Brighten up your outdoor room

A garden is no longer just a garden, with more people than ever using their outdoor space as extension of their home. With the arrival of spring just around the corner, a B&Q advisor offers some advice on sprucing up your garden and making the most of your outdoor room.

Improving your garden doesn’t have to involve backbreaking work digging and planting. Working with the space and features you already have can give your garden a new lease of life. Think about how you use your indoor space – the chances are you can use your outdoor space in a similar way - be it as a dining room, playroom or living room.

The garden as a dining room

The rising popularity of outdoor living means barbecues, outdoor meals and garden parties have become a staple for summer evenings and weekends. Whatever the size or shape of your garden, B&Q has a great selection of patio furniture, gazebo’s, BBQ’s and outdoor lighting to make dining in the garden a fun and enjoyable experience.

The stylish Milan Hooded Three Burner Stainless Steel Gas Barbecue, £349.98, allows you to get out of the kitchen, making the most of the warmer weather and cooking up a feast for family and friends.

Patio furniture such as the simple but stylish Panama Eight Seater Square Table with Slate Insert, with Four Double Benches, £400.00 or the more traditional Chilworth Gateleg Table with four Dining Chairs, £809.90 will let you dine in style in the garden, with a Chilworth Gazebo, £549.98 to keep you cool on hot days.

If you want to sit outside late into the evening, outdoor lighting is a must on a practical level and to set the mood. Use candles to create an atmosphere, or for an eco-friendly alternative, B&Q has a wire free range of solar lighting which is very easy to install. Neo zone solar pagoda alights cost £39.98 for a pack of two and can be placed directly in the ground or a Neo sense solar LED light string, £29.98 can be draped across trees or shrubbery.

The garden as a play room

Be it a place to relax and soak up the sun, or a fun area for the kids to play, the versatile nature of a garden makes it a space to spend your free time and make the most of the sunshine. Relax with a book on the Chilworth Swing Bench £499.98, while the kids bounce around on a 12ft round trampoline available at B&Q for £129.96, or splash about in B&Q’s 15ft inflatable paddling pool, £149.98.

If your lawn has suffered from its use as a football pitch, cycle track or wrestling arena, it is simple to re-seed:

Spike to lawn to aerate the soil.

Mix lawn seed with compost at the ratio recommended on the packet and sprinkle over bare patches.

Water the seeds in, then fix netting over the sown area to prevent it being walked upon or birds eating the seeds - no football for a few weeks either!

The garden as a living room

Whether you want to chat with friends, relax and read a book or take advantage of the summer sun by transporting the lounge outside, B&Q has a large range of garden furniture to help you chill out in comfort in your garden.

For £199.98, the Milan Bench provides a great pace to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends or glass of wine on a summers evening, or for some hard earned rest and relaxation, why not invest in a sun longer, such as the Windsor sunbed, £349.98.

Smartening up your patio area couldn’t be simpler – planting needn’t be confined to your borders. Expanding your planting to the patio area with pots or adding ornaments will bring your indoor decorative taste to your outside space. B&Q’s Outstanding plant range starts at £9.98 for a Banana palm or Box Ball and will help you create a special look of focal pint in your garden. Divided into four themes - Mediterranean, Oriental, Tropical and Topiary, there is something for everyone.

If you need additional advice before you begin work, you can ask one of B&Q’s staff at your local store. Alternatively visit the B&Q website: diy.com where you can get further information on gardening, home improvement projects and product information.

The information and home improvement advice written by B&Q for this column was correct at the date stated at the top of this column.