Ideas for a Summer Retreat

Summer is a lovely time of year and making the most of what this season has to offer is at the top of many people’s lists this year. However, with work piling up and the office heat becoming unbearable, sometimes you just need a place to get away in the evening and enjoy some time alone with a book and what better way to celebrate this season than with a summer retreat? 

Below we have compiled a few ideas you could use to create your summer retreat.

 

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Modern Decking Area

As more homeowners are adopting a more modern approach to outdoor décor, why not consider installing a contemporary decking area, complete with a dark wood barrier, flooring and a few comfy living room chairs to top it off? You could choose a table to act as the centre piece that matches the sleek barrier and a few potted plants are sure to give the place a bit of charm. Alternatively, you could opt for a swing garden chair that matches the colour scheme of your decking to jazz it up a little or you could invest in a few straw baskets to hang up a couple of small potted plants to add a bit of colour to the summer scene. You could even have a section of the decking that, instead of wood, you create a shallow pit and use some rounded stones to mix the decoration up.

Swimming Pool Sanctuary

If you’re lucky enough to have a swimming pool in your own back garden or you’re considering having one installed, why not transform this area of the garden into a sanctuary where you can relax after a hard day’s work? As an idea, you could have tiled flooring surrounding the pool, but also invest in a few strips of synthetic grass lawn and create an intricate or simple pattern by laying the grass in-between the tiles. In addition, you could also add a fire pit at the end of the pool to add a bit more light and relaxation to your late night swimming session. Looking at a little further away from the swimming pool, you could add a gravel section and place a few potted plants to add a bit of greenery.

Campfire Central

If you’re a big fan of summer campfires, then this might just be the option for you. Simply lay a few stones at random in the grass to create a path leading up to where your main fire area will be. At the end of the garden, you could have an old stone circle with a few big rocks dotted around the main area. You could invest in a few wooden deck chairs for comfort and for the fire area, create a ‘pit’ using medium-height stones that form a circle. Alternatively, you can have a large outdoor fireplace at the edge of the circle and you can plant a few flowers around the circle to add to the visual appeal of the area. This idea is fairly simple and with the right colour scheme, can look fantastic in any garden.

Maze Wonder

Something that always looks great if you have a fairly large garden is a collection of miniature maze designs. If you have a big enough garden, you could dedicate an area to your collection of mini mazes and cover the base with tiny white stones. Then, you could have a different maze design in each corner using hedges and have a main, intricate centrepiece in the middle. If you have a pond, you could build your main maze hedge around the pond (providing you don’t have any fish as it will be difficult to feed them!) or you could choose a lovely water feature to be the main attraction. Add a few deck chairs, maybe the odd plant or two and you’re good to go! You should bear in mind that if you want to do this project yourself it will be very time consuming and fiddly, so it might be worth looking into hiring a specialist to carry out the work for you.

These are just 4 ideas you can use to create your very own summer retreat! Do you have any more that you’d like to share with our readers?