Summertime is the season for outdoor living. Plants and trees fill out with greenery, flowers burst into bloom, and it just feels good to be outside. So why not move your lifestyle into your back yard? 

Outdoor living isn't just about cookouts anymore. There are countless ways to shift out of the house and onto the lawn. Here are just a few: 

1)Go camping in your own back yard. If you're an outdoorsy type who likes to sleep under the stars, you don't have to travel far or invest in a bunch of fancy camping equipment. Instead, set up a tent in the back yard. For a rustic, casual feel, simply run a rope between two trees and drape canvas over it, teepee-style. Just make sure that you have bug spray or netting on hand to ward off pesky insects.

2)Create an outdoor movie theater. If you have access to a projector, you can show movies off of your computer in your own yard as soon as it gets dark. Think outside the box; hang up a white sheet instead of using a conventional screen. Lay out sleeping bags, cushions, air mattresses, and anything else to make a cozy space to watch your favorite films.

3)Light up the night. Strings of white lights can turn a yard into a magical space after dark. The great news is that there is an energy-efficient way to add some sparkle to your evening events: solar lights. Solar lights charge all day in the sun and then burst to life once the sun goes down. For an elegant effect, you can replace chandelier bulbs with solar lights and hang the chandelier outdoors.

4)Build an old-fashioned tree house or fort. Not all tree houses have to be fully-functional small replicas of real homes. Remember the kind of tree house you built when you were a kid by nailing planks on a trunk to create a ladder and creating a platform in the branches from which you could oversee the yard or the neighborhood? If you aren't a skilled carpenter, consider going back to the basics.

5)Fashion a fire pit. A simple way to create a back yard fire pit requires little more than some stones from your local home improvement store. If you're not sure where to begin, go online and look for directions for crafting a simple area where you can toast s'mores and tell spooky stories around the campfire.

6)String a hammock. If you don't have good trees in your yard, you can always buy a freestanding hammock. Nothing beats relaxing in a gently swaying hammock with a book and a cold drink on a hot summer afternoon.

7)Buy or make some funky furnishings. There's a ton of outdoor furniture on the market, and some of it mimics what you might see indoors for living and dining. But you don't have to buy expensive furniture to enjoy your yard. Use naturally rustic elements in unusual ways: craft tables out of whiskey barrels, or turn a simple wooden platform and a waterproof mattress or cushions into a day bed for your porch or patio. If you have a pool (or even if you don't), you can rig an outdoor shower with a hose a nozzle hanging from a tree.

What's more inviting than fresh air and relaxation? You don't have to have a gazebo or in-ground pool to turn your back yard into the place you want to spend your summer. When it comes to outdoor living, you're only limited by your imagination.

Would you like to find out more? Visit www.hansbrings.com for more information.