If you have ever enjoyed sitting around a campfire, you will love the addition of a fire pit to your outdoor living area. Fall is the perfect time for adding a source of warmth to your outdoor environment. Building a fire pit can range from a simple do-it-yourself hardscaping project to an elaborate custom design.
Issues to consider in selecting an approach to your fire pit include:
Appearance – texture, shape, color
Use – ambiance, warmth, toasting marshmallows, cooking
Ease of installation
Fire-resistance
Cost – materials, labor, maintenance
In choosing the appearance you desire for your hardscaping project, you will determine the primary material. This selection will significantly influence the other issues above. Options for fire pit materials are extensive and include:
Natural stone boulders
Natural wall stone
Packaged natural stone kits
Packaged manufactured kits including fire-resistant inserts
Concrete forms requiring customization
Customized from manufactured materials.
The chart below provides basic comparison of key elements of the different approaches.
When people buy or build their dream house, they usually focus on the interior. However, the exterior should be considered just as important. As you know, first impressions are essential. And this is precisely what the outside of your house offers. Just think about it: this is what your guests first see when they come to visit. Therefore, it’s good to have an inviting front yard. But apart from this, you should also focus on the backyard, where you’ll entertain your family and friends. So, here are five tips to make your outdoor space more inviting.
No. 1 Build a path
Nothing is more welcoming than creating a path that leads to your house. For this, you can use pavers and slabs. These materials come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Therefore, they give you a lot of options. You can opt for a more conventional and uniform path, or you can have fun with it. You can combine various colors and shapes and even make it a bit curvy.
To make your outdoor space more inviting, create paths that lead to your house and the entertainment area.
The same thing applies to your backyard. You can make your outdoor space more inviting by creating a path that leads to the entertainment area. Moreover, if you have a big backyard and a budget, consider creating several paths for your guests to enjoy a relaxing walk. You can even add some stepping stones to change things up a bit.
You can also create a path that goes around your home.
No. 2 Create the perfect atmosphere
If you want your family and friends to feel good in your outdoor space, you must create the perfect atmosphere. And one of the best ways to do this is through lighting. You can use lights for practical reasons, but you can also use them to accentuate certain elements. For example, you can light up the paths to move around easily, but this will also bring out the color and pattern of the path. And you can apply this to any part of the outdoor space: walls, fences, pool, etc.
No. 3 Make your outdoor space more inviting by adding a nice pool area
If you are so lucky to have enough outdoor space to fit a pool, don’t think twice about it. During summers, the pool area will be the main attraction. You can have quiet and relaxing days at the pool with your family or invite some friends over and have pool parties.
In any case, you should pay attention to the pool deck. This is very important because it’s where everyone will spend most of their time. A good option for the pool deck is to use travertine. This natural stone remains cool in the heat, meaning it won’t burn the soles of your feet. Moreover, it’s not slippery when it gets wet. Therefore, it’s highly recommended for the pool area. Plus, it comes in a variety of colors, so it will also look beautiful.
Make your outdoor space more inviting by creating the perfect pool area.
No. 4 Add an outdoor kitchen
Firstly, outdoor kitchens are very practical. You can use them even when you don’t have guests to protect your home from the smell of fried or grilled meals. However, during the warm season, they are great for barbeque parties. Plus, you and your guests can have fun and socialize while you cook.
Since they have a solid structure, bad weather won’t ruin your party. You can build your outdoor kitchen out of wall blocks or ready-made panels. But whichever you choose, don’t forget you also need access to gas, electricity, and water for a functional kitchen.
Now, depending on the size, you can equip it with everything you need: grills, fridges, ice machines, cabinets, and even a wood-fired pizza oven.
No. 5 Create an entertainment area
To make your outdoor space more inviting, you need an entertainment area. This is where your guests will spend most of their time. Therefore, you should think about ways to make them feel cozy.
Add a gazebo
The first thing you need to consider is that the weather is unpredictable. So, you will need a roof over your head if it starts to rain. Not to mention that summers can be scorching, so you will also need some shade. You can achieve this by building a gazebo, for example. The idea is for the area not to be fully enclosed. So, you can build a low wall around it. This will provide support for the roof and also some privacy.
Incorporate seating
The furniture is also essential since you have to seat your guests somewhere. If you build a structure with a roof, you can create an outdoor living room, including everything from couches, pillows, TV, and even a rug. However, to entertain your guests, you will need seating areas in other parts of the backyard as well. So, if there’s no roof, pay attention to the materials of the furnishings. Otherwise, bad weather will cause it to deteriorate faster. Moreover, if you’re concerned that your furniture won’t withstand the winter, you can always place it in a storage unit until next year. Just be mindful when packing and prepare it well for this period.
You can design the entertainment area like an outdoor living room.
Consider including a focal point
Think about creating a fire area. Everyone enjoys sitting around a campfire and telling stories. But since you are not in the middle of the woods, you need something more elegant and practical. A good option is to build a fire pit. It can be made out of numerous materials and in various shapes, so you have many options. The advantage is that the fire pit generates heat, and it also looks incredible.
Final thoughts
Once you buy or build a new house, filling it with family and friends is what makes it feel like home. Therefore, it’s crucial for all your guests to feel welcomed. And since the exterior is what they see first, it’s essential to make it inviting. Plus, this is where you’ll entertain during the warm season. So, use these five tips to make your outdoor space more inviting for yourself and your nearest and dearest.
Author: Mary Aspen Richardson, Professional Copywriter
If you’re considering making upgrades to your home or backyard, keep in mind that some will increase the future resale value of your property more than others. Of course, the most important aspect is that you and your family will benefit from and appreciate the upgrade, but it never hurts to plan ahead. A home project that will increase your home’s market value is the best possible option. However, the question is: what hardscaping projects can increase the value of your home the most? In the rest of this article, we’ll answer that question and go over everything else you need to know about certain hardscaping projects.
People undertake home improvement projects keeping the long-term benefits in mind. Homeowners carefully choose renovations and additions that improve the functionality and also add value to the property. Kitchen and bathroom renovation, repainting, window replacement, and adopting ways to improve energy efficiency are a few ways to increase the value of a home. Potential home buyers look for the overall appeal of the house, including both interiors and exteriors.
Homeowners looking to update their exterior spaces often wonder whether adding pavers to the landscaping will increase their home value. Indeed, pavers can help improve the outdoor appearance and add to a house’s curb appeal. However, factors like the location, size, and condition of the house and how and where the pavers are installed are equally essential in determining a home’s value.
Pavers or paving stones are incredibly popular, and when designed beautifully, provide an excellent way to improve a home’s exterior appearance. There are several applications of paving stones in outdoor hardscaped areas, including patios, pool decks, walkways, driveways, and outdoor kitchens. Pavers are made using a variety of materials like concrete, brick, and natural stone.
We are all very busy with our lives every day. Be it work, studies, or household job, we don’t exactly take some time off to just stop for a minute. Wouldn’t you want to just take a minute to live in the current moment?
We know that the world around us is changing rapidly. Tall and strong architecture marvels stand where once there was natural vegetation.
Falling leaves and pumpkin spice lattes. Crisp nights and gloriously mild afternoons. There’s a lot to love about autumns in Pennsylvania. Daytime temperatures drop into the 50s and 60s, and at night there’s just enough chill in the air to put on a jacket. It’s a great season to lounge in your own yard and enjoy the fall colors. Here are five tips for using your hardscaped patio into the fall.
The term “polymeric sand” might sound like some sort of high-tech, futuristic product, but there’s a good chance you’ve encountered it somewhere along the line.
It’s a type of sand used to fill in the joints between pavers, a product that’s created by mixing a fine sand with additives – typically silica – and water to form a binding agent that helps lock pavers together.
Having a beautiful backyard is a dream come true for a lot of people. In this day and age, all of us simply need a quiet little place to relax and unwind after a busy day. Sure, a lot of us already have such an area somewhere in our homes, but not many realize the healing power of spending time outdoors.
That’s why, if you are thinking about updating your outdoor area, we urge you to consider creating a true Zen oasis, where you will be able to fully give in to the healing powers of Mother Nature and spend some quality time immersed in all of her beauties, either alone or with friends and family. If the idea sounds appealing, but you’re not quite sure how you can achieve it, keep on reading.
You look out at your backyard, and you have ideas: Ways to transform your outdoor living space and give it a new look and feel.
You see pathways and patios and hedges and trellises and maybe even a fountain. You see big backyard barbecues and scores of admiring neighbors.
And then you see your bank account and begin to worry.
Maybe that big landscaping project just isn’t in the cards, you think to yourself. But don’t fret. As long as you’re willing to start small, there are ways you can pull off backyard landscaping ideas on a budget.
Our world is one that thrives on balance. We enjoy foods that are sweet and foods that are salty. We watch some movies that are funny, others that are serious.
And in our backyards, we mix hardscaping – patios, pathways, stones, rocks and decks — with softscaping: things such as trees, plants, flowers or grass.
Without softscaping, your yard would seem harsh and forbidding, a sterile, uninviting place.
But without hardscaping, it would feel messy and overgrown. As you search for hardscaping supplies in PA, think about choosing these materials to give your property the right balance.
