Create an Outdoor Room to Enhance Living Options

An outdoor room not only supplies additional living and entertaining space, but can also add substantial value and drama to a home. Depending on how the outdoor space is decorated, it can extend seasonal enjoyment of a home's yard and garden, become a functional and comfortable room for year-round entertaining, or simply serve as a private retreat for reading and quiet conversation.

Work With an Existing Patio

Many homeowners look to renovate existing patio space: Whether a patio is large or small, covered or uncovered, there are numerous ways to extend the square footage and shelter an outdoor room at least partially from sun and rain. It's usually not difficult to extend an existing roof, add a beamed ramada for shade, or blend old and new with a covering that complements existing architecture.

Hang canvas curtains or colorful, sheer drapes from corner posts: They not only look stylish, but they can be pulled to shield the patio from wind gusts or to create an intimate dining spot. Add a ceiling fan, comfortable furniture and appropriate lighting, along with a painted floor cloth and colorful accessories to transform even the most utilitarian space.

Some of the more popular features of outdoor rooms include:

• Low walls or built in benches and swings;
• Fans, Cooling Mist Sprayers and Infrared Heating Strips;
• Speakers or an Outdoor Television;
• Water Features, from small bubbling fountains to fish ponds;
• Screening.

New Ideas for Outdoor Rooms:

Wooden decks are multi-functional and can also be used as a transitional element from an existing patio to a new space. Decking can extend second-floor rooms to the outdoors, and roof-top decks are a great option for homes with smaller yards.

Outdoor kitchens are practical and popular whether they are simple or extravagantly outfitted. The return on investment can range from 100 percent to double that in some cases. Include ample countertop surfaces for food preparation and serving, along with seating for a few or a crowd, depending on specific needs.

A fireplace or fire pit is also a practical and popular addition. While a fireplace can anchor an attached patio, a fire pit with open flame is best reserved for a remote room, perhaps as the focal point of a deck or stone patio surrounded by lawn and open to the sky above.

An outdoor room can be simple or lavish, depending on personal preferences. Actual size is less important than ambience and details. Define the space in some way: Planting areas and low walls, a low picket fence, an arbor to serve as the "door" to the room, or a privacy fence to shield the space.

Encourage Outdoor Whimsy

There should be places for guests to sit and enjoy themselves, as well as activities a group can participate in together. Create a suggestion of a sitting room on the front porch, with wicker seating and usable tables. Or add a porch swing or a pair of rockers. Outfit a garden shed with unique accessories, both inside and out, and move a comfortable lounger into place with a small table nearby. It will be welcome following a day of yard work. Surround a small table and chairs with low hedging to create a private breakfast spot or afternoon tearoom. Collect castoff art, paint bright flowers on a fence, create a yellow brick road that curves off to the new room.

Outdoor spaces do not have to be extravagant or expensive. Instead, they should be viewed as ways to boost West Valley home enjoyment potential, extend the season for outdoor activities, and complement the family's lifestyle.