Enjoy the Fall Weather in a Fantastic Backyard

We all love to be outside in the summertime, what with the sun and the heat and the long days and all. This feeling doesn’t have to come to a screeching halt with the approach of fall, though – the great outdoors are particularly beautiful as Mother Nature prepares for winter, and warm days and cooler nights are a recipe for outside enjoyment. Here are some ways you can design your backyard to maximize the benefits of this time of year.

Tree hammock

Build and install a grape arbor.It takes a few years for the plants to become mature, but once it’s established, the fruit is delicious and picturesque. Imagine the sweet fruit in the late summer and early fall and fantastic colors throughout the fall as leaves change. One benefit of grape arbors is that, from the most ruggedly humble of structures to the most impressive, they are inherently charming and serene.

Tree hammock

Create a chessboard patio.There’s something about extreme sizes, either miniature or oversized, that makes ordinary items seem extra-special. This gigantic chessboard patio is no exception. You’ve got a built-in activity for two or for an entire garden party – what a unique way to pass the time while waiting for an outside movie to start.

Tree hammock

Build planter boxes…and lots of them.Fall is a great time to work on your landscaping, actually, and placing planter boxes around your yard will make things that much easier in the spring. (You could also consider building and installing window boxes to add texture to your home’s exterior. Enjoyable year-round!)

Tree hammock

Create a cabana to cozy up in during those crisp fall afternoons.It seems so exotic, doesn’t it, to lounge amid the gently swaying curtains? This is a lovely DIY option, requiring only basic plumbing fixtures (i.e., galvanized pipe and joints), some paint, and curtains. And the furniture, of course, but that could be anything – even a picnic blanket on the grass.

Tree hammock

If you’re lucky enough to already have a firepit in your backyard, use it! If you’re not, make one! Gathering around a blazing fire in a backyard firepit creates some of the most magical of moments. Concrete-topped built-in benches, like these, are a beautiful luxury; chairs hauled in from the patio get the job done just as well.

Tree hammock

Anyone for bowling? That’s right. Use those decorative hay bales for something the whole family can enjoy – a backyard bowling alley. To further the celebratory fall-ishness, consider using pumpkins themselves as the bowling balls. What fun!

Tree hammock

Not to be overlooked in its simplicity is the addition of comfortable porch seating. Day or night, sitting outside in the crisp fall air is wonderful – bring out the wool blankets and cocoa when the temperatures really start to dip. This is a must-have, for any backyard with a porch, patio, deck.

Tree hammock

It’s a great time of year to sit under a pergola and work on the iPad or read. The feeling of having a roof, of sorts, creates a cozy little nook, even with walls of air. In backyards small and large alike, this aesthetically functional structure offers overhead protection without omitting the warm sun’s rays altogether.

Tree hammock

For anyone who has kids, a backyard zipline seems like a little slice of heaven on earth. This is another enviable venue for gatherings small and large. Make sure it can hold grownups, too – no one wants to miss out on a quick zipline run. I sense fodder for an annual tradition: a Polar Bear Zip on the first night it freezes. Anyone?

Tree hammock

Last but not least, a perfect way to enjoy the fall weather is to lounge in a hammock under some twinkle lights at dusk. Which actually sounds a touch specific, but it’ll have to do. Because this is perfection.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 45, 6, 7, 8 and 9.