Outdoor Home Living Tips And Hints

Introduction

Many people are beginning to realize that their lives are not confined to the space on the inside of the house. Expand your living space into the outside areas to enjoy sunlight and natural beauty. Outdoor home living encompasses playing, cooking, eating, reading, relaxing and many other activities that we sometimes only think about doing indoors.  Depending on the amount of room you have outside and the climate of your area, you may want to set up a permanent living space with furniture and accessories. In other areas, your space can be set up temporarily to accommodate children's play activities, parties and entertainment for adults and teens, or even outdoor sleeping arrangements.

Step 1

Establish privacy in your outdoor home living space. If you own your own a home and land, build a privacy fence around the area that you are likely to use most often. This will prevent prying eyes from neighbors and passersby. It will also give you a sense of space in which to establish everyday routines, similar to how you interact indoors. For small outdoor home living spaces at an apartment complex, get creative with how you create privacy. Place tall evergreen shrubs in containers in a row along one side of your patio or lawn, creating a natural, living privacy screen. You may also install lattice screens and plant climbing vines on the screens. Clematis, honeysuckle and other flowering vines will bring bright spots of color into the space when the plants bloom. 

Step 2

Style your outdoor home living space the same way an interior designer would treat an indoor space. Select a color theme, matching pieces of furniture and accessories that complement the overall design. Often an outdoor home living space looks incomplete -- or messy -- because it's put together with cast-off chairs, tables and a mish-mash of temporary pieces that were intended for camping or a beach outing. Instead, invest in sturdy, attractive furniture that is both weather-resistant and comfortable. An outdoor living room should offer plenty of seating for the family and guests, as well as a table or two for a festive flower arrangement and where folks can set their drinks or reading material. A kitchen space can accommodate a good-looking dining set, a grill and a side table to hold grilling utensils and food preparation items.   

Step 3

Expand the usefulness of your outdoor home living space with good lighting so that you can be outside after dark. Simple low-voltage garden lighting around the perimeter of the area outlines the boundaries and casts soft illumination at the edges of the space. Add a festive tone to the outdoor home living room by wrapping rope lighting around patio pillars, railing or tree trunks. Brighter lights, designed and wired for outdoor use, should be used in the cooking area and passage area between the indoors and outside. Place multiple candes on the tables to add a sparkling sense of enchantment to the setting. If your area is prone to wind and breezes that blow out the candle flames, use battery-operated flameless candles that emulate the shimmering, flickering type of light.

Tips

Accessorize your outdoor space with plenty of cushions made of colorful, rain-resistant fabric. These cushions dry out quickly after they are exposed to precipitation, providing comfortable seating on wicker, resin and wood chairs.

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