Spring is getting closer! In fact it’s pretty much here in Florida! I’m staring out over the water this morning and thinking I need to be out on my boat, not sitting in my office on the phone and computer! Pesky work!
Check this out:
Outdoor areas can be literally amazing! I’ve said before that I may have to make a career shift to building just things like this! But then what would I do about the kid’s rooms I love so much? Choices, choices!
Outdoor Showers
Fireplaces are awesome outside and I can’t wait to do a huge post about them. but you know what else is awesome outdside? A shower. I love an outdoor shower. Maybe it’s a tropical thing, but I don’t think an exterior living makeover is complete without one! This picture below is my outdoor shower from our previous home (which is still for sale! despite all the great Home Staging ideas).
We’ve already discussed my photography skills! But my building skills are better and this is an awesome shower!
Looking out one side is a view through thick tropical foliage including huge stalks of bamboo out to a beautiful lake. On the other side is a very nice private paver patio with some wicker furniture and a lush tropical garden.
I used a simple wooden rod and some plain Sunbrella fabric to make the curtains, which go all the way around if you’re feeling modest!
I found out very quickly that HOT water is a must. The breeze outside changes things a little bit!
Decks and Patios
Another great outdoor project is a wood deck or a paver patio. I can’t get enough of these spaces. Our deck in the current house is half the size of the entire house! We practically live out there! I’m waiting for the spring bloom of flowers and greenery to show you pictures. But I can show you evidence of a lesson learned this past weekend:
The following mixture: Metal firepit, salt air, wood deck. NOT GOOD!
Things rust here…like right now. And the firepit had a small hole in the bottom that I wasn’t aware of…this is what happened in the middle of roasting marshmallows! Oh well, we were going to paint it this year anyway!
So let me ask you….which one do you want to hear about first? Outdoor Fireplaces, Outdoor Showers, or Decks and Patios?
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Decks & patios, yeah! Our house is on a flat lot on a slab foundation, and patio is SO BORING and not quite large enough to be comfy. After 22 years — and the final removal of swingsets and kiddie stuff — we’re ready to expand the patio area, but we don’t yet have a plan. Are you up for a challenge, Tim? ‘Cause we certainly want to do it as cheaply as possible, and have room to spread out into several areas
)
Smiling as always,
Victoria
victoria ~ auction girl vintage’s last blog post..Blue Monday ~ Cobalt Blue Glassware
DECKS!!! PLEASE!!! I am hoping to revamp it this spring/summer as it desperately needs CPR!!
Lindsay’s last blog post..Okay, so I’ve surrendered!
i can’t decide…. decks first I think…. we are planning to do a pergola this summer and I think that a deck will need to be part of the whole process…
Cristy’s last blog post..With Faith Like A Sponge
Decks please! We will be doing the deck when we build our new house! I want to make it a wonderful outdoor living space!
Decks please,
We have a basic ranch home and will be adding both a front entry deck as well as a back deck with a pergola so any ideas would be great. Thanks!
I’m a Deck and Patio kinda gal. No pools so not many shower needs (though that’s a great idea for those boys!) and I live in AZ so I have about a 1 month window to enjoy a fireplace. A deck… A patio… those I need. I need super easy instructions so I can do it all by my womanly self. Might need to invest in one of those pink tool belts!
PrettyOrganizer’s last blog post..Toile Tuesday: A Toile Tour of Blogland
I think that for me an outdoor shower would just be redundant, and not because I have a shower inside but because I live in the Seattle WA area and it rains enough already. there might be about 3 days a year warm enough to enjoy an outdoor shower.
Decks please. Would also like to see some great ideas utilized for shade and UV protection, like shade sails
We live in the mountains of western NC and we could not live without our open air (privacy walls, no roof) outdoor shower during the warm weather months. I love looking up through the branches of a 100 year old oak tree, to a blue sky overhead, with birds chirping and the smell of freshly cut grass! Add lavender soap, white fluffy towels, soothing jazz and little white lights and candles in the evening – it becomes an outdoor spa!
Denise’s last blog post..The Geek Squad hits Seattle
We’re looking to build a deck and a patio either this summer or next (too much hard & landscaping to do in both front and back yards… not sure how much will get done!) so it would be great to hear what you have to share
Victoria from EdinDesigns @ DesignTies
DesignTies’s last blog post..Jelly Bean Row
Decks and patios…we live in the Pacific Northwest so if we need an outdoor shower…just step outside!
But I can imagine an outdoor shower is a great thing to have in a tropical climate. In my dreams…
Mrs. Q’s last blog post..Struggling Economy….Strong Faith
I’ll happily read about decks, but then I’d like to talk fireplaces! my favorite by far
The Tiny Homestead’s last blog post..Cornbread and Clementines
Hi Remodeling Guy!
I want this fireplaceon my patio!!!–How about it??
xxx’s
It looks like I’m in the minority, but FIREPLACES, FIREPLACES, FIREPLACES!!
Julie’s last blog post..Keeping up with the "Jones’s"
I vote for patios and decks, maybe with a pergula cover thrown in!!!
Definitely decks and patios – heavy emphasis on the patio.
We are in the middle of a dither on how to redo the patio on a house we bought this past fall. It’s a cracked concrete slab right now, and we’re trying to decide whether to redo with stamped concrete, or some paver like bricks, stone, etc.
Then we’ll put a firepit on it. Being Missouri, we will probably skip the whole shower thing. LOL
Keri’s last blog post..It Really Works!
I up for the outdoor shower- I’ve always wanted one and I’m looking for great ideas-
Thanks for all the ideas- and help.
teresa’s last blog post..Blessings to Celebrate-
Outdoor shower, PLEASE! My husband is a large animal veterinarian…need I say more? My dream is for him to have a quick place to clean up prior to bring smells and gunk into my home! Thanks…for whenever you get to it!
My vote is for decks and patios too!!
Tho I am interested in all of those topics
Jessica’s last blog post..So Close!
I vote for the outdoor shower and the deck/patio “said the girl who wants it all” we built an outdoor shower in our last home..one word..awesome! will be putting one on our new home this summer.
We live on cape cod..beach sand..all the time! It was used from April to November..definitely worth it!
sue@solsticehome’s last blog post..updated peeks
Hey Tim! I vote for decks and patios. We had an unusually warm couple of days recently in NC, and my mind is now focused outside (while the inside is now a wreck!).
We do have bushes planted that will eventually cover the fenced area (maybe two more years), but until then I would like a temporary, inexpensive solution. I was thinking maybe two really L-O-N-G shepherd crooks (hooks?)and hanging some darker sunbrella fabric? Or one of those tent-like things with my furniture inside? (hubby said that would look really stupid….like we were constantly having a party! hey, now there’s an idea!:)) I’ll stop now.
Do you have any suggestions for a privacy “wall” to shield ourselves from neighbors with a very high deck? I feel like they are always LOOKING AT ME whenever I am outside and it makes me paranoid.