Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor spaces are referred to as outdoor rooms these days. What ever they are called, if you love the outdoors like I do, you will enjoy having an out side dinning area or an area to sit and relax.

Building a nice deck or porch on the back of your house would be ideal........but if it's not in the budget, squaring off an area and placing patio pavers on the ground will also work to create outdoor spaces.

You can find stones in different size, shapes and colors at Lowes and Home Depot for making small walls or borders, or for making a fire pit. No mortar needed for the stones, just stack them.

Since I mentioned a fire pit..........a truck wheel rim makes an ideal fire pit. When we rented a cabin this summer, the cabin had a couple fire pits and they were made with truck wheel rims. They had already acquired the rust patina. If you like this idea you may want to check a junk yard that sells metal scraps, or car and truck parts.

Stack the decorative bricks around the truck wheel rim and you have a great looking fire pit. This is on my list of things to do.

An out side rug can make your seating area cozy. Try looking at World Market or Pier One for an outside mat, like a beach mat or picnic mat before purchasing an outside rug. I found a mat at World Market made out of 100% polypropylene (plastic polymer, used as a fiber, rugged and durable and holds up to moisture). It is large in size about 46"x72" and it doesn't look like plastic, it was on sale for $10.

We made an umbrella stand from a tall galvanized can Greg found at a flea market. Greg painted a piece of PCV pipe to match the umbrella pole. He poured a bag of quick drying cement in the galvanized can along with the PCV pipe and let it dry. Next, he put stones in the can to cover the cement. .The umbrella stand is sturdy enough to hold a 9' market umbrella.

Ornamental grasses look good in large pots and hold up well in sunny spots. If you live where it gets cold in the winter, just cut them back in the fall and put them in the garage for the winter. Bring them back out when the temperature is warm again and the ornamental grass will grow back. Feed them plant food and water regularly at the beginning. As I'm sure you know, potted plants dry out fast, so keep them watered during dry times.

I hope these tips and tricks give you some ideas for your own outside space.

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