In recent years, having an entertaining area outside the home is more critical than ever. Visiting with friends in the middle of a pandemic could be life threatening, but the risk is reduced outdoors, so more and more homeowners want a low-maintenance area where friends and family can gather outdoors. Does extending a backyard patio increase home value? The short answer is YES!
The University of Michigan discovered that consumers felt a quality landscaped home in general had approximately 11.3 percent higher value than the exact home without attractive landscaping. Additionally, SmartMoney.com said that a landscaped patio specifically raises your home’s value by 12.4 percent. This means that improving the backyard with a few smart landscaping ideas, including expanding the patio, can truly make a difference for a homeowner’s bottom dollar.
Watch the Spending
A patio is a paved area connected to a home. It can be enormously expensive to do an upscale patio overhaul with a high-end remodel extension that includes extras such as a pergola, outdoor kitchen, and fireplace. If you are simply looking to visit with a few friends and increase your home value a few steps, then create a lower-cost reasonably sized expansion. It is possible with creative money-saving shopping of durable yet affordable materials.
Reduce the Lawn and Expand the Patio
People love lawns, but are tired of the environmental negativity of owning a large lawn. No one wants to spend a full day every weekend on the lawn mower. With this in mind, reducing a large lawn with more hardscape space and low-care garden beds is a great way to go. In other words, increasing the backyard patio will decrease that lawn. It will also make more space for seating and entertaining so that visitors can share time outdoors.
Use the “Rule of Thirds” to determine appropriate placement. For example, for a typical backyard, consider dividing the area up into 1/3 grass (or grass substitute), 1/3 landscaping, and 1/3 patio.
An Outdoor Room Opportunity
More patio space also means more opportunity for expanded backyard living rooms. Outdoor cooking areas, reading nooks, sunning patios, and yoga zones can all be created as an extension beyond the existing small builders-grade patio. A perfect example of an outdoor room can be seen in the before and after photos on this page. While the blue home is quite beautiful with a small patio, you can see that expanding the patio and perennial plantings around the back of this home truly enlarged the space. The before and after design was built in a few minutes utilizing the iScape app – it’s easy to use. It is clear to see how the patio will look when complete.
For additional patio ideas, tips and tricks, check out this article in which iScape was featured: https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/start-a-patio-garden/
Download iScape now to create designs and make make your patio space lovely for entertaining. Dream it, then iScape it!
