You don’t need to go away to getaway. With the cost of travel escalating, and with safety and security a growing concern, it makes more and more sense to stay put. But staying put doesn’t mean missing out on fun. It’s time to plan a summer staycation on your deck or patio.
Plan Your “Itinerary”
The trick to a successful staycation is to make it feel like a true vacation, and this takes some planning and preparation, just as you would carefully plan an out-of-town holiday. Otherwise, you may end up doing your laundry or your other house chores and totally destroy the illusion of being on a holiday. Here are some points for you to consider:
- Rediscover your area. Besides your patio, there must be some places of interest around where you live and so now is the perfect time to discover these local attractions. Why not play tourist, do the research about these places and pay them a visit?
- Draw up a schedule. When you go on holiday there is a start date and an end date to it, so set a start date and an end date for your staycation. In between, fill up your schedule with fun and interesting activities on your deck or patio for you, your friends and family to enjoy.
- Set a budget. If you plan on doing things other than just sitting around your deck or pergola then you expect to be spending a bit of cash. The beauty of drawing up a staycation plan is that you can project what to spend on and how much to spend.
Prepare Your Patio
There are three essentials to a successful patio summer staycation:
- A barbie. Summer just won’t be complete without some meat cooking on a grill. It’s just unimaginable!
- Enough seats. You’ll want to do a lot of relaxing and reclining, so some comfy chairs are a must. If you plan on inviting guests, you need more comfy chairs.
- Some shade. The sun does tend to shine more warmly during the summer, so it will be good to have some shade to keep cool under.
If you have all these on your deck, patio or pergola, then you’re definitely equipped for a rocking staycation! But you may want to consider the following additions as well:
- Lights. The right lighting lets you extend the use of your deck or pergola past sunset and can help you set the mood for your outdoor activity.
- Audio equipment. Music sets the tone (very feeble pun intended) for a wide range of activities — from patio parties to deck meditation sessions.
- Camera. You will want to capture those precious moments. A good digital camera, preferably one that also has video capabilities, lets you capture the memories.
- Refrigerator or esky. Keep yourself and your guests cool during the warm summer season by having cold drinks and lots of ice within reach on your deck or pergola.
Enjoy Your Patio Holiday
Summer is in full swing; you have the perfect venue for an awesome “staycay” holiday and you can’t wait to get started. So what’s next? It’s all up to you, of course, and to what you envision your staycation to be like. Remember that “itinerary” we asked you to draw up earlier? Well, it’s time to take it out and set your plans into action.
Here are some more ideas for your summer staycation:
- Fire up the barbie! Light up the grill and call your friends or family over for an awesome outdoor barbecue. Check out these barbecue recipes from Taste.com.au.
- Throw a party. Who doesn’t love a party? People are just waiting to be invited over for an afternoon or evening of fun.
- Transcend. If you’re into yoga, turn your deck or patio into the perfect venue for aligning your body, mind and soul. These tips from Patio Living will help you transform your deck or pergola into a sanctuary for the soul.
- Got game? Your kids, especially will love this: transform your deck, pergola or patio into an enormous board game. Follow these instructions from Design Dazzle, or come up with your own ideas for upscaled board games.
- Play on… If music is your passion and you look forward to spending the summer to catch up on your playlists, then perhaps it’s a good idea to set up an outdoor speaker system to let you enjoy you music, al fresco. EH Network shares this post on setting up outdoor TV and audio equipment for your home
