5 Backyard Investments Worthy of Your Time and Money

Your backyard is a massive potential that can be used to transform your living space or add great value to the property that you own. Nevertheless, in order for the latter to be true, you need to consider several things. First of all, not every investment gives a positive resale value. Installing a pool will make the value of your property rise, nonetheless, it’s unlikely that the boost in resale value will be enough to cover the expenses of the construction. Fortunately, there are more than a couple of ideas that will help you out in this regard and allow you to take the most cost-effective course of action.

1. Backyard playground

The next thing you need to consider is making a backyard playground and here it’s fairly easy to get an amazing ROI. How? Well, due to the fact that there’s no rule to what playground equipment needs to go there. It all depends on your own decisions, budget, and predispositions of your children. You can install a swing, a slide, and a seesaw, however, you can go a more frugal route and make a sandbox or install a mini soccer goal. In this way, you get a completely different approach but different isn’t necessarily worse. Also, you need to keep in mind that the number of children playing in this backyard may require certain size adjustment.

2. Outdoor kitchen

Making an outdoor kitchen is not as complex as it seems and it is a project that adds massive value to your backyard. First of all, you need to consider your surroundings and plan the layout in agreement with it. Second, you need to pick materials that you can both afford and that meet your beauty standards. The most important question that you have to answer here is whether you should go for permanent or portable appliances and features. Depending on whether you intend to move in the nearest future, you may have no choice but to go with a portable. Still, there is an upside and a downside to everything.

3. Make a deck

Other than the kitchen, you can also add a function to your backyard by making a deck and equipping it to serve as an outdoor living room. First, you start by making a deck from a material of your choosing (wood, gravel, concrete or pavers). Second, you pick the adequate seating for this deck. We’re talking about outdoor furniture, capable of enduring weather changes, temperature differences and much, much more. Once you’re done, there’s one more thing to consider and keep in mind – the shade.

Now, a parasol is a simple solution but it’s not a visually pleasing one, which means that it might end up diminishing the value of the deck as a whole. Instead, you should look for retractable pergolas, sunscreens and folding arm awnings like the ones that retailers like Aspect Shade have in offer.

4. Paving a path

Another cost-effective solution that you should opt for is a simple backyard path, that will be a life-saving feature once the muddy season begins. This path can be made from various materials, starting with gravel which costs about $6 per square foot and is easy for you to install on your own, up to stone pavers which can cost up to $20 per square foot. Other than this, you also have concrete slabs, concrete pavers or brick pavers. Each of which has their own set of advantages and downsides. This simple project has the power to massively contribute to the overall value of your backyard.

5. A vegetable garden

There’s probably nothing better and more pragmatic that you can do with your garden than create a small vegetable or herb garden where you’ll get to grow your own ingredients. You can easily make a pizza or a taco garden, nonetheless, this is more something you do with your kids, for educational purposes. In order to really contribute to the household budget and help your garden make a difference, you should grow herbs like parsley, mint, basil, rosemary, thyme or sage. Needless to say, in order to make this as effective as possible, you should do some research on the topic of companion planting and even make your own compost.

In conclusion

The best thing about backyard investments lies in the fact that they create a disproportionally large resale value boost when compared to the original investment. Sure, they sometimes require investments in form of time and effort, yet, the end result usually tends to be more than worth it. Either way, you need to set your goals and determine your budget beforehand, in order to make an accurate estimate. Moreover, remember that not all backyard improvements are there to add value. Sometimes you just have to do something for yourself and your family.