Nowadays, the backyard has fast become an integral part of the home. It is both an addition of your home’s liveable space and a expansion of your style and way of living. Everything you have indoors has now moved outdoors thereby widening your choices in terms of recreation, relaxation and entertainment.

That said there will be a time when even the best of backyards become a bit drab. Or it may lack a few of the elements that can bring it up to a higher level of looks and functionality. A solution for this could be to add garden structures that give both aesthetic beauty along with functionality – one among these stands out as the Balinese huts.

Also called Bali huts, these little structures have both the beauty and charm you will want with the functionality that you’re looking for you to do more outside while still be shielded from the scorching sun and the unpredicted rain showers that come towards you. Their design is reasonably straightforward – columns or posts supporting a thatched or in some instances a shingled roof – and they’ll provide you with several years of dedicated service merged with that tropical feel.

If you like to add these structures to your garden it can be done easily enough. You can obtain DIY kits from either a garden store or specialty store that handles these types of exotic buildings. After you take it home, you only need to refer to the manual that accompany each kit and after a number of days (2-3 days if the weather permits) you will soon be having a good time under them.

These Bali huts kits contain all you will need to put them together. Apart from the posts and the thatched roofing they also include a deck, railings, steps, and also concrete footers. You can opt to put them up complete or merely use the posts and the roof minus the decking.

The wood used are frequently of the local variety that’s pressure treated so that it would be able to survive prolonged coverage to the elements. Pine is the usual wood used but you may also get them in cedar, ash or teak.

As pointed out above the roof may either be thatched or shingles. The thatch is made out of Alang grass. Properly woven and weaved they could last as much as 15 years with minimal maintenance.

The beauty of deciding on the thatched roofing as opposed to the shingles is the natural ventilation and insulation that you receive. The thatch is pretty effective in keeping things cool during the summer and warm during the winter. This is due in part to the air pockets in the straw weave that acts as an insulating agent thereby maintaining a temperature that’s either lower if it’s hot outside or warmer if it’s cold.

Don’t be alarmed if the thatch of your Balinese huts changes color over time. This is perfectly normal especially after a while of being subjected to the hot sun. You can imagine it as aging and it gives your garden a different feel as time passes.

There are numerous sizes available. They may be small enough to cover only a few lounge chairs, bigger to cover a bar or a hot tub or really big to cover a whole swimming pool. So long as you have one of these structures you’ve got a place for relaxation, rejuvenation, mental peace, serenity and shelter – all in one package.