How to Create the Perfect Outdoor Space for Hosting Guests

There’s a lot that goes into hosting guests, not the least of which is creating an ideal environment to host in. With indoor gatherings currently discouraged, many are turning to outdoor spaces as an alternative. Just like arranging a space within your home to host, creating a great space outside to host guests takes a lot of work.

Give It a New Paint Job

Your home’s exterior serves as something of a backdrop to your hosting space. Take a close look at your exterior walls. How’s the siding holding up? An exterior paint job doesn’t tend to last as long in humid climates like those found in Florida. If you want to breathe some fresh life into it and make it look as presentable as possible, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint. Painting is best done during the winter, thanks to the relatively low humidity and mild winter temperatures. The more temperate climate allows the paint to dry faster than it would in more humid conditions. With winter being part of the dry season in Florida, there’s less of a chance of a rainstorm ruining the paint before it’s dry.

Weather Proof It

Florida rains can be brutal when they come. While the rainy season takes place May-October, you still get showers during the rest of the year as well. If you want to maintain a good outdoor hosting space, you’ll need to take steps to protect it from wind and rain. If you have a patio or deck, consider adding a cover to it to provide some shelter from the rain. Hurricane winds can wreak havoc on your house if it catches roofs just right, so you might consider a covering you can detach or put away in the event of high winds. Make sure you treat any wood surfaces to help them withstand high volumes of water.

Create Some Shade

The Florida sun can be brutal in any season, but especially during the summer. If you’re entertaining outdoors, you’ll need to find ways to create some shade for your guests. Umbrellas and awnings can be good options. Umbrellas can often be moved around or rotated to provide a shield from the sun regardless of its position. If you want an attractive design element that doubles as a source of shade, a pergola is a good option to consider. There are even some pergolas that are designed to withstand hurricane winds, which can make them an ideal option for the Florida homeowner.

Make the Right Furniture Choices

Your guests will likely want to sit down at some point, so to create the perfect outdoor space for hosting you’ll need to provide seating options. Choosing the right outdoor furniture takes some research though. It’s important to choose pieces that will hold up to the Florida climate and still be comfortable. Wood is often a popular choice for outdoor furniture, but it can be tricky. You’ll need to find ways to protect it from the elements. Exposure to direct sunlight can harm wood furniture. Unless it’s properly treated, wood doesn’t tend to hold up to water well either. You may be better off with more water-resistant options that are resistant to sun damage.

Light It Up

Not all parties happen during the day. In fact, it’s often better to hold them later since the temperatures are often more friendly to being outside. You’ll have less daylight, so make sure you have a way to light up your outdoor space. Fire pits are a fun option for gatherings, encouraging people to come together to enjoy the flames. Alternatively, you could add outdoor lamps to give the space a more in-home feel. If you’ve added sources of shade to your space, you can use them as a place from which to hang strings of lights for a fun way to light things up.

Choosing Decor

Adding tasteful decor to your hosting space is a great way to add finishing touches. You could use themed decor if the party you’re hosting has a specific theme to it. If you already have pieces of decor in your house that would work for your gathering, you can move them outside instead of purchasing new pieces. Alternatively, you can purchase decor specifically for your entertaining space. Since it will be outdoors, it’s important to take the climate and the materials into consideration. If it isn’t something that will hold up well to being outside all the time, consider bringing it back inside when it’s not in use or when the weather dictates.

Eliminate Pests

Pests are a problem in every region, and Florida is no exception. While many of them don’t want to be around humans, others, such as mosquitoes, have no such disposition. In fact, for mosquitoes, humans are where it’s at. If you want to protect the comfort of your guests, take steps to eliminate pesky pests that might come to call. There are multiple ways to deter mosquitoes. They aren’t especially strong fliers, so even something like installing fans around your space can be enough to blow them away. As an added bonus, your guests may appreciate the breeze they create.

Maintaining Your Plants

Your backyard and the plant life in it provide the other half of the background for your party. Maintaining it well will help create a pleasant atmosphere, similarly to how a clean home does. To maintain your plants properly, you’ll need to understand their specific needs. If you have native Florida plant life, you may not need to do much beyond making sure it doesn’t overrun everything, since it’s already adapted to the environment. Take the time to mow or trim your lawn and maintain it to keep it green and beautiful.

If you want to create the perfect hosting space outside, there’s a lot of work to do. There are different aspects of appearance to address and comfort to manage. If you do it right though, you’ll create an outdoor space that you and your guests will enjoy gathering in again and again.

Make your home even more inviting with a new coat of paint! Contact us today for a free estimate.