We’ve witnessed thousands of homeowners invest thousands of dollars in leveling up their outdoor spaces, only to later realize that the fabrics they chose don’t stand up to the elements or their outdoor space doesn’t meet their expectations at all.
Trust me – you can make gazillions of mistakes while building your outdoor space. And you wouldn’t want to waste your precious dollars on poor outdoor decoration mistakes. After all, if you’re spending top dollars, you’d want your outdoor space to feel like heaven.
That’s the reason we’ve put together a list of the five outdoor decoration mistakes homeowners usually make.
Let’s have a look.
5 Common Outdoor Decoration Mistakes Most Homeowners Make
Following are the five common outdoor decoration mistakes our experts at Shadeworks have put together for you:
- Completely Neglecting the Outdoor Space Because It’s Not a Forever Home
- Not Choosing Fabrics & Furniture that Stand up to the Elements
- Not Factoring in Trees & Neglecting Irrigation
- Making Outdoor Look Like Indoors
- Using Fragile Dishes & Dinnerware
Let’s touch down on each of these mistakes one at a time.
Completely Neglecting the Outdoor Space
Because It’s Not a Forever Home
Your outdoor space is not your forever home. I do not deny that. You’ll be spending the majority of your time indoors.
But that does not mean that you should entirely neglect your outdoor space. The one reason most homeowners neglect their outdoor space is that they aren’t sure how much time they’ll be spending there. So, they end up thinking installing a patio cover or pergola and investing in furniture for the outdoor space to be a complete waste of time.
And if you have the same opinion, I want you to strongly consider the activities that you can perform in your outdoor space.
You can have a lovely evening with your loved ones outside by hosting a cool barbeque party. At the same time, you can invite your friends over. Also, you can spend your Saturday evening all by yourself sitting in your favorite chair outside without having to worry about the weather. Investing in your outdoor space will also help you increase your home’s overall value. That’s because people, especially families, love spending their time with their loved ones outside.
My advice would be to think of your outdoor space like any other room in your house. And that’s applicable for renters as well. Would you live in an unfurnished bedroom? My guess – no.
And you need to think of your outdoor space the same way.
Not Choosing Fabrics & Furniture that Stand up to the Elements
And if you have decided to invest in your outdoor space, make sure that it’s cool, welcoming, and comfortable. Also, you need to make sure that it lasts. After all, you wouldn’t want the extreme weather conditions to affect your patio furniture, would you?
So, while choosing fabrics, make sure that they are both fade-resistant and mildew. Two of the popular choices include polypropylene and marine vinyl. While choosing furniture, consider wrought iron. It’s a perfect choice due to its ability to list. But you’ll also find brilliant options in resin wicker, plastic, teak, and more.
Not Factoring in Trees & Neglecting Irrigation
Trust me – trees can make or break your pergola or patio design. Most homeowners don’t factor in trees while building their patios or pergolas. But the truth is – trees contribute towards helping homeowners build a strong foundation for their outdoor space.
It’s not easy to move trees like other elements. Over time, trees will mature. And they’ll provide that visually appealing look that most people desire. But, if you don’t consider them initially, then they may mess up the look and feel of your outdoor space. On top of this, they may even clash with other elements, which isn’t an easy problem to fix. You may end up having to spend thousands of dollars later. Hence, I’d advise you to consider tree way before you lock in your patio or pergola design.
At the same time, don’t forget about irrigation.
You’d want to make sure that the plants and trees in your patio or pergola design get the proper amount of water. Some plants may have different watering needs. So, an irrigation system will make your life much easier. Without an irrigation system, you’ll have to spend your precious hours watering the plants all by yourself.
Making Outdoor Look Like Indoors
While building your outdoor space, you don’t really need to make sure that it matches your indoor design. After all, you wouldn’t want to make your outdoor space feel like your living room. Otherwise, you’ll be creating a second living room for yourself.
Make sure that your patio furniture or design doesn’t match your indoor elements. Your outdoor space needs to be unique and must bring you the feel and aura that you have been craving for.
For example, if you want your outdoor space to feel like an island, you can build a pergola or patio that helps you bring that aura.
Using Fragile Dishes & Dinnerware
Want to spend a romantic evening with your partner? You can always host a candlelight dinner in your outdoor space.
And you wouldn’t want anything to ruin that perfect evening, would you? But what if I told you that a fragile dish or dinnerware can?
Nobody likes cleaning a broken wine glass while spending a romantic evening with their partner. Having fragile dinnerware will always put you at risk.
While picking dinnerware and dishes for your outdoor space, make sure that they are shatterproof. Pick a set you love out of the world full of options available at your disposal and dine outdoors stress-free. Click HERE to look at the four best unbreakable dinnerware sets.
Build an outdoor space that makes you fall in love with it every time you step outside. While building your outdoor space, avoid making the five mistakes we’ve listed down in this blog post.
Our experts at Shadeworks can build your dream outdoor space in no time.
Feel free to review our quality design and outstanding craftsmanship. And if you want us to take over, give us a call today.