Sunday, November 27, 2011

Instant Patio Gardening Tips

Gardening brings a lot of benefits offered by different types of plants. They are an unlimited source of colorful beauty, fragrance, health, and wellness. These extra advantage adds more value to your outdoor room. If you have a patio or a deck instead of a garden, bringing these benefits to your place is really possible.

There are many ways to make your outdoor room bloom with green plants and colorful flowers in just few days. But if you want an instant result, these tips can also help that even non-gardeners can achieve great results.

Type of Plants
Plants can be categorized into three different types namely Ornamental, Herbal, and Vegetable. You choose one or a combination of these types of plants depending on what you want to achieve.
Ornamental which consist of mostly flowering plants can give a beautiful and colorful look for your patio. They are attention grabber.

Herbal plants are beneficial for our wellness and some of them can be used for decoration also.
Vegetables are not commonly planted on pots and used as decorative items but they are beneficial. In fact, vegetables growing on pots have gained attention these days.

Potted plants
Indeed this is the most practical way to introduce gardening in the patio or deck. You can plant them yourself to have a personal touch or you can buy some to have them instantly in your outdoor room. The main advantage of potted plants is that you can easily relocate them when you want to rearrange the patio.

As a complement to potted plants, there are non-potted plants that can be used as decorative accents to the design. They can be hung on the walls, posts, and on the gutters. They are less messy and lightweight.

The Arrangement
The plants can be arranged like you normally see them in traditional gardens. The plants must be organized according to their type and classes. However, you can be creative by arranging them in different manner but a balance in design must be maintained. Some plants can be placed around the side of the patio or deck. Placing some plants within your patio furniture setup add some fresh feeling. You can put some beside a wicker patio furniture set and you can add some small plant pot to your table top decor.

Plant Care Tips
We know the basic needs of a plant, sunlight and water. Taking care of them will easier if you are using only patio umbrella. Just close the umbrella for a while to let the sunshine in. But if you are using a permanent shade or a bigger outdoor umbrella where frequent closing and opening is not applicable, then you need to place then under the sun sometimes. Water them but not excessively to avoid water spillage in your patio or deck flooring.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Rattan – What is it Good For

Many people have used outdoor furniture made of rattan. This type of furniture is also one of the famous item in furniture shops and admired by many. Over the past decades, rattan have gained popularity among all other materials used in manufacturing not just outdoor furniture sets but also decorative items.

Now, let us examine what is rattan and what is it good for. Why it became so famous in patio furniture making industry.

Rattan is not typically a wood, the rattan plant which they came from is vine-like plant that can be found in tropical countries mostly in Southeast Asia. The stem is gathered, cleaned, and dried to become the very material for making a rattan furniture. Rattan stem is malleable making it possible to design furniture into any shape and style. That is why most rattan furniture item have great designs and are elegant.

They help in keeping a green environment. Aside from the fact that they grow rapidly and easily in enormous volume, they also save a tree. A tree can be saved whenever a set of furniture is made from rattan instead of wood. Because of this, rattan furniture producers are also considered Eco-friendly.

Rattan furniture are good for both indoor and outdoor use. The material can endure harsh elements of outdoors. The material is malleable so they can endure the stress of long use unlike a wood that have a tendency to break.

Though rattan can do a great performance as an outdoor patio furniture, you still need to cover it when not in use. You can also just use a shade or a large patio umbrella to protect it from sun and rain. The rattan cannot be easily weaken by the sun's heat and rain, it is the other supporting materials does such as nails, wires, and metal or wood frame.

Design possibilities of rattan are numerous. Any patio furniture and indoor furniture can be made into various design and styles. From tables, chairs, sofa sets, and all others. That is why they can go well with any patio furniture, outdoor umbrella and shade sails, and patio decor themes.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Patio Umbrella Lights With a Purpose

After patio umbrellas became necessity for outdoor lifestyle, now come patio umbrella lights in answer for our lighting needs to use with an outdoor umbrella. We know the basic purpose of a light, however, there are also different types of lighting needs especially for outdoors. That's the reason why many different types of lights have emerged.

It is helpful to know the characteristics and purposes of a type of light before buying one for a patio umbrella. So that we can select the best one that goes well with the existing patio furniture, patio umbrella, and the outdoor decor theme.

Standard lights made of traditional incandescent bulb emit brighter and warm light better than other types, except for colored ones. Together with an outdoor heater, warm lighting is best for creating a place for outdoor dining while the softer or dimmer warm light is best for enhancing a romantic ambiance. There is just one downside for using this type, that is, they consume much power.

Flourescent and compact flourescent types are best for producing bright white light. But they are seldom used as patio umbrella light.

LED lights are famous these days. One LED produces light at a lower intensity. We need to combine many LEDs to produce brighter light. However, even many LEDs are needed to produce enough brightness, the power needed is still lower compared to other types of light. Because it needs less power, more LED umbrella lights now come with rechargeable power source so you can bring them wherever you place the outdoor umbrella.

The other purpose of patio umbrella lights is to use as additional decoration, brightening up is just secondary. There are many types of patio theme and not all light types are good for them. One type of these lights is just good for one or two outdoor decor theme.

Regardless of the type, all lights can be of many forms and can be assembled with different components such as globe and lantern casing. They can be made just for lighting, decoration item, or both. They can have many colors and can be made into string of lights especially the smaller ones.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Strategic Location for a Patio Heater

The next thing to do after buying the best patio heater which suits your setup requirements is to look for a location for it. This task seems so simple yet still requires us to do some necessary steps to come up with the right choice. Yes you can place them anywhere you wanted but there are several concerns. The efficiency might not be attained and it could turn out that you are just wasting electricity or fuel. There are safety concerns also for every heater, be it electric or gas powered.

There are several factors that should be considered in selecting a location. These includes the location of the whole patio, the patio furniture setup, and what is the primary purpose of your patio or outdoor room. Because the heat generated from any heater has limitations, they are usually placed near the place where you and your guests stay. It will also depend on the type of outdoor heater, on the type of environment, and vice-versa.

Please note that these tips are also helpful in deciding what type of patio heater to buy if you have already prepared a place for a patio heater in your patio design.

Centered
This location requires that the type of outdoor heater you should use is the one that can generate heat that flows in all direction. Usually gas powered heaters are designed with this capability. One example is a propane heater. A table top propane heater is great for outdoor dining and for get together where people usually sits in circle.

Obove
You can usually see a heater that is placed hanging on the ceiling or wall in restaurants and cafe's. But they can also be used at home if you have roof or ceiling at your patio. Some can also be placed on a patio umbrella attached on the pole just beneath the umbrella canopy ribs. They are installed like that so that they will not interfere with the activities going on. They can be used on both regular type of umbrellas and on offset patio umbrellas.

The best heater for this type of installation is an infrared patio heater. It generates a focus heat to give warmth directly but does not heat the air. Best for breezy environment. This type is cost efficient because it conserves more power.

On the Side
The type of heater for this is one that generates and fans the heat on one side direction. The heater source should face to the direction where the people have gathered. Remember to choose a location that is not affected by the breeze if your heater is not an infrared type.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

What to Expect from a Modern Electric Heater

Electric heaters and electric fireplaces have gained popularity these days more than when it was in its early introduction. The reason for this increasing demand is the technological revolution which can only be achieved with electricity. Modern electric heaters and fireplaces are now paired with leading edge technology to make this piece of heating appliance more efficient, safe and easy to use. There are so many advantages of using these electric heating solutions.

So what to expect from a modern electric heater or fireplace? Here is a short list.

Automatic Heat Control
The first thing you should ask when buying an electric heater is that “does it control the heat automatically?”. A heater should maintain the preset temperature degree or else it cannot serve its purpose correctly. Uncontrolled rise of heat can lead to the destruction of the unit or worst it leads to fire. Thus, it is not safe to use a heater or fireplace without automatic heat control.

Fully Fume Free
A modern fireplace should promote a healthy home environment. Not all heat from electric is generated cleanly and safe, fumes from other materials are more hazardous than smoke from traditional wood fireplace. So be sure that you buy a reliable product brand from a trusted distributor.

Remote and Hands-Free Control
Modern heaters and fireplace should also be controlled remotely. The is another great reason for using this feature aside from just ease of use. Getting near the heat source feels uneasy so a remote control can help us to avoid it. On the other hand, it is also very helpful if the heating unit can shut off automatically at a desired time. This helps us having a sound relaxation or sleep and not bothered by thinking that we have to interrupt our sleep for a while just to turn it off.

Portable and Plug-and-Play
Modern age promotes mobility synonymous to tech gadgets. This also applies to heating solution where most electric heaters can be used anytime and anywhere as long as you have an access to electric source. There are heaters and fireplaces that have built-in wheels in response for easy mobility needs. There are some that can be held and placed anywhere, they are the best solution whenever you want to relax on cold nights under a patio umbrella. Just like a portable infrared heater where you can place them anywhere or even attach to any outdoor umbrella.

Mimics Burning Wood
An extra feature is a plus for a modern heater. This feature helps you enjoy the heater or fireplace with the natural feeling of a real traditional wood burning. This feature also makes a wonderful attraction in the patio decoration.