How to Create the Perfect Outdoor Space at Your California Home

After a busy spring buying season rife with bidding wars, you finally secured the keys to your dream home in California. When you close a deal on the house with a pool and a backyard with perfect weather, you may skip out on the beach-bound traffic jams. 

Zoom get-togethers were necessary in 2020, but new homeowners can now show off the fruits of their labor to friends and family in person! Californians freshly emerging back into normal life in 2021 may not know where to start when it comes to designing the perfect backyard oasis for entertaining.

Thinking of clinking glasses with friends on sunny summer days, we’ve compiled some tips for buyers to think about as they prepare their new outdoor space. 

Glow up your yard

Space is valuable in the always-sunny California climate, and homeowners with outdoor patios need a backyard with sun and shade. 

Installing a retractable awning coupled with outdoor-rated TVs and sofas is perfect for homeowners with smaller yards. But homeowners with a larger canvas can blend their living spaces by creating indoor-outdoor rooms. 

California rooms are specialized dining rooms or lounge areas that seamlessly flow to an outdoor space. Partygoers can bask in the LA sunset, dining in an open-air transition room.

Regardless of how you curate your outdoor space, a must-have for any backyard party is music. Homeowners can either install dedicated speakers or go natural and set up Bluetooth rock-shaped speakers directly connected to your digital music library.

Go bright and bold 

You can make your soiree last throughout the night by installing some mood lighting in the yard to keep the party going after dark. 

Installing lighting systems around the perimeter of a pool or garden turns a personal oasis into a multi-colored light show for guests to dip in. 

Incorporating string market lights, hanging lanterns, or even outdoor chandelier lights will transform your backyard into a happening haunt. A dedicated outdoor canopy even allows for outdoor-rated chandeliers with dimmers that brighten up the night.

A timeless must-have for many Californians is the fire pit, where friends will sit as the night winds down. Some buyers prefer specially designed fire pits with seating built into the perimeter, while others opt for a propane-powered unit surrounded by outdoor furniture. 

Fire pits evoking an ambiance that you and your friends are camping out under the stars, but you do not want people wandering about the yard by firelight. Solar-powered yard lights save homebuyers on electricity and do not require pesky cordage lining your property, plus they help orient partygoers as they wander about the party. 

Prep your property for a party

Once you have unpacked and organized your new backyard kingdom, it is finally time to invite friends and family over to enjoy your new digs. 

After curating the backyard furniture and setting the scene through creative lighting, new homeowners can begin planning the perfect backyard party. When it comes to the guest list, keep it small and intimate so you can focus more on showing off your dwelling. 

Themes help tie party decorations, food, and drinks together. It is easy to evoke a bohemian Californian spirit by setting tables with flowers cut from the garden, placing out mason jars with tea candles in them, and setting the music system to the Summer BBQ playlist on Spotify. Make sure to set up your outdoor sofas in a way that invites conversation between guests; open and airy is key. 

And to crack the ice after months of Zoom calls, hosts can set up a drink station at their outdoor kitchen, equipping it with mixed cocktails, summer shandies, and plenty of water!