden to life. There are easy options using loose materials like wood chips or gravel. These are less costly and with metal or stone edging, they keep the loose material in place as well as add definition to the pathway. There are a variety of other materials available including flagstone, slate, pavers, wood, brick, concrete, and stone.
If your pathways are looking a little untidy and need some TLC, our hubbies are happy to come and tidy them up. We can even remove the dirt, moss, mould, and stains using high-pressure cleaning equipment on concrete or stone pavers. It’s an economical way of making your pathways look brand new again as well as making them safer to walk on.
Building, Repairing and Maintaining Decks and Pergolas
OK. This might not be high on your list of things to do, but natural elements such as timbers should be looked after, especially when exposed to the weather. During the Summer months, decks tend to get used a lot. It is important to keep them in good condition. You should oil your deck at least twice a year. Our Hubbies can help rejuvenate your existing deck or build you a completely new one, just in time for the warmer weather.
Hire A Hubby can also help build or restore your pergola and patios. Pergolas offer you shelter from cold or wet weather as well as provide shade from the sun.
