Guest Writer Teri Silver
Here are a few tips for creating beautiful outdoor living spaces.
Structures and Outvillas
Highlight the deck or patio with a pergola — a slatted wooden structure that provides filtered shade. Some structures have attachable walls or canopies that block the sun (you can also hang fabric on the slats for self-shading). Spruce up your pergola by growing vines and ivy through the cross beams and lattice and hanging a few flower baskets on the high slats.
New Leaf Builders will design outdoor structures in your Nexton home’s courtyard to enhance the simplicity of coastal Carolina living. How about an adjacent Casita (guest house) with a bathroom and kitchenette? Build an outdoor office or playroom – even a “man cave” or “she shed.” Utilize what would be empty space by turning it into an expanded part of the house.
Light It Up
Brighten up your back and side yards with energy-efficient outdoor lighting that operates with motion sensors or smartphone apps. Solar light sticks use photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into energy, which makes them an excellent choice for lighting up pathways, gardens, and landscaping.
Light strings are popular for gazebos, pergolas, verandas, and patio umbrellas. Globe lighting brightens up the yard and gives off a fun vibe that’s especially great for outdoor parties.
By the way, you can reduce the amount of flying pests near the patio or deck by using LED and colored lights, which do not attract as many bugs as the bright white lights do. Get rid of mosquitoes by eliminating standing water where the little buggers like to breed.
Garden Oasis
Flowers and vegetables color the yard and give the house that “homey” feeling. Our courtyard-style homes in Nexton feature private, gated spaces for gardens, and you can set out plots, pots, and containers, too. Color a vegetable garden with red tomatoes, green beans, yellow squash, purple eggplant, orange carrots, and white onions.
Synthetic Turf
A well-manicured lawn is ideal for your outdoor living space, but it takes a lot of work to maintain. Nexton’s Domus Collection offers the option of installing strong, durable artificial grass turf. Synthetic turf looks real, doesn’t need cutting, weeding, or fertilizing, and won’t attract diseases or bugs. Don’t want to replace the whole lawn? Lay artificial grass underneath tree canopies where nothing else will grow.
Pool Time!
South Carolina’s temperate climate and hot summers cry out for a swimming pool!
Install an inground or above-ground pool in the back courtyard. For the ultimate convenience, add a changing room or Cabana so you and your guests won’t go traipsing through the house in wet bathing suits. If having your own swimming pool isn’t in the cards, check out Midtown Club, Nexton’s lovely community center. Midtown Club has a large pool, pickleball and tennis courts, a workout facility, social living areas, and places to chill and relax.
Outdoor Decor
Outdoor furniture gets a lot of wear and tear from Mother Nature. Between the rainstorms, heat, cold, hail, and snow, if you leave your patio and deck furniture outside all year long, it’s bound to take a beating.
Enhance your home’s outdoor living space with a chaise lounge, wicker couches and chairs, and a hanging chair or hammock. Hanging bed swings are a cool kind of “Charleston thing,” where a large bed-like piece of furniture hangs on solid ropes. Also popular in Charleston is a joggling board, which might be described as a long single bench seat board on rocking chair legs. Being outside is one way to enjoy life, especially after a long workday. A reimagined backyard helps you to live in comfort — and that’s the way it ought to be. Whether you’re having a party, an intimate get-together, or just enjoying the scenery by yourself in the precious quiet, having a personal outdoor oasis is one of the best home upgrades you can make. New Leaf Builders and the new Domus Collection courtyard-style homes in Nexton will show you outdoor living as it is supposed to be.
