Garden Decor Ideas

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Regardless of your backyard's size, decorating should be an enjoyable endeavour. Giving your outdoor space a fresh look doesn't need to break the bank or cause major disruptions. Garden decorating ideas can be as simple as adding a splash of colour with some creative garden wall accents or as involved as crafting intricate garden colour schemes through your plant selection.

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For a speedy and stress-free way to spruce up your space, try arranging floor cushions and throws on a picnic blanket in one corner of your garden. This casual setup will infuse a laid-back ambience that's just right for intimate get-togethers.

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Use Ornaments as Finishings

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Garden ornaments are not just an added detail; they can influence the layout and ambience of your outdoor area. They can significantly impact how you interact with and experience your garden. For instance, a wrought-iron gate can serve as a welcoming entrance into a lush green paradise, a lantern suspended from a tree can elevate your view, and a gracefully curved bench can inspire a peaceful nap. When thoughtfully positioned, these decorative yet practical elements offer subtle yet effective cues: "This way, look up, take it slow." Moreover, they provide a sense of completion to your garden space throughout the year.

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Design for Outdoor Rooms

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Just as there's a standard set of rooms found in most homes, like the kitchen, living room, study, bedroom, bathroom, and laundry, there are also common outdoor spaces that most homeowners need or want. These typically include an arrival area, a space for entertaining or simply enjoying outdoor living, a dining area, a place for recreation or play, a useful area for work or storage, and a garden space. While homeowners often share these desires for outdoor rooms and landscape design, the specific requirements for each outdoor space can vary greatly from one family to another.

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Each family needs to start by creating a list of their unique needs and desires for their outdoor spaces. For example, a family with several children might prioritise a large area for recreation or play. In contrast, another family may value an extensive outdoor kitchen but have less need for storage or workspace. This list of functional needs serves as a roadmap for planning a residential landscape design tailored to their requirements.

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Don’t Be Afraid of Patina

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If you're unfamiliar with the term "patina," don't worry – you've probably encountered it without realising it. Patina refers to that thin greenish layer that develops on materials like bronze, copper, brass, or certain types of stones and woods over time, typically due to their interaction with the air. One of the most famous examples of patina is found on The Statue of Liberty.

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The good news is that patina can develop relatively quickly when these materials are exposed to the elements. When done thoughtfully, it can impart a touch of ageing and character to products rather than leaving them looking rusty and old. If you're aiming for a unique, rustic look in your garden, incorporating patina in various ways can help tie the entire garden together, giving it a charming and well-worn appeal.

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Repeat Your Home’s Exterior Style

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No matter what style your home embodies, ornaments can seamlessly blend with the surrounding landscape, anchoring the building within its environment. For example, iron urns are elegantly placed atop coordinating terra-cotta pedestals to complement the rustic stone-covered entrance. In the courtyard, a pediment adorned with dolphins and potted succulents carries the theme forward and establishes a captivating focal point. Furthermore, the stone featured on the house is mirrored in the pavers, interspersed with grass, creating a gentle pathway that adds a touch of warmth to the journey towards the front door.

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Dress Up Garden Entrances

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Even in a compact garden, a series of distinct spaces connected by pathways and passages can infuse an ordinary walk with intrigue and expansiveness. The Bealls ingeniously crafted a journey commencing with a wisteria-draped arbour near the house. From there, it meanders downhill, spanning terraces, winding along pathways, and descending steps adorned with captivating, time-weathered stone accents. These pathways guide the way and are adorned with iron arches and gates, many sourced from gardening supply catalogues and gracefully covered in climbing vines, signalling transitions between various areas.

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Strategically placed potted bougainvillaea, citrus trees, and palms serve as welcoming markers at entrances, as do ornamental finials elegantly perched atop pedestals. The result is a garden that invites exploration, where each twist and turn reveals a new and enchanting space waiting to be discovered.

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Tie Furnishings Into the Overall Scheme

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The choice of tables and chairs for your outdoor spaces influences their style and plays a crucial role in ensuring a harmonious overall look. These furnishings need to blend seamlessly with other decorative elements and materials you incorporate. By strategically placing extra chairs around the paved "carpet," they fashioned a relaxed and inviting lounge area, perfect for enjoying cocktails and engaging in conversation. This thoughtful coordination of furniture and decor elements creates a cohesive and welcoming atmosphere in their outdoor space.

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Choose Decor Suited for The Outdoors

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One of the most delightful garden decor ideas is incorporating nature into your outdoor space. There's a unique beauty in the lush greenery and vibrant colours that plants bring.

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While terracotta pots offer a timeless and classic look, many other planter options exist. From sleek concrete to the most eye-catching shades of blue or pink, you can choose planters that align with your style and preferences.

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Planters are versatile and perfect for refreshing your garden whenever you want. They can add life and personality to your outdoor space.

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Take Lighting to Another Level

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Are you proud of the unique features of your home? Well, don't keep them in the dark! Your home's design elements, like its facade, columns, archways, and landscaping, give it character. Lighting placed strategically can draw attention to these special parts of your home's architecture and decor.

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If you want to create a cosy atmosphere, consider adding wall-mounted lights. You can choose bulbs with warm light, around 2700K to 3000K, for that inviting glow. A dimmable light fixture or a diffuser helps you set the right mood. And you can find fixtures made from warm-coloured metals in different styles.

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Your garden is your happy place, and its features set the mood. Make sure they shine! Accent outdoor lighting can bring attention to garden beds, paths, patio furniture, fountains, ponds, trellises, seating areas, birdbaths, and more. This focused lighting takes your garden to the next level.

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Your yard isn't just a part of your home's value; it reflects your personality. You've put in the effort to make it look fantastic, so why not show it off with the best lighting? Outdoor and landscape lighting has many benefits, from making your space look great to being practical. Don't limit your backyard's potential by not getting creative with lighting.

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Outdoor lighting lets you enjoy your yard long into the night. So, make the most of your summer evenings with improved landscape lighting.

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Showcase Plant Collections

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While landscaping your garden may not be exactly the same as decorating it, it's equally (if not more) essential. This is because the right selection of plants sets the stage for the overall ambience of your outdoor space. You can create a certain mood with string lights and a few garden ornaments, but the impact will be far more impressive if you start with a selection of potted plants.

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One of the main reasons people hesitate to landscape their outdoor areas is uncertainty about what to plant. Luckily, there are numerous resources available to assist you in choosing the ideal plants for your climate, style, and budget. You can seek advice from experts at your local nursery, consult online gardening resources, draw inspiration from your neighbours, or even consider hiring a gardener for guidance.

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Whether you create a charming rose garden, pot fragrant herbs, or simply showcase succulent plants in containers, the choice is yours. Plants and flowers can turn your garden into an inviting oasis.

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Embrace Unusual Displays

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A weathered iron basket lovingly holds a collection of succulents right on the tabletop, allowing them to shine and catch your attention amidst the plant beds.

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Let Decorative Elements Play Up Sound

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If you're searching for garden decor ideas to turn your space into a tranquil retreat, then garden fountain ideas are your answer. The soothing symphony of a bubbling water feature can elevate your garden from a plain plot to a dreamy oasis. A wide array of water feature concepts can add auditory and visual allure to the heart of your garden design.

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Listening to the gentle water flow is an irresistibly inviting invitation to explore a garden. Imagine a fountain with an octagonal basin, creating a harmonious liquid backdrop for your herb garden. Or picture another fountain, mirroring the tall and slender shapes of Italian cypress trees nearby, surrounded by flower-like agaves, attracting flocks of hummingbirds.

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Entice with Garden Scents

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The antique fountain featuring intricately crafted lion heads, which provides a refreshing atmosphere to the lounging area, is a rare gem discovered in days gone by. The fragrant aromas of plants, often emanating from architectural containers, deserve their own delightful spotlight: At the entrance, welcoming visitors, urns brim with the scents of honeysuckle and jasmine. In the giant containers of the herb garden, fragrant lemon blossoms bloom freely. And around the main dining table, pots of night-blooming cereus unfurl their delicate blooms, creating a magical atmosphere during evening gatherings.

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Use Plants Themselves as Ornaments

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Some plants have a natural architectural quality, while others can be pruned to achieve that desired look. Among the naturally sculpted plants that help define the garden's structure are Italian cypresses, which stand tall like elegant green columns. Another example is the rosette-shaped Agave attenuata, which cascades gracefully around stone staircases and fountains, creating a dynamic contrast to the upright and rigid cypress trees. These plants are pivotal in shaping and guiding the garden's visual lines.

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Add Splashes of Color with Ceramics

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Colour is often the first thing that catches our eye. It's all around us, impacting us in ways we might not even realise, both physically and emotionally. Colour can comfort, uplift, or stir excitement within us.

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When it comes to your garden, terracotta pots introduce a warm, Mediterranean hue that can be truly captivating, especially when paired with vibrant lime green plants like euphorbia or select hydrangea varieties. Aiming for a more striking burst of colour, you can opt for vividly coloured glazed or plastic pots. To make an even bigger statement, plant them with flowers opposite on the colour wheel; picture orange marigolds in blue planters or red pelargoniums in green containers. This harmonious contrast can infuse your garden with a vibrant and visually pleasing appeal.

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Repurpose Found Objects as Containers

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Don't toss that old, rusty grill away—give it new life as a planter!

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Repurposing objects as plant containers is fun and an eco-friendly way to breathe new life into things that might otherwise end up in a landfill. Transforming "junk" into garden containers is a creative endeavour and a way to reduce your environmental impact.

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Consider this: When you repurpose an object, you're not only preventing it from taking up space in a landfill, but you're also avoiding the need to buy a new product, likely manufactured overseas and shipped long distances, consuming substantial fossil fuels in the process. So, look around your home, explore garage sales, peek into dumpsters, or visit thrift stores for anything that can hold soil and become a unique planter.

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Depending on your findings, these repurposed objects can bring a rustic or quirky charm to your container garden. If your style leans toward classic or elegant, you can always paint the found object to give it a more polished look (just be sure to use exterior-grade paint for durability).

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Give a Garden a Lived-In Look

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Create a charming countryside garden by planting a variety of flowers like roses, lavender, delphiniums, and a palette of other vibrant choices close together. The key is to cultivate a lush and full garden bursting with character and charm.

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Lend Some Historical Context

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Consider adding a unique garden ornament near a bench or seating area. It could be an intriguing sculpture, a vintage find, or a captivating piece that engages and invites interaction from seated visitors.

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Mix in Some Old World Flavour

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Enhance your garden's ambience with timeless decor elements. For example, position a birdbath featuring a fish motif at the convergence of pathways, giving it the appearance of an Old World fountain. Complete the rustic charm with weathered lanterns, plant baskets, and vintage watering cans, perhaps discovered at flea markets, to create an overall well-worn and inviting atmosphere.

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Add Outdoor Shower 

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Adding an outdoor shower to your garden can instantly enhance its allure, whether or not you have a pool. It brings a refreshing, tropical touch to any outdoor space and imbues it with a luxurious feel, making your garden truly unique and inviting.

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Swap a Coffee Table for a Planter 

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Lockdown has led to changes in daily routines and increased indoor plant cultivation. With limited opportunities to go out, many individuals have turned to bringing the outdoors inside. Plant-buying trends have skyrocketed, with the purchase of bulbs like echinacea experiencing a remarkable 3,000% rise. A substantial portion of the population has developed a keen interest in gardening during lockdown.

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Replace your garden table with a planter to showcase your gardening skills. It combines functionality with charm to create unique outdoor furniture.

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Plant a Rose Arch for Height and Fragrance

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There's a timeless charm in having an abundance of roses in your garden, and introducing an archway adorned with cascading blooms is a splendid way to add both height and architectural allure to your outdoor space. Placing an arch over a pathway can create a botanical connection between two areas while situating it over a bench can fashion a delightful floral retreat.

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If you're contemplating adding a rose arch, familiarising yourself with the art of planting roses and the proper techniques for pruning climbing roses is crucial. This knowledge ensures that your roses thrive and maintain their stunning appearance in your garden.

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Install a Hammock and then Relax

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If you have the luxury of having two trees to hang a hammock between, you're in for a treat. Lounging in a hammock is a relaxing experience, especially when surrounded by lush greenery. It's a great way to unwind and let nature soothe your soul, perhaps while enjoying a good book.

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Style Your Front Porch with Wall Art

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Art doesn't have to be confined to indoor spaces. Adding wall art to your garden decor can be a fantastic idea. Whether you opt for vintage decorative pieces or choose some fresh and beautiful artwork, hanging wall art can elevate the ambience of your patio and infuse it with a unique and distinctive character.

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Upgrade Your Shed to a Summer House 

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Just as you can extend the design principles from your indoor rooms to your outdoor spaces, treating your outhouses and sheds with the same care you give your home is equally important. Take the time to declutter, organise, and paint your shed, transforming it into a space that's not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. If you're unsure where to begin, plenty of shed organisation ideas can guide you in the right direction.

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Consider converting your shed into a partial summer retreat if you have ample space after your spring clean. Add some seating, a table, French windows, and perhaps even a machine-washable curtain to create the ideal post-gardening oasis where you can relax and unwind.

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How Can I Make My Garden Look Nice On A Budget?

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Are you tired of looking at your uninspiring garden? As spring approaches, it's a great time to think of ways to spruce up your outdoor space. Not everyone has a big budget, so we've devised affordable ideas to give your garden, yard, terrace, or other areas a fresh look.

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While we certainly support hiring a professional gardener to transform your landscape, there are also clever and budget-friendly ways to refresh your outdoor space. So, here are some ideas to breathe new life into your outdoor area without breaking the bank.

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Scatter Some Colourful Cushions

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Your garden should not only be beautiful but also practical. That's why we begin with a fantastic garden idea: placing plush pillows in a cosy corner on the wooden deck, an existing bench, the terrace, or even beneath a tree in your yard.

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The primary goal here is to make your garden appear open, welcoming, and inviting, all while ensuring comfort. To achieve this, opt for colourful cushions adorned with striking patterns. These can instantly transform your outdoor space into a vibrant and comfortable haven.

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DIY a budget-friendly seating area

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Since the garden is a prime spot for showcasing our DIY talents, why not build your own outdoor furniture?

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You can find wooden pallets for a very affordable price, often near builders' yards. After that, a few online tutorials can guide you to start constructing your own timber sofa, table, chairs, or any other furniture pieces your garden desires.

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For a simpler and budget-friendly alternative, consider dry stacking low-cost concrete blocks and topping them with a foam pad. This approach can result in unique and stylish garden furniture without breaking the bank.

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Create an easy gravel path

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Garden ideas on a budget don't have to result in a cheap-looking landscape. While brick and concrete paths can add a stylish touch to outdoor spaces, they can also be quite expensive.

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Here's a Plan B: Use gravel!

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• Begin by marking the area where you plan to create a new path.
• Remove any turf, rocks, or plants from the designated area.
• Compact the soil by patting it down before laying a permeable membrane layer.
• Scatter the gravel evenly over the area, spreading it out with a rake.

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This budget-friendly alternative can give your garden a charming and cost-effective pathway.

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Opt for a one-colour creation

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Tiny outdoor spaces, such as balconies, can quickly become cluttered, but there's a stylish solution when your decor options are limited—go for a monochromatic theme!

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Select slim planters that match your chair, table, or other outdoor furniture. Paint them all with the same colour (consider hues that either contrast with the natural greens of your plants or complement them), and you'll have a beautifully colour-coordinated garden or balcony. This simple yet effective design choice can make your small outdoor space feel cohesive and visually appealing.

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Lay down a rug

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Before you splurge on a new patio floor or decking area, explore other budget-friendly garden ideas, such as using a stylish outdoor rug. Outdoor rugs provide a quick and easy way to introduce a touch of luxury to your outdoor space, whether it's a terrace, pergola, or even just a way to add colour, pattern, and an elegant underfoot feel to your lawn. They are a cost-effective way to elevate the ambience of your outdoor area without breaking the bank.

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Look to your lawn

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Imagine transforming the appearance of your garden or yard without spending a dime on new items. It's entirely possible! One creative and budget-friendly idea is to reshape your lawn into a clearly defined and eye-catching shape, whether it's a circle, square, or even something more intricate like a star (if you're feeling adventurous). You can mark out the desired shape with string and then use a spade to cut away the excess grass.

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This project is relatively straightforward, depending on your chosen shape, and it shouldn't take longer than an afternoon. It's one of the most cost-effective garden ideas that can breathe new life into your outdoor space.

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Hang a mirror

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Mirrors work wonders for creating the illusion of more space indoors, so why not bring that effect outdoors? Incorporating a mirror into your garden, whether it's tied to a tree, affixed to shrubs, positioned against a wall, or placed in any other location you see fit, can add a unique and captivating touch to your outdoor space. It's a clever and stylish way to make your garden feel larger while also introducing an element of visual interest.

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How Can I Make My Garden Fun?

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Infusing your garden with colour is a fantastic way to bring joy and vibrancy to your outdoor space. Consider adding colourful lights, flooring, and plants to create visual interest. Textiles in bright hues can instantly uplift the spirits, as can colourful dinnerware for your outdoor gatherings. Adding a touch of glamour with a champagne bucket for garden party ideas is also a delightful option.

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When it comes to planting, don't be afraid to get creative. You can fill a sandbag with soil and plant it with colorful blocks of cyclamen or repurpose old Wellington boots as charming planters for winter pansies that cascade as they grow.

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Another idea to make your garden stand out is by incorporating a firepit. Having firelight around can make the atmosphere more intimate and cosy. This helps guests relax, chat, and unwind at the end of the day. A firepit can visually and psychologically comfort you and your guests.

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How Do I Modernize My Garden?

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Modernizing your garden can be a breeze with a few strategic updates. Here are a couple of ideas:

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Adding a patio is one of the simplest ways to give your garden a modern touch. Installing a patio can give you a stylish space for entertaining guests or enjoying the sunshine. You can choose from patterned tiles, stone, or decking to create your desired look. If you want to connect your indoor and outdoor spaces even more, you can install patio doors in your kitchen.

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Embrace a modern look by incorporating living walls into your garden. Adding vertical gardens to your outdoor space can give it a modern and botanical look and make it appear larger. Living walls are a unique way to add greenery and contemporary style to your garden.

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Why Decorating Gardens in Short-Term Rentals Matters

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Decorating gardens in short-term lets is like adding a personal touch to a temporary home. It's more than just creating a pretty outdoor spa. Imagine enjoying your morning coffee on a cosy patio, surrounded by vibrant flowers and the gentle rustling of leaves, or hosting a barbecue with friends in a garden adorned with twinkling lights and stylish furniture. These garden moments transform a generic rental into a place with character and soul. It's about making the most of your temporary stay. Decorating a short-term rental garden is not just about aesthetics; it's about infusing life and personality into a space, even if it's only for a little while.

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Elevate Your Short-Term Rental Experience with Houst

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When it comes to managing your short-term rentals, Houst is your trusted partner in ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience. Houst understands the importance of making your rental property not just a place to stay, but a destination in itself. Their expert team takes care of every detail, from coordinating bookings to arranging professional Airbnb cleaning and maintenance services. Houst will ensure top-notch hospitality and meticulous property rental management for your short-term rentals. 

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