South Africans are outdoor people! They are prepared to pay more for a house if its doors can be thrown wide open and lead to an outside entertainment area. It doesn’t matter how tiny this backyard or courtyard is, as long as you treat it as an extension of your living area, you automatically add value to your property.

Remember, even the best-looking indoor living area will be spoilt by a view of a depressing backyard. Indoors and outdoors should always fit together to form a unit – and, thanks to our lovely climate, this is not difficult to achieve.

Seven tips for success

1 Create a view
Glass is a clever way to allow the indoors and outdoors to flow together harmoniously. If you want to give your property a facelift, you should consider replacing an ordinary back door with double patio doors and glass panels or glass folding doors, so that you can have a good view onto your backyard or courtyard. This way, you create the visual impression that the space inside is larger than it is in reality. This will also allow natural light to stream into your home.
2 Greenery
Pot plants in the house bring the outside world indoors, and you can take this one step further by using the same pots both inside and outside.
3 Colour
With a uniform colour scheme, even if only the accent colours are repeated, the indoors and outdoors flow together harmoniously. A red garden umbrella and cushions on the garden furniture, for instance, will catch the eye if there is a red focal wall inside.
4 Building material
If you have a small backyard or courtyard, try to use the same tiles as in the living area. However, all tiles are not suitable for use both inside and outside, and sometimes this is not practical. An alternative is to use quite a lot of natural materials inside, such as a wooden floor, slate or sandstone.
5 Furniture arrangement
You can arrange your furniture inside in such a manner that it literally leads the way to the outside area, in other words, the furniture should not obstruct the path of people who want to go into the back garden.
6 Inviting
Make sure that there is a good reason for going outside – a better one than quick trips to the rubbish bin. Create enough space in which to sit down, as well as sufficient shade. Something like a hammock or water feature will help and, in winter, a cosy fire or gas burner are great ideas.
7 Lighting
Good garden lighting is not only a necessary security measure but also creates a friendly atmosphere. Use light and shadow to create depth. For instance, you can silhouette plants and illuminate a tree for stunning impact.

Words and image: Home magazine