Outdoor Dining at Home
09/10
Have you been spending as much time outside lately as we have? If there’s one silver lining to the recent pandemic when you live at The Waters, it’s that we have so many incredible outdoor amenities that allow for refreshment and entertainment outside of your home while still being safe and healthy. We are so thankful for the lakes, green spaces, parks, and playgrounds that allow for fresh air, sunshine, and social distancing.
However, it’s been a long, hot summer. We are excited for cooler temperatures and the opportunity to enjoy being outside even more. Fall will be an excellent time for some of the best features of our homes to shine: outdoor dining spaces!
Outdoor dining options at The Waters
There are many wonderful options for outdoor dining in homes at The Waters. Many include porches, grilling decks, or separate patio spaces in the yard. A few homes even have large screened party porches, which appeals to residents for entertainment purposes, even if you can’t throw huge parties just yet. Our front and back porches are wide enough to include a dining table and have a separate seating area. At The Waters, we generally build plans that include back porches right off the kitchen to make for easy transport of food and dishes.
Many of our newest homes have outdoor fireplaces on a screened porch. These spaces are designed to be an extension of the home. Above these fireplaces, many wall spaces are already wired and ready for mounting a TV. This space will make our mostly “at home” football season a little easier to take this year!
Some yards are designed to create natural seating areas surrounding fire pits and near grilling stations. This type of set-up is ideal for families with smaller children. The adults can relax and talk while the kids safely play nearby. Better yet, when your dining space is in the yard, you don’t worry as much about the mess!
How to create the best outdoor dining space
Our residents have figured out how to make the most of a space, especially when it comes to outdoor dining. While a beautiful porch or patio is a great start, it’s what you do with the whole area that really makes the difference. Here are some things we’ve seen residents do to create the best outdoor dining spaces.
- Comfortable seating and table space
- A space that can flow from dining to relaxing with different seating “stations”
- Fans for cooling down in the summer heat and space heaters for cooler nights
- Adequate shade
- Spaces designed to take in the views
- Foliage planted to create natural paths and privacy
- Foliage that deters bugs
- Amenities, such as TVs and grills, that are nearby so that the whole group can congregate together in those areas
- Outdoor coolers or bar stations
- Creating ambiance, especially through lighting, with string lights, ground lights, and more
During recent months when we’ve all been at home more, we’ve seen residents successfully designing their porches and patios to be extensions of their house. They have created spaces outside for everything they need without having to make constant trips back in. They have stations for drinks, food, relaxing, entertaining, and sitting down to enjoy a meal.
While we all hope that we can gather again indoors soon with larger groups of friends and family, right now, we know that outdoor entertainment is ideal. It makes it possible to have a few guests over while continuing to distance as needed. But with beautiful, inviting spaces, you can also create a welcome experience for everyone.
