Backyard Tips for Your Year-Round Parties

There’s no denying that summer is the season of outdoor entertainment. You generally feel more comfortable inviting around friends and family, knowing the weather will play its part and help you enjoy your time outside.

However, your eagerness to spend time with the people you love shouldn’t have to end with the changing seasons. If you want to ensure you can host parties and get-togethers long after the mercury drops, you just have to do some of the following things.

Create a Sheltered Area

Shelter is the most critical upgrade you need to make to your outdoor space for year-round parties. If you have a roof over your head, you can still entertain outdoors in the sunshine, rain, hail, or even snow.

There are many different options you might like to consider, and the perfect solution might depend on your yard and the features you already have in place. You might go all out with a manual or electric louvre roof system, which you can open or close as the weather allows. Alternatively, you might even consider the installation of a carport, which now no longer requires consent in NZ, as long as they meet a range of criteria.

Pergolas, gazebos, cantilever patio covers, and patio PVC blinds are also all excellent options, depending on your budget and aesthetic preferences.  

Install a Source of Heat

Even the warmest regions of Aotearoa can experience a few cold days, which might put a dampener on your outdoor entertaining plans. However, a few cold days don’t mean you have to stay cooped up inside. Install a form of heating in your entertainment area, and you can remain warm, dry, and comfortable.

Once again, there are options aplenty, and your choices can depend on how much you’re willing to spend and what you prefer. Some people like the rustic vibes and price tag associated with a fire pit, while others want the click-of-a-button convenience of outdoor radiant heaters. You can also purchase heater bars designed for outdoor use, portable fire pits, gas fire tables, large outdoor area heaters, and many other desirable options. Rather than venturing inside when the mercury drops, you can remain outdoors and ramp up the heating.

Take Care Of Outdoor Seating

Many people become frustrated by how much money they spend on outdoor furniture. It can sometimes seem like you’re replacing your seats more often than anything else.

No outdoor furniture can escape the elements, no matter how much money you spend or the materials you opt for. UV rays and sunshine can fade plastic and make it brittle, while wicker and wood can warp, crack, split, and rot in the sun and rain. Metal, of course, can also succumb to rust, even if it’s of the highest quality.

If you want to enjoy year-round entertainment without having to stop at your local furniture store at least once per year, make sure you take care of any dining sets and seating arrangements that will be exposed to the elements. Store cushions inside your home or garage when they’re not in use, and keep chairs tucked under pergolas and patio shelters at all times. Don’t forget to oil and treat wood, and even consider using UV protectant sprays to reduce color fading.

Add Lighting

Extended sunshine hours are one of the best parts of summer, which is what can make it so hard to say goodbye to this season as autumn arrives. Soon enough, you’re plunged into darkness, and the fun has to stop. Add lighting to your outdoor space, and the fun can continue for as long as you want.

Fairy lights can be inexpensive and exciting, while solar lights don’t cost the earth to purchase, install, or operate. You can even look at in-stair lighting, illuminated garden ornaments, park-style lighting, and wired-in lighting you install on your home’s exterior walls and fascia to brighten your deck or patio area.

Grow Year-Round Plants

Your garden might look the picture of perfection during spring, but what happens when the cooler weather arrives? Don’t have your guests staring at a bare garden in the middle of winter. Be proud to invite your friends to your home at any time of the year by growing plants that look beautiful year-round.

Flaxes look stunning in all weather conditions and are reasonably easy-care, and daylilies provide some gorgeous flowers from spring to late summer. If you opt for an evergreen variety, you can also enjoy their foliage year-round.

Hydrangeas, tussocks, and succulents are fabulous and easy-care options for time-poor and house-proud entertainers.

Get Ready for Year-Round Entertaining

You’re undoubtedly going to spend more time entertaining in the summer months than in winter, but how good would it be to have the option to spend time with loved ones outside year-round? Make some of these changes above, and you can be on your way to having a completely functional and comfortable entertainment space before you know it.