If you’re staying home more … how do you make staying home more enjoyable? You may need a new deck, patio, open porch or screened porch from Archadeck of Akron. What will it take to create your private backyard retreat? If you want to make staying home a LOT more enjoyable, consider adding two or more outdoor structures for a combination outdoor living space!
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Are you looking for fun ways to enjoy a “staycation” at your home?
Many Akron-area homeowners have had to cancel vacations this year. We have several ideas that may help …
1) Dine out—at home! Don’t let vacation disruption keep you from dining out. Consider your deck or patio the perfect place to dine out, where you and your family are the only guests and you are treated royally. Cook or order your favorite foods. Bring out the good wine. And don’t skimp on dessert!
2) Order up a bigger deck! Is your deck too small? Whether you’re planning a true staycation or just need more room to move around, a bigger deck could greatly enhance the time you spend outdoors. To make the most of your deck time, you’ll need a deck with enough space for dining and a separate area for lounging.
Do you need room on the deck for your grill or smoker? Archadeck of Akron’s “comprehensive needs analysis” can help you determine how much space you need on your new deck. Our objective is to custom design the ideal deck for you and your lifestyle … which may have changed recently under Ohio’s Stay at Home Order.
3 ) Add that front porch you’ve been wanting! We are your Akron front porch builder. Sitting on a front porch is the antidote to feeling isolated these days. It’s the original social media! Assuming your front porch will be more than 6’ from the sidewalk or street, stay in touch with your neighbors as they walk by. Exchange greetings and news of the day. Whether they’re walking their dogs or just walking for good health, you’ll get to know everyone better! Add a porch swing and that front porch may become your favorite “room” in the house.
4) Plan your “official staycation” like you’re going on a trip! Make a list of movies you want to watch, museums you want to visit—virtually, of course—and books you want to read. Coordinate your cuisine with your movies and museums as though you’re visiting a different region or country each day. Schedule your days, lightly! … so by the end of a week you’ve at least made a dent in the activities you planned. You may need to extend that staycation for another week! If you don’t want to cook during your staycation, treat yourself by choosing a different restaurant for take-out each evening. It’s a great way to support local restaurants, too!
5) Get back into gardening … or discover its pleasures for the first time! Call your nearest gardening center and solicit their advice for what to plant along the edges of your patio and deck. They’ll need to know how much sun vs. shade your garden will receive so they know what plants to recommend. Many nurseries are still open for business if you order online and drive up to collect your purchases.
Container gardening is our all-time favorite! It’s manageable, doesn’t create too much of a mess, and adds vibrant color to enhance any deck or patio. Also, if you’re adding a new patio, why not include some planters in your hardscape design?
6) Re-evaluate your outdoor furniture. Is it time for a change? Envision your screened porch as a destination and furnish it accordingly. You can even treat it like a room to be designed instead of a catch-all for whatever ends up there. If you design your outdoor room like a place you’d want to visit, you’ll enjoy it all the more. You can turn that porch or patio into an exotic getaway spot. Try a couple of Adirondack chairs on your porch, deck, or patio. They’re super comfortable, relaxing, and can transport you back to your favorite lakeside memories.
7) Create your own outdoor camping experience! Relive your best camp memories and your kids will grow up knowing that stay-at-home-camp is the most fun camp of all. Gather materials for several craft activities, build your own birdhouses and tailor your crafts to include your children’s favorite things. At night grill your hot dogs over the fire in your fire pit. Don’t have a fire pit? Archadeck of Akron can design the perfect patio and fire pit for camping out at home. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
8) Plan your combination multi-functional outdoor living rooms … for our phased building program, and start by building the first phase now. Archadeck of Akron knows that some families need more than one outdoor living space to make the most of their time at home. If you crave the ultimate versatility for outdoor living, you need a screened porch, a covered porch or patio, and an open patio or deck. Or perhaps you need all four!
Each structure is perfect for certain times of the year, and when you combine them, you have the whole year covered! Sometimes you want to be protected from the sun, and sometimes you want to bask in its warmth. Sometimes you want to dine out in the open, and sometimes you need screens to keep the mosquitoes away. We can help you create the best mix of outdoor spaces for your needs and design them as a cohesive phased building program. You can move ahead with each phase as your budget allows.
Let Archadeck of Akron help you determine what kind of outdoor living structure would best meet your needs. The more you stay at home, the more you need an outdoor room that’s an inviting getaway spot. We can schedule a “virtual consultation” using video-conferencing technology. To get started, just call. You can contact Archadeck of Akron today at (330) 537-6412.
Patrick Sluss, owner Archadeck of Akron
