When envisioning and designing your new Columbus outdoor living space, here is a super important consideration

Do you JUST want to eat outside?

Do you just want a seating area outside?

If you’re adding an outdoor living space to your home, it is probably something you have thought about, saved for and planned for a while. You’ve probably looked through numerous magazines and online home websites such as Houzz. You likely have a scrapbook of different features you like. But are you absolutely certain of what living activities you want to enjoy outside?

In the past, Columbus-area homeowners would start out their planning knowing they wanted a deck or knowing they wanted a porch. Now, homeowners are coming to us telling us how they want to use their outdoor space and working in collaboration to determine the space that really lets them live outside.

There are so many ways you can live on your deck, porch or patio. But there are 2 – 3 primary activities. Those include eating, entertaining, and relaxing. We will talk a little about each but safe to say that most Columbus area homeowners aren’t choosing only one and rather building a combination space from the start.

Eating outside

If you are looking forward to enjoying fresh air, breeze, and the sights and smells of outdoors while enjoying a good meal or beverage; there are 2 key considerations. First, do you want an open or an enclosed space? If bugs are an issue or a particular annoyance, you will want a screened space. Remember that mosquitoes are worst at dusk which is usually when you enjoy evening meals or refreshments. A screened porch will ensure that you can stay outside and the pesky insects won’t be invited to your meals and parties. The next key consideration is whether you want cover for your space. Cover protects from both rain and sun. If your backyard gets a lot of direct sun and you want to enjoy lunches outside, you may want a covered porch. If you absolutely love the smell of rain and pitter patter of droplets on your roof, you can enjoy that under the cover of an open porch provided that your eating space is tucked near the house and the rain is not too heavy. An enclosed screened porch ensures you can enjoy the smell and sound of the rain while eating outside.

Entertaining outdoors

This is a super important consideration that many homeowners don’t think of. How many people will be using your space on a frequent basis? Will you regularly be hosting neighbors and guests? If so, that requires a somewhat significantly increased sized space. Let’s say you have company for dinner a couple nights per week and want to enjoy those events on your new outdoor space. If you have a family of 4 but regularly entertain a few people, that may require a square 4-person table be exchanged for a rectangular 5′ – 6′ table. Then consider that the chairs add an extra 2′ on each side. Further consider that people typically push their chair back from the table after the meal requiring up to 4′ on each side of that table. This then requires a fairly significantly sized space. We will help you walk through these considerations during our free consultation.

Relaxing outdoors

We all have different ideas of relaxing. While some people’s idea of relaxation is a good book and cozy chair, other people’s idea of relaxation is 5 best friends and evening cocktails. Likely your family bookworm is happy to have their corner and cozy chair not too far from where others are relaxing or eating. We can certainly design a great nook into a space.

If you’ve read through the above, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that you don’t want to choose. You want to do each of these on your new space. That’s what our clients are telling us. We are building many combination spaces that accommodate this desire. Some of our most popular combination spaces include a deck/porch, deck patio, or patio/porch. If you’ve dreamed and planned this space for a long time, it’s best to make the space exactly what you’re looking for.

Give us a call today for a free consultation at (740) 879 – 3730. We look forward to your call. Please also visit our website at http://columbus.archadeck.com.

Author: archadeckofcolumbus

I began my association with Archadeck in 2001 when I was working for a subcontractor that Archadeck of Columbus was employing for patio installations. I had been working in the Landscape/Hardscape industry for quite a few years at the time and immediately noticed a difference in how Archadeck operated in comparison with other deck companies that we worked with. Over the years of working with Archadeck on numerous projects, large and small, I came to realize the importance of what they were selling; beautiful designs, top-notch craftsmanship and a world class customer experience. This is what drove me to start working for Archadeck in January of 2011 and eventually buying the company in 2016. My wife, Amber, and my son, Logan, could not be happier to be a part of such a wonderful organization. We look forward to the future as we build the outdoor living environments our customers dream of with the “world class” service they deserve! View all posts by archadeckofcolumbus