Structures, Strategies for Outdoor Living

Outdoor Living Spaces
Do you take pleasure in a certain area of the yard? To maximize your enjoyment of it, start thinking outside of the box. You might well be able to enjoy it more by making it a "room," replete with walls for privacy, a ceiling for shade and a floor covered with a "carpet" of sorts.

Outdoor Kitchens: Design Factors
Does the concept of "outdoor kitchens" sound strange to you? Probably not if you have watched landscaping shows on TV. Of course, we're not talking chump change here. This is an option only for the reasonably affluent; and even then, it probably only makes sense if you entertain frequently.

Outdoor Kitchen Appliances: Grills and More
In contrast to full outdoor kitchens, grills are rather blue-collar (the barbecue is standard fare in the American yard). But grills can be enhanced through the installation of a number of other kitchen appliances, like refrigerators and sinks.

Outdoor Fireplaces and Fire Pits
Building fireplaces and fire pits allows you to harness the power of flame in an outdoor living area, satisfying a primal impulse. Whether your preference is for outdoor fireplaces or for fire pits, you'll first have to make some decisions, and this article will help you.

Stone Kitchens
Stone kitchens are exceedingly popular when choosing building materials for outdoor living rooms. Beauty and durability are obviously desirable in a building material, and stone kitchens offer both. This Q&A may answer some of the questions you have about these elegant setups.

Brick Ovens
Interested in enjoying pizza straight out of your own brick oven in your outdoor living room? This article will help you make plans to have your own brick oven constructed.

How to Build a Sandbox
Of course, outdoor living is about more than just eating. If you have kids, you'll want to create play areas for them. To make sandboxes, typically wooden frames are filled with play sand. But in this tutorial on how to build a sandbox, the frame is made of interlocking blocks.

Patio and Deck Design Accessories
If you're going to become a connoisseur of outdoor living, you might as well go all the way! So just as you'd accessorize if you were designing an indoor room, furnish your retreat outside with all the accessories that make it a home.

Outdoor rooms allow you to take meals outside during the summer. But to be...
Are you planning a backyard makeover? What should you look for in a so-called "outdoor room?" There is one feature that I think most of us would consider most basic: something overhead to keep off the elements -- rain and sun alike. One option is a retractable canopy.

Hardscape Ideas for Children
My title refers not to kids building hardscape but hardscape built for kids! Safety and usability come first, but after that, one idea to consider is inspiring your kids with a hardscape project. Mason, Joe Norton offers his thoughts on enhancing outdoor living for your kids.

Lighting Types
Outdoor living can be greatly enhanced through the proper use of lighting in your landscaping. Are you unsure as to which lighting type would best serve your landscaping needs? On their website, the folks at Miller Landscape, Inc. discuss some lighting types, as well as some of the design uses for outdoor lighting.