Outdoor Living: How to Make Your Veranda the Social Hub of Your Home

Many people spend the majority of their working week in air-conditioned offices. In contrast, the home veranda offers us a healthy dose of the 'great outdoors' with all the handy benefits of a kitchen and bathroom just a  couple of strides away, in addition to privacy we may be unable to find in public outdoor venues.

To transform your veranda to the social hub of your home—whether it be a new extension you are envisaging or an existing, rarely used, space—you need to load it with appealing features that satisfy every sense.

Sight

How does this space appear? Does it look alluring? Or does it prompt you to turn around and head back indoors? Even the smallest budget can stretch to a tidy-up.

• Remove superfluous clutter and old pot plants.
• If you can't afford to replace them immediately, no problem, go for the minimalist look.
• Clean all surfaces with gentle dishwashing detergent, warm water and a rough bristled broom. No one really wants dust and cobweb all over their backside.

Smell

• Plant fragrant trees and shrubs either around the periphery of the veranda or in pot plants.   
• Frangipanis, Gardenia's, Murraya, and many herbs provide a gorgeous olfactory cocktail.

Sound

• Create you own personal soundtrack. This will change depending on your guests.
• Classic music or some new-age soothing sounds from nature will relax your guests.
• Old time favourites that represent personal milestones or eras can also be fun.

Taste

• Socializing usually involves eating and or drinking. Finger food, pre-prepared, works well.
• Small bite-size offerings  allow variety, which means you can please 'most of the people, most of the time.'
• Keep a few different teas on hand, or even make some of your own using herbs you may have in your veranda pots.

Touch

Finishing touches can be added to your hub as you discover them.

• Adequate protection is a must. People love to sit out on the veranda and cherish nature but most of us don't want to be burnt by the sun or soaked by the rain. Go for protective roofing and roll down rain and wind-blocking blinds, depending on the aspect of your veranda.
• Soft cushions are appreciated by both young and old backsides; make the seating as comfortable as you can afford.
• Strategically place some pot plants featuring insect repellent herbs  around your veranda. This will prevent all those little bugs from getting too close.

It's fun to create a veranda that's a buzzing extension of your home, a social-space representative of you. Your veranda can become the place to nurture, among nature, the most valuable things in life. For more tips and suggestions, contact local resources such as Pro-Form Pergolas Pty Ltd.