interior home: outdoor spaces

Showing posts with label outdoor spaces. Show all posts

Composite Decking: Stone Deck

If you are building a new home or adding outdoor living space to your home, here’s an alternative in composite decking you may not have considered: a low maintenance natural stone deck.

With no mortar or grout, StoneDeck combines premium-quality natural slates, granites and quartzite with a high strength composite backing. A fastening matrix connects to the deck frame while interlocking all structural panels in place. The panels and matrix form a structure that is flexible, yet strong enough to support 4,000 pounds per square foot.

StoneDeck can be installed by carpenters, deck or dock builders, and landscape contractors. An homeowner can also install the system with instructions and guidance.

Cracking is not an issue - the surface of the StoneDeck system will not crack. And unlike traditional wood decks, StoneDeck is a permanent surface that does not have the maintenance and deterioration issues associated with wood surfaces. The long-lasting components can handle the harshest climate conditions.

Our builder friend, Everett Pollard of Northcape Design in Sunapee, NH, installed it at his house and absolutely loves it! Want more information? Check out their website at http://www.stonedeckwest.com/index.htm.

Glass Mulch – a Popular Landscaping Choice

Perhaps you’ve heard of the newest alternative to traditional gravel and bark mulch – glass. That’s right, recycled glass is now a popular landscaping choice with numerous benefits.

Glass mulch looks like colorful gravel and comes in a variety of colors. The mulch is made from recycled glass debris which is tumbled to remove sharp edges, making it safe for children and animals, and beautiful for planters, gardens, and around trees.

Design options are endless, as the glass mulch can be coordinated to match your home’s architectural style and colors or create an outdoor living space with a specific theme (for instance, blue glass mulch is very popular for simulating water).

In addition to using recycled material, glass much carries other environmental benefits: it lessens the impact on landfills, conserves water and withstands heavy drainage without washing out, requires very little maintenance, and does not need to be replaced every year like traditional mulch does.

Some popular applications in residential architecture? Landscaping, terrazzo flooring, counter top applications, water features, fire pits, and hundreds more!

Landscaping photos by EnviroGLAS

Utlizing Outdoor Spaces

Utilizing outdoor spaces is an important aspect of home design. Whether your site is level, sloping, rocky, or wooded, you can maximize your living area and take advantage of views by considering one or more of these applications and spaces:

Sunrooms and three-season porches

Patios and decks

Terraces and courtyards

Pergolas and Gazebos

Cooking areas and fireplaces

Docks and water access

Walkways and paths

Gardens and landscaping

Outdoor spaces enhance the living areas and interior of the home. Talk to your architect in the beginning stages of your home design to incorporate them into your home plan.

Outdoor Living Ideas to be Stolen

Last night I got this email from one of my best friends... "Can you please blog about back yard summer décor so that I can steal your ideas as I am helping a friend re-decorate this Sunday. Help!"

Hahaha at least she's honest!!! (And she knows I'd love an assignment like this!!) So, here are some ideas I have & things I love for backyard summer fun & entertaining that hopefully Alissa will like & can get quickly. (I have no idea what type of space her friend has but I can only assume since she's friends with a friend of mine that the budget will be tight & that we'll need to get creative!! ;) The picture above is from Cottage Living and is a look I absolutely love. Easy, carefree, white and casual classic. It's my inspiration for what's ahead...

Here's a quick checklist for Alissa for an instant pretty outdoor space:

-Plants

-Furniture

-Rug

-Pillows

-Lanterns/ lighting

-Flowers

-Accessories

I think it's really important for outdoor dining spaces in particular to feel a bit enclosed or delineated in some way. (like in the country living pic below) This can be easily done by a surrounding a patio or table with flowers, bushes, a pergola, an awning, outdoor curtains, etc. But something to make the area feel special, private & pretty. So, I think they should hit up the distressed plants section of Lowe's and get to it!!

I'm not sure if her friend is looking more for eating or relaxing areas, so we'll give her both. She may already have furniture but that's okay... let's have fun with this ;) I'm going to use this picnic table from http://doitbest.com/ It's only $135 and can easily be painted white or any other color. (Painted tables seem to cost more!! arg) You can find them at garage sales too this time of year... They remind me of summertime when I was little...

I really think she should go with a couple of adirondack chairs. I love these white adirondack chairs for only $85 from lovemypatio.com

I do think it's important to go with wood adirondack chairs instead of the plastic ones if you can afford it because you can tell it's plastic from a mile away. (BUT I totally understand waiting for upgrades if you want the look for now for less!! Believe me, I'm SO there right now!!) And check out these painted wooden ones here in white for a steal at only $60!!!! We got ours at Kohl's when they were having a big sale for $65 each and I can't say enough how much I enjoy sitting in them.

Then I'd add a white market umbrella (see Maria from Colour Me Happy's post for details on color choices!!!) because I think they're classic and simple. (And honestly, doesn't it look perfect in our cottage living inspiration picture above??)

I'm kind of obsessing about fans right now. They keep the bugs away and I love the look too!! (Anything to bring more inside stuff outdoors!!) How great is this $80 fan from Home Depot?!!:

Ok, now onto the pretty things!!! (Which is probably what my friend's looking for :) She'll probably want a rug. I LOVE this herringbone natural-looking one from Restoration hardware. (They range from $79 and up depending upon the size)

And I'm kind of going nutty over these pillows from Restoration hardware which are only $21!!!! (--They come in so many pretty colors and they're having a huge sale on outdoor stuff right now.) I've had my Restoration hardware outdoor pillows for a few years & they've held up so well, so this is a really good buy. (Home depot also has some cute ones right now but they're actually more expensive)

Ok, and I don't know if she like to lay out in the sun (i know it's so bad for you!!) but I used to when I didn't have a child (now that sounds like a joke or a dream!!!) so maybe she'd love these gorgeous RH towels as much as I do: (Again RH towels are THE BEST!!!!- barely any fading and they're so thick!) Now I think my excuse to get these might be because we have a kiddie pool! ;) ;)

I love lanterns outside. They're so pretty- night or day- and they really up the look. All of Pottery Barn's are gorgeous but also try Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, walmart & other cheaper places.

When you're having guests or just want the space pretty for you & your family, add a flower arrangement or 2. (Even greenery works when you don't have flowers as in Eddie Ross's fern arrangements below.-- I LOVE THESE!!)

If you'll be doing lots of outdoor entertaining, there is so much adorable melamine outdoor dishware & drinkware. Target always has cute stuff:

And finally, here's a quick something I do every summer. I put all of my condiments & some paper napkins in a basket in the fridge so we can grab them quickly for eating outside. Then you can put in other things you need like silverware and flowers. It's one of those things you can do that just makes life easier. (By the way if you're looking for a good bbq sauce, try Sweet Baby Ray's- It's THE best!!)

Anyway, I hope this helped a bit!!!I'm SO excited for summer & can't wait to find my rug & lanterns!!! (Don't worry, of course I'll post pics!! haha)

xoxo,

lauren

In the Garden...

This weekend, we spent most of our time outside. We got a lot further along on the fence we're doing around the property and we also made some garden beds!

We went to Lowe's and the prices were AMAZING!!! You have to go if you have one near you because you can go CRAZY in the "Distressed Plants" section. All distressed plants are 75% off and there are so many that just need a little TLC! (I got TONS of zinnias for 87 cents each!!) (image below) from here

I was also able to get some hydrangea bushes for only $6!!! I went through the "healthy section of plants" and found sad-looking plants & was able to talk to the manager and get them for 75% off too! (The hydrangeas I found literally were just wilted and needed some water and they perked up within a couple of hours of watering them at home.) image below from here

We got the Nikko Blue Hydrangeas but they're pink right now so (me being lazy) I'll be waiting to see if my soil is acidic enough to turn them blue eventually. (If not, I'll have to add some, but I'm actually loving the pink right now because they work beautifully with all the zinnias!) image from here

Our yard & garden is super-rough right now but my next goal is getting some creeping groundcover around some stepping stones like in the Country Living pic below: (This website specializes in groundcovers you can walk on: http://www.stepables.com/ )

We have woods at the back of our property & how amazing would a pathway like this be?!!! (Should be no big thing after that fence, right? ;) ;) ok so this would really be years away from happening...

And next we're planting a veggie garden!! Our sweet friends Amy & Greg have TONS of tomatoes, squash and other veggies for us that they grew from seed. I am SO excited as I am a tomato FREAK and can eat them every day. I also picked up a bunch of herbs and lined our patio with them for easy grabbing for cooking.

yum yum!!! love those maters!!! haha

I've also really been on a pepper kick lately:

Well, I'll post pictures when the plants mature a bit & it's something pretty to look at!! So, what's going on in your garden or window sill for this summer?

xoxo,

lauren

ps- It's June!!! Come on summer!!!!