As the summer heat cools, an entertaining outdoor living space can be the ultimate place to gather with friends and family, or to experience a solo getaway in your own backyard.

The key to peak enjoyment is to personalize features to the household and the intended purpose. For kids, a playground can be the centerpiece for hosting their friends or throwing birthday parties. Alternatively, a pool, a bar, a fire pit and television screens may better match the residents' lifestyle and ideal setting. It's all about the vision, and there are several options in home renovation to make that vision come to life.

A unique concept can often surprise homeowners in its feasibility until they find the right professionals and products. As the industry grows more every year, there are myriad possibilities to make an outdoor living space both amusing and aesthetically appealing.

Despite the summer nearing its end, there are plenty of features that can be set up and enjoyed in one day. Kristi Reading, managing partner at The Buxton Complex, explains that finishing touches like outdoor furniture sets, firepits and innovative outdoor kitchen features are available for in-store purchase—and many can be ordered in custom colors. Additionally, there are different options to customize the features to a household's lifestyle.

"Our poly outdoor furniture features smooth surfaces and [are] maintenance-free products, which protect from splinters in wood outdoor furniture, making it the best choice for children. The Sunbrella fabric used on the outdoor sofas is high quality to resist tearing and staining, which is great for the pets that love to lounge around," Reading says. "The Big Green Egg [grill's] advanced ceramic was partially developed using technology from NASA, and each unit is crafted in North America under the strictest quality standards. ... The Egg's superior insulation not only ensures precise temperature control and the ability to withstand extreme heat, but also keeps the exterior cooler to the touch—adding an extra layer of safety by reducing the risk of burns if accidentally touched."
Reading also recommends the Gozney Tread, which is a pizza oven designed for heightened portability. Grilling is still essential, but there are currently so many other appliances to cook, fry, bake, roast and smoke as well.

Food is at the heart of entertaining, and the cook can continue to mingle with guests instead of remaining stuck indoors until the food is ready. While certain features can heighten the safety of children nearby, it is always best to provide them with a distraction.

"Swing sets and playhouses are also up [in popularity] in the last several years. People are discovering that it's necessary to get out. If you give children a good swing set to play on and a little bit of encouragement, they love going out; plan on that. So, those options are almost unlimited," says Dan Stoltzfus, owner of Country Tyme Sheds. "You can get a smaller set, but a smaller set will get used a lot less. Now, something that's a little bigger, a little more complex and maybe a vinyl set that'll last for years and years [will get used more]."

"There's a model for everybody. They go from something very basic, [like] a little port, a couple swings and a slide, to what [Rainbow Play Systems] calls their Metropolis, which is a $100,000 swing set that looks like a small city with tons of different slides and bridges, all sorts of different levels and platforms, and clubhouses and play ports," adds Braun Kiess, owner of Pleasant Run Structures.

Playgrounds encourage activity and imagination, and when paired with a pool—the possibilities are endless. Although playing outside is supposed to limit screen time, bringing the screen outside adds an extra incentive for both children and adults. Often, a television is the center of an event, such as watching a poolside Eagles game or hosting an award-show screening party.

Placing an outdoor television requires some extra steps and planning to ensure its longevity and protect it from the elements. Motorized TV Cabinets offers innovative, portable cabinets to hold televisions of any size. Owner Carlos Betancourth explains that the cabinets can be customized by color, and many customers opt to add on a built-in electric fireplace.

"The fireplace is very popular right now. That's something new that we just started last month, and it's been taking up some traction," he says. "The only other add-ons that we offer at the moment would be stabilizing bars that you could have bolted onto the front and back. That is especially useful for people who live somewhere where it might be a little windy, or people who are on rooftops. We deliver a lot to rooftops or to people who are on the Shore."

Stabilizing bars and side handles are ideal for children who may pull on the cabinet, and they are built to be both functional and decorative. There are also custom-made waterproof covers to protect from sunlight, wind and precipitation. As for placement, there are numerous choices.

"The beautiful part of this cabinet—and the reason why people are usually driven to find us is—it is on wheels, you could place it wherever you want. So, I have it in front of my sofas, and then, if I want to go in a hot tub 30 feet away, I could wheel it over to the hot tub, and watch a movie or a game, and when I'm done, I wheel it back. Or, I could wheel it by the pool," says Betancourth. "With a cabinet, you could completely change your whole setup on your patio whenever you want, because all you're doing is wheeling it from one end to the other."

When placing a TV, consider optimizing visibility despite the sun, and implement separate speakers to best hear audio.
Another option is to combine structures to maximize space. With everything that goes into both creating and utilizing an outdoor living space, it's always practical to consider a space for storage. Stoltzfus notes that storage structures, pool houses and sheds can conveniently function as walls for other features.

"We have a really popular [structure] that has ... a really pretty shed, and then on the other end of it, there's this pavilion. And it's probably your most cost-efficient outdoor roof space [option]," he says. "It's very efficient and it's very good. And, you have that backdrop on the side of the shed to hang your TV on, and a wall to put things on. Sometimes you can get them with or without a bar, sometimes they'll do a partial bar and sometimes they'll do a full wraparound bar."

Structures traditionally intended for storage can be used for other purposes, and with some creativity, there is truly no limit. Think of it as an additional, outdoor room; for crafting, as a workshop, a changing area to accompany a pool and more.

"Pool houses are great spaces, because you can have a bar area, and you'll have a counter for people to sit and relax," says Kiess. "Our pavilions [are also popular for entertaining]. Pavilions are a roof structure with no sides and provide a nice designated area. A lot of times, people put ceiling fans in them. We've had folks that'll actually have outdoor fireplaces built adjacent to them.Underneath the roof, they'll set up a living area. So, it creates a really nice outdoor living space that could be fairly big."

These spaces will extend hosting and gathering opportunities into autumn, especially those that incorporate cooking or the warmth of an outdoor fire to roast marshmallows. Even if it becomes too cold to go in the pool, an outdoor living space inspired by entertainment will be filled with alternatives.

"Whether you are entertaining friends, family or a backyard birthday party for your kids, we have the best solutions for you," affirms Reading. "From fire dining tables that give the best ambience ... [or] lounging around on an outdoor sofa with your kids watching the stars in the night sky, cooking the best meal on The Big Green Egg, [or] kids running around pretending they are navigating a pirate ship on a swing set; there is a great option for every family, big or small."

RESOURCES
The Buxton Complex
Ewing, N.J.
(609) 771-0274
TheBuxtonComplex.com

Country Tyme Sheds
Colmar, Pa.
(267) 834-0211
CountryTymeSheds.com

Motorized TV Cabinets
Watchung, N.J.
(201) 852-5059
MotorizedTVCabinets.com

Pleasant Run Structures
Flemington & Parsippany, N.J.
(908) 237-1325
PleasantRunStructures.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 25, Issue 5 (July/August 2025)
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