A garden is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy nature, but not everyone is a keen gardener, or able to spend hours out in the sun. We’re more aware than ever of the dangers posed by too much time under the Australian sun, so many Sydney residents are choosing to create outdoor rooms from carports or pergolas rather than the standard beds of flowers and scraggly trees dotted about the lawn. But why should you choose an outdoor room over a garden as your next home improvements?
Having a well-designed and well-appointed outdoor room can mean big home improvements in both the value of your home, and the lifestyle that you lead. Australian love the outdoors, but as we become increasingly aware of the dangers of too much exposure to the sun (two in three Australians will have skin cancer at some point before they turn 70), we’re learning to love the outdoors both from a distance, and at night. It’s these clever outdoor rooms that are helping us change the great Australian lifestyle into one that’s far more sustainable.
In 2010, an outdoor room and garden took out the Landscape Industries Association of Victoria award for landscape of the year. Since then, outdoor rooms have flourished all around the country. So what exactly makes an outdoor room a winner?
Our expectations for our backyards have changed drastically in the last decade or so. Once we wanted a space to kick a football or to have a little veggie patch, now we want an additional living space. This change in expectations has let outdoor rooms become a big part of modern Australian backyards. The standard for an outdoor room is to provide a beautiful spot to sit, relax, cook, and eat. Many outdoor rooms, often converted from hardly-used pergolas or carports, have cupboards for dishes, a sink for washing up, a bar fridge, and a wood fire oven, along with plenty of room for comfortable chairs and a table or two.
The outdoor room lets you enjoy your backyard year-round, both during the day and at night, without sacrificing comfort, or risking your health. When compared with the traditional European garden or Australian backyard, there’s just no competition to which one comes out on top.
