How to Make Your Outdoor Spaces More Comfortable During the Summer Months

Indoor-outdoor living is in, and there is no season like the summer to take full advantage of your deck or patio. Yet, during the hottest months of the year, you might notice that the comfort level of your outdoor areas decreases dramatically. The hot sunshine, the hard surfaces, the incessant bugs and other elements might keep you indoors all summer long — unless you put effort into improving your outdoor living spaces.

Fortunately, it is possible to make your outdoors as comfortable as your indoors, even during the sweltering summer. Here are a few tricks for bringing the indoors out, so you can enjoy the fresh air and sounds of summer in total comfort.

Create Shade

Combatting the summer sun should be your first concern in making your outdoor spaces more enjoyable. Hot and glaring, the sun makes outdoor spaces inhospitable quickly, so you should find ways to provide sufficient shade on your patio or deck.

If you have the means, you should strongly consider building or purchasing a permanent cover; extending your roof is the best solution for the lasting value of your home, but you can also install an awning, a pergola or some other type of cover at lower cost or if your outdoor space is situated away from your house.

If your outdoor living space is small, you might find that a large shade umbrella or two offers plenty of shade during the day to improve comfort. However, umbrellas need to be closed after use, as wind and precipitation can damage them if they are left open year-round. Hampton Bay makes a durable and easy-to-use patio umbrella that is worth the investment, and there is excellent variety in size and style.

Finally, you might consider using your landscaping to increase the amount of shade around your outdoor area. Even with a patio cover or umbrella, your patio or deck can benefit from trees and shrubs, which cool the air and offer fresh oxygen in addition to offering a shady canopy. It might take a few years for trees and hedges to grow to an appropriate height, but the beauty and comfort they can provide are worth the wait.

Install a Cooling System

Depending on just how hot your summers get, you might consider adding some sort of cooling system to your outside space. If you have a patio cover in place, you can hang a ceiling fan up and out of the way, so you can create a gentle breeze without cluttering your seating and entertaining areas. If you do install a ceiling fan, you should opt for a brand that is recognized for its exceptional quality, like Hunter Fan.

If you live in an arid climate, misters are another good cooling option. Relatively easy to install, as long as you already have an irrigation system in place, misters feel deluxe, which makes them an excellent solution if you are trying to create a luxuriously comfortable indoor-outdoor space.

Add Cushions and Pillows

The furniture you place in your indoor-outdoor living area should be sturdy and constructed from weatherproof materials that will withstand the elements for more than one season. Unfortunately,

affordable furniture made for the outdoors is not often comfortable; it can be stiff, hard, lumpy, scratchy and all manner of other unappealing adjectives.

Fortunately, there is an easy solution: removable pillows. Cushions and pillows that you can remove for storage can radically improve the look and feel of your patio or deck. Even better, you can cycle out different colors and styles of cushions and pillows for different seasons or to adhere to ongoing trends. Because pillows and cushions tend not to be exceedingly tolerant of weather, you should store them inside or in a patio or deck box, where they will not become damaged by sunshine or precipitation.

Use Container Plants Wisely

Bugs are easily among the top worst elements of summertime. Insects like mosquitoes, ants, flies and ticks tend to love the warm weather, and they also love pestering people who are trying to enjoy their limited time outside. While you can spray for bugs, if you have pets or small children, you might not be interested in suffusing your outdoor environment with poisonous chemicals. The best alternative is to surround your patio or deck with aromatic plants that bugs tend to abhor. Luckily, many of these plants offer beautiful summer blooms that will contribute to the comfort of your space.

If your outdoor area is uncomfortable during the summer season, you probably won’t use it any other time of year. It does not take much effort to transform your patio or deck into a sumptuous space you will love spending time in all summer long.

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