Outfit your outdoor kitchen and lounge area with comfortable and casual outdoor furniture and fixtures.

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Why An Outdoor Kitchen?

In my humble opinion, an outdoor kitchen is all about enjoying ‘the conveniences’ associated with indoor meal preparation, dining and entertaining, in an outdoor setting. Cooking inside then transferring the food outdoors is simply not efficient. It also means that at least one person is stuck inside on cooking duty while everyone else is outside having fun. With an outdoor kitchen no one misses out on any of the action.

Outdoor Kitchen Trend

Designers talk about making your outdoor rooms an extension of the home. Just how much of an extension is really up to the individual’s wants, needs, desires and budget.

As the popularity of outdoor kitchens has grown, so too has the number of companies who specialize in outfitting this space. From elaborate outdoor food prep areas to luxurious outdoor seating and dining areas, their design ideas and high-end products are guaranteed to impress. Unfortunately, they can also leave you with a less than impressive balance in your bank account.

This post is for the average Joe (or Joanne) who doesn’t have loads of cash to throw around, but would still like to enjoy the benefits of an outdoor kitchen and backyard time spent with family and friends. The following is my list of tips and ideas on how to build an outdoor kitchen without breaking the bank.
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Anyone who does flower gardening, herb gardening or vegetable gardening on their balcony will appreciate the additional planting space provided by window boxes or flower boxes.

In response to a reader’s comment in an earlier post (Balcony / Small Patio = Outdoor Room) about using window boxes on his balcony railing, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned about window boxes and what to use for securing them to a railing.

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Gardening is not a hobby reserved only for people who own houses and land. With the popularity of container gardening, apartment and condominium dwellers with balconies or small patios can create colorful flower gardens or fragrant herb gardens in their outdoor living areas too.

Balcony Garden Inspiration Board

Outdoor furniture and garden product sources from this inspiration board are listed below. [Read more →]

Welcome back and thank you for tuning in to the continuing saga of finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place. When last I left you, a discussion on home organization ideas and storage solutions was just beginning to unfold. In Spring Clean Up - Kill the Clutter, we covered ideas for ridding your home of unwanted clutter. Now let’s look at what you have left over (your keep pile) and cover some ideas on how to organize those items you’ve deemed as essential. And instead of just shoving everything to the back of a closet, under the stairs, or beneath the living room carpet, we’ll also look at some creative storage solutions. [Read more →]

Yup, it’s spring - that time of year when many of us feel compelled to throw open the windows, let in some extra light and a large dose of fresh air to clean the cobwebs from our heads as well as our houses.

Does anyone actually like spring cleaning? It certainly seems to be one of those deeply ingrained, yearly rituals that we automatically perform whether we like it or not. No matter how we feel about doing house cleaning, there really is no better time than spring to clean out the clutter, introduce some new tactics for home organization and implement new storage solutions.

You can’t effectively spring clean if there’s too much clutter in the way, so this post is geared towards helping you sort through the clutter before the cleaning can begin. [Read more →]

Continuing with the outdoor room theme…..Get a little closer to nature this summer with an outdoor shower!

I’ve always wanted an outdoor shower, alas, the perfect location has eluded me. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

(For the products, sources and pricing of items featured in this design inspiration board, see below.)

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Told you I was inspired! Here’s the first of my outdoor room design inspiration boards for spring / summer 2008. See below for a complete list of sources and product information.

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Thursday, while visiting Canada Blooms - The Toronto Flower & Garden Festival, it became clear to me that outdoor rooms and outdoor kitchens would continue to be a hot home design trend for the summer of 2008. For Canada, parts of the United States and in many other places around the world, the spring and summer seasons seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. With such a small window of opportunity it’s not at all surprising that we want to maximize our enjoyment of outdoor living by enhancing our outdoor spaces.

To get you thinking ahead to sunshine-filled days and warm, sultry evenings, I thought I’d give you a peak at some of the outdoor room displays from Canada Blooms. [Read more →]

Don’t you love taking things, whether they are new or old, and using them in ways for which they weren’t originally intended?

Hooked Rug = Colorful Wall Hanging

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