Incorporate Interesting Decor for Vacation Getaway Spot

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Jennifer Kimrey shares in the Houston Chronicle that"Decorating and furnishing a vacation home can be very different from decorating and furnishing your first home or primary residence.

A prevalent trend that has lasted years is decorating your second home to honor its location, but that doesn't mean everything has to be "beachy" everywhere - moderation,please.

A great way get more enjoyment out of your second home is upgrading the outdoor areas. Cozy outdoor sitting areas, for example, allow homeowners to extend their indoor living space to the outdoors and have become a popular focus of second-home redecorating.

"Patio furniture trends have shifted away from traditional iron patio furniture to contemporary plastic wicker furnishings. This style is very popular. For a more 'designer look,' many of my clients purchase their outdoor furniture and have custom pillows made to match their decor.

The outdoor kitchen is another popular feature. "In addition to your standard grill, it's also very popular to have an ice maker, refrigerator and smoker as fixtures in your outdoor kitchen. We also see many homeowners choosing wood-burning pizza ovens. Another popular feature is a built-in fireplace or fire pit.

Ultimately, the best decorating decisions you can make for your second house are ones that make you happy and give that property a cozy feeling of home.

Creating an Alfresco Living Space for Your Family

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People usually try to leave town and enjoy the great outdoors during the summer season. It is always nice to spend time amidst nature’s harmonious surroundings, and by designating a portion of your backyard into an outdoor living space, you can have the same pleasure. The good news is, designing an alfresco space for your family and for yourself does not have to be a complicated undertaking. If you want to enjoy fresh air and the freedom that the outdoors bring without leaving home or spending a fortune, consider these simple tips.
Identify an area that you can transform into your outdoor living space.
There are certain things you need to keep in mind when you choose the location of your new outdoor living space. First of all, you need to think about how you want to use the space; this will determine the size and to a certain extent, the materials of your little (or not-so-little) hideaway. Next you need to take note of how accessible this new space will be. If you intend to do a lot of eating and entertaining, then it would be wise to make sure the kitchen is within a convenient distance. Lastly, think about how private you want to the place to be. Once all these things are settled, you will have a clearer idea about how you will set up your new outdoor living space.
Create borders to set your alfresco space apart.
Without borders to define it, the area you want to designate for socializing can appear impersonal and uninviting. Worse, people may keep walking through it and past it without stopping to enjoy the special place you intended to create. With the careful placement of a few bushes or a trellis, you can keep this area protected from prying eyes and create a cozy haven away from the busy world. Some of the plants that can provide you with a dense, bushy shield are Arbovitae, evergreens, or flowering shrubs such as the Bluebeard. Visit your local nursery and check which specimens will work best for you.


Decide on the structure of your outdoor refuge.
Once you know how you will use your outdoor refuge, you can make your building plans. Your desire to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year can be addressed by a patio, a porch, a deck, or just a wide area paved with flagstones. Your structure will also be determined by your budget, the amount of work you are willing to undertake, and how long you intend the structure to last.
Decide on a theme. Patios, decks, and porches can accommodate a wide range of themes.
As long as your garden haven does not become a discordant note in relation to your house and grounds, you have considerable latitude in choosing the decor you will use for your alfresco area. For example, for a rustic, shabby chic area where everyone can relax, all you need is some crockery, some barn red paint, a table and chairs made in distressed wood finish, and a sliding door with barn door hardware.
Think about temperature control.
If you want maximum use of your patio (or deck or porch), make provisions for fans in summer and heaters when the cold weather comes. Fans don’t have to be permanent structures; there are plenty of portable fans you can use to make warm days more comfortable. There are also portable patio and deck heaters fueled by gas so that even when the nights become cold, you can spend time outdoors in comfort. You might want to install a flagstone fire pit or a fireplace that you can gather around. The idea is to provide warmth so that even when it’s cold, people can still congregate in the outdoor living space you have created.


Include a Roof.
A roof will allow you to use your outdoor area for longer periods during the day, and there are many ways that you can put up a roof or its equivalent. You can put in a permanent roof, or you can install a retractable awning, set up a parasol or two, or grow a vine such as bougainvillea to provide shelter. You can even make it possible to enclose the area with mosquito netting to prevent pesky insects from ruining your outdoor fun.



Your private living space can function as an extra living room, a spare dining area, or a place for entertaining. Best of all, this space can allow you to start your days serenely with a steaming cup of coffee and the birds for company.



Greening Up Your Landscape Lighting

If you are like me, you have always wanted gorgeous landscape lighting but have no shortage of reasons for why it isn't possible. Perhaps you are concerned about additional charges on your electricity bill or wasting energy in general. After all, lighting the inside of your home is necessary, but when the outside world is centered on conservation, lighting up your yard seems frivolous, at best.

Or maybe you've been intimidated by all of the electrical components that must be involved. Surely, just getting the lights in the ground is a DIY feat well beyond the bounds of your skill set, right?

But here's the truth: You can be conscious of the environment, keep your electricity consumption (and bill) exactly where it is and beautify your yard with green living landscape lighting that is just as eco-friendly as it is aesthetically pleasing! And with no wires to attach or cables to bury, simple staked lanterns couldn't be easier to install.

My husband and I have been in the process of remodeling our first home, and after spending over nine months on the interior, we are finally able to take our updating outside! Our front walkway previously boasted large, overgrown and irreparably diseased bushes that we removed and recently patched with a few plots of sod. I am looking forward to the day when the sod spreads and becomes seamlessly integrated into the existing grass and I no longer have to look at sod lines and empty spots.

Originally, I intended on replacing the bushes with another bush or plant, but when I found these fantastic lanterns that coordinate with our updated porch light and garage sconces, I was sold.

In terms of DIY home improvement, this planting project - that literally consists of sticking the stake into the ground - packs a major punch in the décor department without walloping your wallet or the planet.

Landscape lanterns like these often come in multi-packs: I purchased a set of four and they came in at just over $12 each! They are made of a weather-resistant plastic that has a copper like finish that is indistinguishable from the real thing when viewed from above.

The classic contours of the lanterns make them extremely versatile and allow them to coexist with many different architectural styles. And although I have lined them along the curving front entry leading up to my front porch, they would work just as well along the side of the house or out back around our patio.

Aside from their beauty, let's not forget that the main reason these are so fantastic is their eco-friendliness! These landscape lanterns are Energy Star-compliant and automatically shut off during daylight hours. They are solar powered for environmentally sound operation and use a one-watt LED bulb that is actually included with the set. A single sunny day charge can translate into nine hours of illumination from dusk until dawn. This means that during the night, you have an enhanced yard and enhanced security because prowlers are less likely to gravitate toward a well-lit home.

And while we're on the subject of safety, by installing landscape lights along walkways, especially curved ones like mine, you can ensure greater visibility and reduce the risk of tripping and falling at night. This can become indispensable on nights when you have guests over who will be leaving well after the sun goes down!

Here are a few tips for installing your lanterns:

• Plan your layout before you stick them in the ground to ensure appropriate spacing and minimize the damage to your yard.
• Place them close enough to your path to sufficiently light it but not so close that the lanterns become a hazard to passersby.
• When placing them in the ground, it may help to carve out a little well with a garden spade first.
• Rather than pushing them in from the top of the light, grab the base firmly and insert the stake into the ground as you might a dagger.
• Be sure to charge them in the sunlight for at least a couple of hours before their initial use to ensure a good and accurate first impression at dusk.

All that's left to do is sit back and enjoy your new green living landscape lighting! And it's an outdoor lighting scheme that you can be proud of, both in terms of your yard enhancement and in the sense that you are doing your part for the planet.

What style or layout of landscape lighting do you want to incorporate into your green living outdoor spaces?

Rheney Williams lives in Charleston, S.C., and provides DIY advice to homeowners for Home Depot. Rheney has been decorating and redesigning her home over the past year, and has begun working on her landscaping, including outdoor landscape lights. Home Depot's complete selection of landscape lights, including the style Rheney used for her home, can be found on the Home Depot website.

Tis The Season For Lights

What a delightful time of year. As I take my evening dog walk, every year I see more holiday lights on roof eaves, around windows trees and bushes and Christmas trees. I’ve seen some homeowners hang their own string lights using tall, heavy, ladders. Others are hiring professionals to do the jobs. You generally know it’s a professional job, because the lights are straight with no sag.

I don’t have a favorite string of lights. Sometimes just white lights reflect the worldly taste of the owners; less is more, simple but refined   Other times, I feel like a child seeing his first multi-colored, sparkly Christmas tree. “Life is good,” the display says. Friends down the street decorate with blue string lights at the bottom of a tree in their landscaping and gradually, as they wind up the tree, switch to white lights that end way out on the ends of tree limbs.

I’ve noticed that hanging lights involving couples can be stressful. Both think they have the right answers and seek control over placement. My wife and I bickered for a few years until I stopped fighting and just said, “Yes, dear!” Who really cares? It’s not as if the world is going to end if a string is hung wrong.

This Christmas season we spent part of Christmas Eve touring the Festival of Lights at the Grotto east of Portland. It was a dry, crisp night and every tree and path was lit with party lights. There were paper lanterns illuminating the small grotto plaza and electric lights in sacks outlined all the paths.

After New Years day is the traditional time to take down all the strings and wreathes and baubles, put them in sacks and hide in storage until Thanksgiving. Once again, at that time, you’ll need to decide whether to be a kid or a sophisticate.