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Five Key Ingredients to Creating the Ultimate Outdoor Area

Five Key Ingredients to Creating the Ultimate Outdoor Area

Today, a backyard BBQ is more than a few charred sausages and a scattering of uncomfortable plastic chairs. No, us Kiwis take pride in our backyards and love offering up our homes as a space for family and friends to gather and unwind. Outdoor dining is now a complete experience blending sufficient sunshade with beautiful gardens, excellent food with comfy seating. If you’re keen to host your fair share of meals this spring and summer, here are five ingredients you’ll need to create the ultimate outdoor space.

A pergola or awning

Installing a pergola or awning transforms backyards. They extend your home’s living space in a stylish and sophisticated way, plus, there’s the obvious benefits of a sheltered area to relax outside no matter what the weather brings. If you are truly committed to an outdoor area that your family and friends will love, a pergola is fundamental.

An excellent BBQ

Of course, one essential element of the backyard BBQ is, well, a BBQ! We’re spoilt for choice here in Tauranga, with a great many options when it comes to finding your perfect BBQ to complete your outdoor space. When searching, look for a quality brand and built-in thermometer, select a size that suits your needs and consider if a side burner or rotisserie will be of value.

An outdoor kitchen

Any truly keen host will tell you that an outdoor kitchen is worth its weight in gold. By setting up bench space and a fridge, storage solutions and a sink under your pergola, you can do almost all the prep work outside, making life easier and letting the family cook be a part of the whole evening.

Comfy outdoor furniture

More than one backyard BBQ has moved indoors to escape pinching plastic seats or backless benches. Elevate your dinner party game by offering guests a cosy place to sit and relax so everyone stays outside well into the evening. To perfect the outdoor space you’ve created underneath your pergola, opt for a durable dining table, comfy outdoor chairs, and consider a couple extra seating options in the form of a couch or sofa.

Good patio lighting

By lighting up your outdoor entertainment area, you’ll extend the use of your backyard into seasons beyond just summer. Pair your pergola with outdoor pendants and fairy lights, light up the garden beyond with solar lights and illuminated garden features, and keep any stairs well-lit with deck lights.

Start your outdoor space with a pergola

If you’re stuck on step one, not to worry. Undercover Industries has been improving backyards across Tauranga with our high-quality pergolas, awnings and shade sails for years. Made in Mount Maunganui by locals and designed for our coastal conditions, there’s no better pergola systems for the Bay than ours. Get in touch today and we’ll get you sorted for spring.

Goodbye Winter Solstice. Hello Sun, Summer and Sun Shades

Goodbye Winter Solstice. Hello Sun, Summer and Sun Shades

Well, we’ve done it – we’ve past the darkest day of the year. With winter solstice behind us, our optimistic, summer-loving team has already started to think ahead to the warmer months to come.

Every day from here on out, we’ll have more and more sunshine hours – and that is something to celebrate! Join us in dreaming about summer and get ahead of the curve as you consider how pergolas, awnings and sun shades can turn your backyard into a summer oasis.

Dreaming of summer

The shortest day of the year. The fewest sunshine hours. Tauranga’s darkest day. The day the sun sets at five pm. Winter solstice. June 21st. Whatever you call it, the dreary day has passed and every day we are one step closer to summer.

It’s all about a positive mindset, so let the thoughts of ice cream cones and surf, patio brunches and beachside bbqs enter your mind.

Start planning your pergola, awning or sun shade

It might be hard to feel inspired about planning for summer when you look see nothing but grey skies, gusty winds and sad-looking gardens. But here’s why it’s worth looking ahead:

It’ll change your mood

We can get into a mid-winter funk, especially at this dark time of year. Forcing yourself to start thinking of brighter, warmer days is a bit like writing in a gratitude journal, exercising or meditating. It’s hard to get started, but once it becomes a habit, you’ll feel a whole lot better.

You’ll spend some time outside

We spend a lot of time indoors during winter. It’s cold and grey and rainy and windy, so it’s a lot easier to just stay inside. Deciding to take a look around your yard and plan for the summer forces you outside. Just for a moment at first, while you consider the best place for an awning, whether you want a curved pergola or a gabled one. But before you know it, you’re out there measuring and visualising your future sun shade, meanwhile getting the fresh air and vitamin D that’s so crucial for your health.

You’ll get ahead of the busy season

Lots of people decide they need a pergola once the sunshine returns to Tauranga. By getting plans underway now, you will beat the rush. Our team can design, fabricate and install your pergola or awning now, so it will be ready when you need it most.

Your pergola will be perfect for all-season use

Start planning for a pergola, awning or sun shade now, and you’ll be looking at your yard with winter lenses. You’ll think about the wind and rain and cold – things that you might not consider in summer. Will outdoor blinds keep the space comfy in winter? Is there room for an outdoor heater? Which furniture will work in winter as well as summer? It’s easy to plan for a beautiful outdoor space on a bluebird day, but yours will be truly perfect for year-round use.

Say goodbye to the winter blues by saying hello to a pergola or sun shade. Get in touch with the team at Undercover Industries today.