{"id":669,"date":"2014-08-05T14:05:26","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T14:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/?p=669"},"modified":"2022-10-06T11:14:28","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T15:14:28","slug":"ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask a Pro Q&#038;A: How Can I Use My Backyard for Entertaining?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to another installment of Ask a Pro! Today we are talking to Dream Team member and outdoor design expert Carson Arthur! Let&#8217;s see what he has to say about creating a backyard that is perfect for entertaining!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-670\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shutterstock_197681834-1.jpg\" alt=\"Backyard_Entertaining\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shutterstock_197681834-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shutterstock_197681834-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Q: \u00a0My backyard is very spacious, with lots of room for entertaining. What are some ways I can use my backyard as a place for entertaining and hanging with family and friends?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Suzy F.<\/p>\n<p>A: \u00a0I would suggest building a beautiful deck. Since wood is half the cost of stone, a wood deck is a great option for increasing the living space in your yard. A good deck can also last between 10-12 years, so you can enjoy it for many years to come. If you have a little more in your budget, a stone patio is an elegant way to update your backyard for entertaining. Lasting upwards of 25 years, stone requires very little maintenance and is a great option if you are planning to stay in your home for a long time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Carson A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><button class=\"more-link\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"><\/span><\/button><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1591,55,51,52,53,54],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-a-pro","tag-ask-a-pro","tag-backyard","tag-outdoor-entertaining","tag-outdoor-party","tag-patio","tag-porch","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ask a Pro Q&amp;A: How Can I Use My Backyard for Entertaining? - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dream Team member and outdoor design expert Carson Arthur talks about creating a backyard that is perfect for entertaining!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ask a Pro Q&amp;A: How Can I Use My Backyard for Entertaining? - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-05T14:05:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-06T15:14:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shutterstock_197681834-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clara Chang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clara Chang\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clara Chang\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/#\/schema\/person\/3f586452f6e7cc5b4049486ed0ef788d\"},\"headline\":\"Ask a Pro Q&#038;A: How Can I Use My Backyard for Entertaining?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-05T14:05:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-06T15:14:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\"},\"wordCount\":187,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shutterstock_197681834-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ask a Pro\",\"backyard\",\"outdoor entertaining\",\"outdoor party\",\"patio\",\"porch\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ask a Pro\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bhgre.com\/bhgrelife\/ask-the-experts-qa-with-carson-arthur\/\",\"name\":\"Ask a Pro Q&A: How Can I Use My Backyard for Entertaining? 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