Part of creating a friendly and welcoming home is making it feel relaxing and exciting for the young ones, yet not all landscape features can make a kid’s heart sing. Without doing a complete renovation of your landscape, there are plenty of ways to make your landscape and home more of a destination for kids. As you continue your landscape renovation, here’s how to include kid-friendly elements in your Lake Forest and Winnetka, IL landscape design.
A Place to Play
When kids come outside to play, the best way to keep them safe and out of mischief is to give them a safe space for activities that keep them occupied while also fostering social skills and friendships. A game court can be a wonderful feature that checks all the boxes. Game courts can be as extensive or as tiny as your landscape requires, and many are intended for multiple sports and activities.
A game court can have a batting cage for practicing a baseball swing or a tennis ball machine for honing a great serve. It can be a half-size basketball court for quick pickup games. It can even be as simple as a safe place to draw up a game of hopscotch, jump rope, or the freedom of tag. A game court can be made of hard rubber to reduce injuries in case someone falls.
An otherwise unused side yard could become the ideal location for lawn games that don’t require a lot of space. This solution lets your backyard be both kid-friendly and elegant.
A Place to Splash
If you’re planning a landscape renovation, you’re likely considering adding an inground pool. This will undoubtedly make your backyard a destination for both kids and adults alike. Kid-friendly pools that you see at recreation areas mostly have a mix of places: one shallow side to splash around with their feet on the ground as well as a deeper area for jumping and diving.
Keep the kids in mind when designing the pool; but if you want it to look suitable for adult activities as well (and not a water park) you could Include some extra features to ramp up the fun, such as a waterfall or a fountain. The moving water will create a wonderful visual and sonic effect that makes everything more exciting. A waterfall that resembles one found in nature can be the base for all the kid’s adventures and they’ll spend hours splashing around the cascading water. And, the pool will look elegant whether you’re hosting a kids’ birthday party or an adult soiree.
A Place to Relax
Playing can be fairly exhausting. Kids will need a place to chill for a little while as they collect their breath or take a quick nap without retreating to the indoors. A comfortable lounge area that’s protected inside a pavilion will do the trick. A pavilion can become the anchor of your entire outdoor living space and feature all the amenities of relaxation.
A Place to Refuel
All the running around and taking part in adventures required plenty of fuel. Include an outdoor kitchen in your patio and pavilion design to keep everyone refreshed and nourished throughout the summer. An outdoor kitchen can be as simple as a mini-fridge, sink, and charcoal grill. It can also be a comprehensive and commanding area of your outdoor living space complete with all the equipment you need to make a lavish feast for everyone.
Related: 6 Landscape Design Ideas For Your Lake Forest, IL Outdoor Play Area
