Outdoor Living

5 Secrets to Dreamy Outdoor Spaces

May 30, 2011

Here’s me: I’m flipping through the channels with one of the three remotes, while holding one of the others so I can toggle the mute button on the off chance something less than totally annoying comes on the screen. 5 million channels and nothing on. Isn’t there a song about this? Then I pass a [...]

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Landscaping Ideas and Inspiration

April 27, 2011

I took a few pictures while visiting a local new home landscaping project today. I thought maybe I’d share a few of those ideas with you here. But be warned, you might catch Landscape Fever like I have. Integrating Hardscape Into Landscape Design Hardscape is a term sometimes used in different ways. To me, it’s [...]

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Courtyards — The Outdoor Version of “Small is the new big.”

July 7, 2010

The cover of a House Beautiful magazine on the table next to me asks “Is small the new big?”. If I say yes, can we all agree on 40 being the new 30? I was led from said magazine to the website, HouseBeautiful.com, where I stumbled upon this picture. I usually flip through the pictures [...]

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A Bamboo Backyard Shed

March 14, 2010

Yesterday, I threw a shed together with materials I had laying around. I used a raised planter box as the foundation and made pretty quick work out of it, breaking most of the rules of good construction as I went along. You can see the wrong way to build a shed quick here. I thought [...]

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Custom Exterior Shutters Equals Serious “WOW!”

February 17, 2010

See what I mean? Wow! Custom Wood Shutters Are The Finishing Touch This is one of those pictures that makes me feel a little bit like something is wrong with me! As I stare at my keyboard I’m the equivalent of the high-school kid who was just introduced to the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. [...]

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How-To Build A Picket Fence – The Fast And Easy Way

January 22, 2010

I’m going to show you in some very short, basic steps how to build a white picket fence (my very fast and easy way, of course…other ways do exist). This method will result in the posts being visible between sections of fencing. This looks great when you add some character to the top of the [...]

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A Tiki Bar for Christmas?

December 9, 2009

Do you have a place for an incredible outdoor project next spring? If so, I have a recommendation based on personal experience! Build a Tiki Bar! I love, love, love mine! And I have some pictures for you! Tucked in a corner of our little yard is one of my favorite places anywhere! Tim and [...]

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Beautiful Decks — The Least Expensive Living Space You Can Buy

July 28, 2009

Howdy! Let’s continue our look at some beautiful deck photos emailed to me by BHG.com. Creativity Rules Yesterday, in the first of a series of posts about decks, I showed you a photograph and did a little “Thumbs-Up” / “Thumbs-Down” thing where I pointed out what I liked and didn’t so-much like about the deck [...]

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Inspiring Outdoor Showers

June 11, 2009

I wonder if we were in the hot-spot of the country today? It hit 98 degrees today at my house! Mangoes hang on the trees, bougainvilla and hibiscus are in full bloom, and the summer high tides splash over the sea wall when the afternoon winds pick-up. It’s Island Life, and I love it!But it [...]

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