Escape to your backyard vacation
This summer’s vacations are likely to look different than any of us expected them to look, or than they have in past years. But those who are planning an eventual move into a new home can think of the summer of 2020 as an opportunity to create a retreat, a resort or a getaway right at home. Next weekend we will be featuring our May “Beyond the Bay” section for those of you that might be interested in finding a new home outside the Bay Area. However, before you venture beyond county lines to explore new-home communities, think about what you can add to your brand-new home for a 2020 summer vacation at home. Perhaps you’ll even decide that, by bundling this year’s original travel expenses with next year’s — and by securing a great interest rate on a new
home — you can vacation at home with more ease and comfort than leaving. Even a smaller yard or a back patio offers opportunity for greatness. Chances are there’s at least a slice of the great outdoors visible or accessible from your property. There, and typically as a new home builder option to upgrade or customize, you can add any of several features for your ideal oasis space.
Create a sensory outdoor experience.
Start by adding a calming splash, if space allows for a pool, spa or even a recirculating fountain. To decide between pools or spas, start by ask your builder and their designer for a supplier recommendation. Your builder may already have relationships or agreements with suppliers that can translate to savings for you. Features to consider for your pool or spa include the type and size of solar power system, which likely are mandated for new construction, but the options can vary. Next, look into the grades of filtration systems that can save water and energy, as do pool and spa covers, whether automatic or manual. Additionally, remember safety options. These include gated fencing fully separating the pool from common areas of the yard and automatic alarm systems that sounds when someone (or something) enters the water.
Add color and fragrance
A rainbow of annuals planted in hanging or stationary pots around the patio add freshness and life to the space, as do carpet roses, climbing roses and fragrant vines such as jasmine. Who wants to mow the lawn on vacation? Take advantage of the sun exposure in your outdoor spaces and eliminate the hassle of a lawn by looking into a native garden. The “Calscap” guide from the California Native Plant Society (cnps.org) lists native plants that thrive in specific areas. Ask your builder about pre-installing or think about adding backyard irrigation, such as a drip system to water those native plants as needed.
Carve out warmth and light
Summer evenings in the Bay Area can get quite chilly; and vacations aren’t just for summer. Ask your builder about requirements for a built-in firepit or structural heating elements. For easy and low-power ambiance, connect a set of lantern-style landscape lighting to your solar system.
Turn up the sound
Your builder may include wiring for surround sound inside the house. Why not do the same outside to enhance the ambiance at your stay-at-home retreat? You can start as small as a deck, balcony, patio or terrace; or you can go as large as the entire backyard (within your municipality’s decibel level restrictions for residential properties).
Picture this:
You’re sitting in your spa, eyes closed, listening to whatever music or sounds make you happy. Perhaps it’s an endless loop of the sounds of ocean waves crashing and gulls calling Maybe it’s the musical sounds of Calvin Harris’s “Summer” or it might even be Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Tastes of summer
Speaking of food, don’t forget to ask your builder about a builtin barbecue or outdoor kitchen so you can taste that cheeseburger in your own slice of backyard paradise with a few friends around your beautiful new outdoor retreat.
What’s next?
Next week, we’ll detail how several California counties’ stay-at-home restrictions are allowing new-home buyers more opportunities to explore. We’ll also speak with a few builders whose distancefriendly house-hunting technology is opening the new-home exploration process in all kinds of ways. Also next weekend, look for our May “Beyond the Bay” section. There, families who crave the benefits of a new home in a fresh setting will get a closer look at where and how builders are creating communities with exciting appeal.