5 Affordable Outdoor Hacks To Elevate Your Rental's Backyard

With outdoor entertaining becoming a bigger and bigger part of our lives, the question for landlords becomes, “How can I make my backyard as comfortable as possible?” And we got your back!

Even though it’s become something of a social necessity because of the pandemic, there’s always been a certain appeal to outdoor entertaining. In fact, in our opinion, there’s nothing better than sitting outside with your friends under the stars on a warm July night. 

But because Covid has made outdoor entertaining such a central part of our lives, it’s become that much more important that our backyards are comfortable and accommodating. It’s no longer enough that your rental property has some green space — now you have to have a green space that’s actually welcoming. 

When you’re self-managing your own property, there’s always this balancing act between providing the best service and accommodations without putting too big a dent in your bottom line. You might want to make your backdoor space nicer to attract the best possible residents, but you can’t shell out a small fortune on the upgrades. That’s why hacks like the ones we’ll explore in this article are so wonderful: they allow you to make significant improvements without costing a significant amount.

Because there are so many different types of gardens and outdoor spaces, we’ve categorized these hacks by what kind of space they’ll work in: we’ll start with hacks for smaller gardens, and move on to ones for bigger spaces.

For Smaller Gardens

Outdoor Hack #1: Outdoor Serving Station

The best way to encourage outdoor entertaining is to make it as easy as possible to do (call it the “If you build it, they will come” theory of home improvements).  This beautiful fold-down serving station makes it easy to fix and pour drinks without having to enter into the house; not only that, but once it’s folded out you can use the table top to set up boardgames and the like.  It can even be used as a makeshift desk; after all, the only thing better than working from home is working outdoors! 

It’s especially useful if you don’t have a lot of space, like a small urban garden. Or even a balcony!

Outdoor Hack #2: Outdoor Bench

We know we said these hacks were for elegant, English-style gardens, but this beautiful French bench would work wonders on either side of the Channel. 

This one also takes a little technical know-how, but the out-of-pocket costs are so minimal — and the aesthetic affect is so resplendent — we think it’s worth the effort.  All it takes is some wood, two identical side-chairs, and a little bit of elbow grease to create this elegant addition to any backyard.  In fact the end result is so beautiful your residents might end up moving it indoors and using it as an entryway bench!

This hack might not be as simple as some of the others, but worth the effort!

Outdoor Hack #3: Wine-Bottle Bird Feeder

Another relatively simple hack to execute, this bird feeder isn’t only charming and quirky, but by bringing feathered friends onto your property, it’ll make the backyard feel that much more romantic and special.  Plus we love a hack that requires you drink a bottle of wine.  It combines two of our favorite past-times — Beaujolais and home improvement!

It's a great trick for staging a home – when the prospective tenants walk outside, and see the attention to detail, it will help seal the deal by making the house loveable.

For Bigger Gardens

Outdoor Hack #4: Tree Swing

An especially charming addition to the backyard of a larger, family-friendly home, a tree swing will lend the space a sense of welcoming homey-ness. The best part is that installation is relatively simple — and in case a tree swing isn’t your idea of fun, you can use a lot of the same tricks and techniques to set up a hammock instead.

Outdoor Hack #5: Straw-Bale Planters

An especially great hack if your outdoor area doesn’t have much space for flower beds, these easy (and cheap) straw-bale planters will lend any area an aura of rustic, rugged authenticity. They’re perfect for herb gardens, too. 

Though many of these hacks are hackable even for the clumsiest among us, when you work with Belong you have access to their professional vendor network of over 10,000 contractors, who can help you build the ones that take a bit more know-how (and maybe a power tool or two). 

Easier access to professional contractors is one of the many ways Belong is simplifying the rental experience and helping more homeowners reach their financial goals through real estate. Visit our homeowner's page to find out more about how our services are helping people to ditch property management in Seattle, Redmond, Oakland, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami and many more.