Vacation at Home

One of the best things that any homeowner can do, especially in light of the current economic environment, is plan a "vacation space" for their personal residence. Now this doesn't mean that a homeowner has to go overboard and plan to create a subtropical oasis in the middle of the Mojave Desert or in the middle of Nebraska. On the contrary it means planning and installing an area in the yard and landscape where personal relaxation - for both the family and especially for the individual can be easily and readily be accessed and enjoyed.

In fact, this type of outlook and approach to the family backyard space is becoming the rule, not the exception, these days.

With travel cost's escalating (seemingly by the minute) and the rather hectic and busy lifestyles many American family's lead these days, dropping everything in favor of an extended stay, two week vacation can become a rather daunting task. Also, when we take into consideration that a family cruise to the Bahamas does absolutely nothing to increase the resale value of our home and everything to shrink the size of our bank account it is easy to see why many family's are taking a new look at creating a recreation and relaxation spot for the home. With all things considered it is easy to see why.

The "vacation spot" doesn't have to be some elaborate backyard oasis with a massive swimming pool and complex planting scheme although that would certainly be nice! The backyard "vacation spot" ideally should be an area of the yard that allows for the easiest accessibility and that capitalizes on a high level of enjoyment. In all likelihood this will be an area that is close to the home, especially the kitchen, and should be an area that is relatively quiet, free from clutter, and is enhanced with comfortable seating and practical furnishings - just as if it was your favorite hotel's balcony, cabana or lanai. The idea behind a "vacation spot," it's layout, accessibility, and ease of use should be absolutely no different than any other favorite vacation spot you could think of or may have frequented in the past. After all, that is the idea of taking a vacation in the first place!

When any area of the home is easy to get to and use, whether it is a bedroom, a family room or a particular space in the backyard the chance that those areas will be used and enjoyed more fully is increased and, more often than not, realized. How a homeowner decides to use the available space that is the backyard is entirely that of the particular homeowner. The fact that more and more homeowners are thinking of incorporating the ideas behind why they take vacations into their backyards should be of great interest to any homeowner looking at increasing the value of their home.