The Many Benefits of Outdoor Living Spaces
By David Norman of Caliber Construction Group/Certified Restoration
Outdoor living spaces can not only be a great home investment, but also be one of the most important investments you ever make. An investment in your family! With the advent of furthering technology families and people in general are spending less time with each other and more time in front of a phone, tablet or computer screen. A well-designed outdoor space can help bring people together in ways you never dreamed and serve to be functional to the home as well as fiscally responsible.
Given the right geographical location and if properly designed, an outdoor living space can be one of the best returns on investment a homeowner can make. Texas happens to be a great place for an addition such as this. When you decide to move forward with this type of project please keep a couple of things in mind. Don’t cut corners! Interview and hire a qualified architect or designer and a reputable construction company for the project. The reason for this is you want the project to look like it was part of the homes original construction, not as an afterthought. If it’s over or under built and appears out of place or that you skimped on the project you could lose out big time. However, if it’s well thought out a return of 80% or higher is possible. When it comes time for an appraisal, the appraisers will aim to compare your home with others with the same features. This is great because homes with these types of additions tend to bring in more money and sell faster than homes without them.
Another thing to keep in mind is not only the long-term return but what you could potentially save while living in your home. How is this possible? After adding this type of space people tend to enjoy spending more time at their home. Instead of constantly eating out, or going out to watch a game, which depending on your family size can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars, people tend to have family and friends over more which in turn can save huge amounts of money over the life of the home.
The investment in family and friends is potentially huge! People of all ages and of different interests as well as different backgrounds will enjoy having an outdoor living space. When you have a functional space that includes but is not limited to having an outdoor kitchen, outdoor fireplace and audio/video, people tend to be drawn to your home. Your teenagers will be around the home more often as this is now “The place to be”. You will get to know their friends as well as knowing what’s going on in their lives. Some people may gather for sporting events, while others might want a quiet night by the fire with a few friends along with great food and drinks or a nice bottle of wine.
If you plan an outdoor kitchen in a proper manner, it can become an extension of your indoor kitchen which will allow you to use this space on a daily basis. Having this extension can be really nice! You can set things on the outdoor countertops which can allow for less clutter inside. Cleanup can also become a breeze! If the outdoor kitchen is equipped with a sink and spray nozzle you can simply spray off the prep area and dry it, along with cleaning up your grill area.
There are too many things to communicate in this article in regard to outdoor spaces. In the future I plan to write another article explaining the different types of construction options, outdoor kitchen and appliance options as well as audio video and fireplace options. Given all of the benefits it is wise to consider an outdoor kitchen and living space.