After our cool, wet spring, it feels amazing to move dinner back outside. Everything tastes better in the fresh air. We linger a little longer over dessert. And for many at Stepping Stone™, the views of the Front Range are stunning. (Don’t live at Stepping Stone yet? Start your home search here.) Wherever you live, now is the perfect time to look anew at your backyard, and consider ways to make it even more appealing for your guests. Which can translate into long, memorable evenings hanging out with the people you love.

Need inspiration? Let Pinterest come to the rescue. On the Stepping Stone Outside Living Spaces board, you can choose from all sorts of cool projects sure to add interest to your backyard. Check out this collection of simple decorating ideas from Home Depot, such as painting up cheerily bright deck chairs or a border on a drop cloth to create a space-defining area rug. Or making a chalkboard herb garden. All clever and inexpensive.

If your budget is a little bigger, you could create this irresistible hammock retreat. With pillows, string lighting, and a side table for snacks, fruity water, and maybe a book, family members may go missing for large swaths of an afternoon.

To further explore lighting concepts—which always add a festive vibe—consider these 15 Backyard Lighting Ideas.

If you’re ready to seriously rethink your patio furnishings, Better Homes and Garden offers these 8 Tips for Choosing Patio Furniture. The first tip is key: assess how you typically entertain. Big family dinners might point you toward a large dining table, while casual cocktail parties have a better vibe with comfy seats, side tables, and fire pits. Real Simple weighs in with shopping specifics, such as evaluating wrought iron vs. wood and how to choose a durable outdoor rug. Once you’ve bought everything, protect your investment with these 5 Helpful Tips To Keep Your Patio Furniture Good As New. 

 

Now. Let’s talk gardening. Swing back over the Stepping Stone Garden Ideas board, where you’ll find smart ways to use plantings to spiff up your patio and yard. To make your guests more comfortable, try planting these mosquito-repellent herbs, such as lemon balm, basil and rosemary (which you can eat, too.) And speaking of edible planting, think about creating, essentially, an outdoor salad bar with veggies grown in wine boxes.

To spice up your backyard parties with a few choice conversation pieces, consider planting colorful annuals in an old mailbox, rubber boots, paint cans, or barbecue grill. If you dig around your basement, no telling what other creative container ideas you might come up with.

Now, send out those Evites and enjoy a long summer of happy backyard entertaining!