Taking Your Entertainment Outside

As homeowners push for more and more sustainable lifestyles, they don’t cut things out of their lives, but rather change them to suit a more green way of living with stunning fence planters. Such is the case with entertainment. We’re all used to watching TV, reading, listening to music, playing games, and doing all other leisurely activities in the comfort of our homes.

But as a result, we also end up spending more on utilities, be it electricity to keep all the lights indoors on, to heating and AC. Why do this when simply going outside is a much better option? So, here are some ways you and your household can take your entertainment outdoors, creating more sustainable living conditions.

Outdoor Cinema

With nothing more than a projector and a portable movie screen, you can create your own outdoor cinema in the comfort of your backyard. Sure, watching movies inside comes with the benefit of having comfortable seating, limitless popcorn, a cooled-off interior protected from the scorching summer sun outside, and, of course, the screen and audio itself. But you can take all of this outside, where you can not only use up fewer utilities but also have an even more satisfying movie screening experience.

Gather your household, friends, and neighbors in the evenings, get some foldable chairs, bean bags, or blankets, and turn on your favorite flicks. This way, the only thing you’re spending any kind of electricity on is the projector itself, which takes up less energy than the combined consumption of your smart TV and all the electrical other requisites that come with the movie-watching experience.

Getting Competitive

We all love our video games. But at some point, everyone gets tired of looking at a screen. Sometimes, the best games out there are the ones you can physically feel, and no other place is better for playing your favorite outdoor games than your backyard. From table tennis to Frisby and a slew of other outdoor games, getting competitive outside is certainly a very fun time.

But outdoor entertainment is not solely relegated to sports. You can also set up a table with all your favorite board games that you can spend hours playing in the comfort of natural light and fresh air. Just make sure you play on a day with little to no wind lest you have all your cards and pieces get blown away and lost.

Cozy Firepit

Even if you don’t like camping, you can enjoy the simple pleasure of huddling around a cozy firepit, roasting some marshmallows, singing your favorite songs, or simply chatting with your loved ones. Why spend a gorgeous evening in a stuffy room when you can go outside, where there is fresh air and a gorgeous starry sky.

Metal firepits can be purchased for a relatively budget-friendly price and work just as well as brick fireplaces to offer you the warmth you need in the summer evenings. On the other hand, you can even build your very own firepit. DIY fire pits are actually not very difficult to make on your own and don’t require much knowledge or skill in construction. It just takes a bit of time and the right materials and tools, all of which can be acquired from the nearest DIY store.

Backyard Kitchen

If you find cooking and eating a lot of fun, and yes, this makes for some fantastic entertainment, then you may find the outdoor kitchen a great idea for your backyard. Summers are a lot of fun when you have guests over, cooking for them, and serving them your favorite food. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could enjoy all this outside, where the air is clean and there is plenty of natural light?

Of course, it would be, but having to carry a grill, all kinds of cutlery, plates, and other kitchen requisites outside, finding a good place to put them without them breaking could be a hassle. Creating an outdoor kitchen takes a bit of work and some time, but it pays off with the comfort of being able to cook and eat outside without having to haul anything from the inside.

First off, there’s the cooker itself. You can use a grill or a stove that can be used and left outside without any possible damage. There’s also the counter which provides a work surface for your preparation. Finally, there’s some sort of roofing to protect the kitchen from the weather. This could be built under a roofed deck, which already comes with protection from weather conditions.

Also, if you have the outdoor kitchen built on the patio, make sure that it has proper smoke ventilation. Even outside smoke can find its way into the interior, so if you don’t want the smoke alarm going off every 5 minutes, install a properly functioning kitchen hood.