Reviews
Part of Grading decides whether outdoor space makeovers actually last
Do outdoor space makeover upgrades actually earn their keep every day?
Which outdoor space makeover upgrades add everyday value: ranked by usable days gained and upkeep created, paths, shade, light and drainage beat features.
Judge a makeover upgrade on two axes: usable days it adds and upkeep it creates. Features that score well on the first and badly on the second are the ones households abandon.
The ranking below is what remains once both axes are applied. When you rank upgrades by cost per hour of use, shade and air movement usually beat an outdoor kitchen.
What to take away
- A dry, lit path to the seating adds more use than any feature does.
- Shade and wind screening buy days at both ends of the season.
- Upkeep created is a cost, and it should be scored against the benefit.
- Your local climate record sets a ceiling on how many usable days exist to win.
The ranking
Usable days gained
- Dry, lit path to the seating
- High
- Shade over the seating
- High
- Drainage correction
- High
- Wind screening or hedging
- Medium to high
- Simple, dense planting
- Medium
- Outdoor power and task lighting
- Medium
- Water feature
- Low
- Large lawn area
- Low, unless children use it
Upkeep created
- Dry, lit path to the seating
- Very low
- Shade over the seating
- Low
- Drainage correction
- None
- Wind screening or hedging
- Low to medium
- Simple, dense planting
- Medium
- Outdoor power and task lighting
- Low
- Water feature
- High
- Large lawn area
- High
Verdict
- Dry, lit path to the seating
- First
- Shade over the seating
- First
- Drainage correction
- First
- Wind screening or hedging
- Strong
- Simple, dense planting
- Good, if sized honestly
- Outdoor power and task lighting
- Good
- Water feature
- Rarely worth it
- Large lawn area
- Depends entirely on the household
The top three share a property: they remove reasons not to go outside. Features add reasons to go outside, which sounds equivalent and is not, because a reason not to go outside applies every day while a feature applies occasionally. That is the same conclusion reached in the makeover regrets.
Upgrades Ranked by Everyday Value
Usable days gained
- Dry, lit path to seating
- High
- Shade over seating
- High
- Drainage correction
- High
- Wind screening or hedging
- Medium to high
- Simple, dense planting
- Medium
- Water feature
- Low
- Large lawn area
- Low
Upkeep created
- Dry, lit path to seating
- Very low
- Shade over seating
- Low
- Drainage correction
- None
- Wind screening or hedging
- Low to medium
- Simple, dense planting
- Medium
- Water feature
- High
- Large lawn area
- High
Verdict
- Dry, lit path to seating
- First
- Shade over seating
- First
- Drainage correction
- First
- Wind screening or hedging
- Strong
- Simple, dense planting
- Good
- Water feature
- Rarely worth it
- Large lawn area
- Depends on household
Your climate sets the ceiling
There is a limit to how many outdoor days a place can offer, so know yours before spending to capture them. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information publish the U.S. Climate Normals, 30 year averages of temperature, precipitation and other variables from almost 15,000 U.S. weather stations.
Match Upgrades to Your Climate
Is your outdoor season long and hot?
Shade and cooling dominate the ranking
Wind screening and a dry path matter more
They are described as a ruler for comparing today's weather. Those figures tell you roughly how many comfortable days a yard can deliver in a typical year.
That number changes the math: where the season is long, shade and cooling dominate the ranking. Where it is short, wind screening and a dry path matter more, because marginal days are cool and damp rather than hot.
Spending to extend a season past its natural limit is the least efficient money in a makeover budget. Regional climate decides which patio details survive freeze-thaw, clay and monsoon rain.
Value the household can actually use
An upgrade only counts if everyone in the household can use it safely, including the youngest members.
The National Weather Service keeps a lightning safety page for kids and teens with games, experiments and classroom material. That page is a straightforward way to teach the one rule that matters outdoors. When thunder is heard, everyone goes inside a substantial building and stays there.
Two more household rules belong with it. Nothing that burns fuel operates under a roofed porch, an awning or a screened cover, because carbon monoxide is odorless and collects under a ceiling at seated height.
Appliance clearances come from the manual rather than from what looks reasonable. A yard where those rules are easy to follow gets used without argument, which is the practical definition of a successful makeover pattern.
