Tips to Turn your Backyard into Neighbor’s Envy

When decorating a home, the backyard area is often treated as an afterthought. Once money has been laid out for making the inside as comfortable as possible, spending on couches, paint jobs, and lighting, the outdoors spaces often find themselves neglected by owners. But the truth is that with just a little bit of investment your backyard can become one of the best parts of your home, a haven for relaxation alone or a destination for gathering with your friends. Below are a few ways to make the parts outside of your house as inviting as the parts inside.

First things first: get cleaning. Yes, even the outside needs to be cleaned. Start by moving anything that is sitting out that would be better suited to an indoor location - for example, toys, gardening tools, fish food. If you don't have a shed to put them in, stick them in your garage or even your basement. Use storage containers to keep everything organized if you have a lot of stuff.

Once you have cleared the area, mow the lawn. Freshly and evenly cut grass is the most basic and essential element of a nice backyard. How often you need to mow depends on your preferences, as well as how much rain and sun you get. The faster the grass grows, the more you have to cut it.

Prune and trim any trees or hedges that already there. Don't go too crazy doing this, and feel free to leave things a bit uneven - this is nature after all. But at the same time, keep things looking relatively tidy and don't let any plant get overgrown and dominant over everything else.

Add some more flowers and plant life if you have the space and time. There are tons of plants that you can choose from, and it is totally up to you to choose them. Head to a local nursery and consult with a salesman about the space and time available to you to work in your garden. Many people like to plant vegetables and herbs so that they can literally eat the fruits of their labor.

Pick out some new, comfortable furniture. If you want to spend time outside, you are going to need somewhere to sit down! Again, there are a ton of options available for purchase and making this decision largely depends on personal preferences. Just be sure to buy something specifically built for outdoor use so that it will be able to withstand the elements of wind and rain.

Install lighting to make the space useful at night. There is nothing like relaxing in that backyard with a glass of wine and a book at the end of the day. But how can you do that without some good lighting? Try stringing some white lights around the edges or along the fence, or maybe some tiki torches for a Hawaiian luau vibe. If you have an awning, you can consider a paper awning.

Author's Bio : Danielle Samuels researches Chicago decorators. She’s extremely excited about the recently finished patio in her backyard!