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.

Understanding Outdoor Use Areas

This post is the essentially part two of the previous post Understanding Basic Landscape Planning and Use. This post touched a little bit on outdoor use areas by briefly describing what an outdoor use area entails and how they should compliment the corresponding indoor areas they are connected to.

Just as a house is divided into different areas of use, so is the property around it. The public area of the landscape is the front yard. That portion of the landscape is seen by everyone who drives or walks past the home. For obvious reasons the public area of the landscape should connect with the public area of the home’s interior as smoothly and logically as possible. The public area should be large enough to place the house in an attractive setting, but not so large that usable family living area is sacrificed. The public area connected to the direct entry of the home is without a doubt the most important area of the landscape design it that it sets the tone, mood and feeling for the entire home.

The outdoor family living area of the landscape should also connect with the indoor family room whenever possible. This concept is included in the floor plans of most, if not all, modern homes. This is the portion of the landscape where the family relaxes and entertains guests. More likely than not, this space includes room for a patio, barbequing, swimming or whatever other activities interest the family members. One important point to consider is that even though the interior kitchen generally falls under the service area of the home it is preferrable and most logical that the family living area of the landscape should be in fairly close contact to the interior kitchen area. Fortunately, this is a feature that most modern homes are designed with making the transition from indoor/outdoor smooth and logical.

The service area of the landscape plays a vital and functional role for the family. It provides space to store garbage cans, house a dog and dog run, or even grow vegetables. Since the service area is used for function and service and not beauty it should be screened if at all possible. The size of the outdoor service area should be large enough to accomplish its designed purpose, but no larger. If possible or if space permits it this area should be partially or fully covered or in some way sheltered from the elements.

As you can begin to see and it almost goes without saying but all of the outdoor use areas described are always the most successful and easiest to use when those areas connect directly to the interior rooms they serve. A visual connection through a window is almost always a necessity. A physical connection through a door is highly desirable because it makes accessing the specific area to be used easy and sensible.

One of the most underutilized, and overlooked areas of the landscape, is the private living area. This is the one area that requires a direct physical link to the indoor room it serves. This is the outdoor living area that is designed for total privacy. The view of outsiders is screened. This is also the area of the landscape where the family may sunbathe or relax in private. This concept is only useful if the private outdoor area is accessible through one of the bedrooms of the house without walking through another part of the house or yard. Fortunately this concept is designed and built into many modern homes. If your home does not include any access from the private living area of the home to the outdoors you may wish to consider such an option in the design of your landscape.