Gone are the days where the average Aussie backyard was a clothesline, a vegie patch and maybe, if you were lucky, a home-made cricket pitch!
Now Australian families are looking at ways to integrate their daily living with the outdoors – the need and want to utilise their surrounds all year round with outdoor structures that can service family & friends all year.
Once upon a time you needed a big chunk of land (and an even bigger budget) to be able to build a pool. It’s now very achievable to have a pool in your backyard with all sizes of land and budgets catered to. Once families have started looking at their outdoor spaces they start to ask themselves questions like; what do we want to achieve in this space? Who are we wanting to achieve this for, and what look are we wanting?
With outdoor spaces, you are only limited to your imagination and budget. It could be as simple as small covered pergola to a sumptuous, retreat-style pool house with all of the modern conveniences such as bathroom/shower, wet bar, lounge area etc. It ensures outdoor living can be achieved all year and adds value to your home as an extra living space.
Parents of teenagers will agree – when your kids want their friends over they come over in packs and just like a pack, they can/do take over your entire house very quickly! Imagine having that rec room outside where they can hang out playing their games, listening to their music, sleep over – all within the security & safety of your own property but without the intrusion to the rest of the family!
With an individually designed pool house your backyard becomes your own tropical oasis resort – fully tiled to ensure easy cleaning, a bathroom which enables everyone to stay outside whilst using the pool, cupboard space for clean towels, sunscreen, hats & bbq utensils, a wet bar to ensure your guests are catered for and a lounge area styled with performance fabrics, floor rugs and décor to suit your style. Clever use of space, and with convertible furniture such as sofa beds you can turn your pool house into a space that can accommodate family and friends when they just can’t bear to leave after a visit and want to stay over! If you’ve got the space why not create a beautiful deck in front of your pool house where at the end of the day, everyone retires to have a bbq dinner. Put up a gorgeous umbrella on the deck and you have a space that can be used all day. It’s your very own resort!
Another utilisation of our outdoors is the ‘mums’ cave’. The boys have had their ‘man caves’ for years now, converting garages and sheds into their own zone where they can relax, surrounded by things they enjoy (and let’s face it, may not be able to decorate the main house with!) but now the ladies have started considering their own spaces. Imagine having a space with a big comfy chair, a gorgeous mohair throw (that you would never consider around the kids and the animals in the main home!), big fluffy (dare I say it, white?!) cushions where you can snuggle up to a book or a movie, uninterrupted, even for just a little while. Fresh flowers, your music (you’ve listened to everyone else’s playlist in the car for far too long!) and your time. You deserve it!
Of course, a little of each of these spaces can be incorporated to make one space the entire family can enjoy together – it’s all about thoughtful planning, clever design and functional usage of space. At Todd Devine Homes we are all about creating, ‘the right home, the right time’ and we are proud to help our clients create their dreams and future family memories. We have a passionate & talented team who will ensure your outdoor living space will become a feature for your home & lifestyle for many years to come.
