Best Natural Woods for Constructing Fences

Constructing fences with wood is prevalent because of several reasons. One reason is that wood is apparently simple to install. With just basic carpentry tools and skills, anyone can begin it as a weekend DIY project. The versatility of wood is also a great ground why it is preferred. Any design can be made and any color can easily be painted on. Imagine how nice it would seem sitting in your backyard place, lying in a beautiful wooden furniture under a patio umbrella while being guarded by a pretty fence. Lastly, the cost effectiveness of building fences with wood is another major factor why people choose it.

Redwood
Redwood is a softwood popular for outdoor use. The term softwood should not be mistaken since this wood is resistant to rot and insects. The color of the wood is typically deep red tones and turns into a pleasing gray as it ages. The wood must be sealed for a long-lasting color. Otherwise, the color can be renewed by restaining.

Cedar
The natural color and texture of cedar influences it to be attractive for building fences. The wood contains natural oils and acids that repel insects and made it durable against decay and warping. These great properties make this wood also favorable for outdoors, it lasts long and costs less than redwood.

Cypress
Cypress is an excellent wood alternative to redwood and cedar. The good news is that it is much cheaper, especially if you live in the southeast of the US. The color is reddish, just a bit lighter than of redwood. It has the same properties to repel insects and prevents decay like redwood and cedar.

White Oak
White oak is a hardwood, meant to last long in an outdoor situation. Although it can warp or bow a little as it ages especially in outdoor, this wood actually lasts and stay solid and strong even exposed to the harsh elements.

Tropical Hardwoods
Tropical hardwoods are literally rocklike that they need to be drilled first before you can drive a nail through it. Typical hardwoods are Greenheart, Purpleheart, Brazilian Cherry, Ipe, and Red Cedar. Majority of them come from tropical South America. These properties make these wood a bit expensive. However, the quality is at its best.

Building fences is primarily for protection and privacy. Though it does not need to be sort of high security structure, still, fences need to be sturdy and long lasting. How awful it is to see that the fence we built with money, time, and effort will just fall apart after a few months.

Using these top wood choices, fences serve will their purpose longer, and that they make a valuable part of a home with the quality. Keep in mind that because of their great properties, these woods are also among the top choice in making outdoor patio furniture.

Ways To Perk Up Your Patio this Christmas Holidays

Christmas is typically associated with cool weather and snow. People often do the get-togethers and parties indoors during this season. But we can also use the patio even if it is cold outside where the snow, the cool breeze, and the view is brand-new. With a little tweaking and preparation, a party can happen in the patio.

To perk up a place like patio for the Christmas holiday, it has to be transformed to be relevant for the season. No major renovation is required, just some patio decorating and rearranging is needed to make a patio another great place for this once a year celebration. It isn’t hard to do, and it can be a rewarding project in the end.

Wind Chimes
A wind chime makes captivating tinkling sound with just a gentle breeze. As the soft wind continues to blow, it creates soothing and interesting music even when not in rhyme. The gentle kiss of nature make an unexpected melody that captures our attention even to the subconscious. Though wind chimes are not meant for Christmas, but the tinkling sound can be heard as a music that adds to the spirit of the season.

Wind chimes are also decorative, so in addition to the sound they make, they can also be a great addition to the decor.

Statues
Statues are the best accent for gardens and so as to patios. These figurines can be in any fashion but the most popular are in the form of animals, angels, and gnomes. To make a Christmas theme, you just need to add Santa Claus, reindeers, and don’t forget Mister snowman.

Topiary
Topiaries are shrubs or trees clipped to form various ornamental shapes. It is a type of art that produces unusual geometric shapes and animal structures. To add to the Christmas theme, you have to choose cone shapes to resemble Christmas trees. Reindeers may also be available, so you better look for them.

Topiaries are a good decoration themselves, yet, they can also be a great companion to your existing decorations and statues. You can create a beautiful focal point using them as decorative accents around a centerpiece and along with your patio furniture setup.

New Potted Plants
Talking about plants, adding a new set of potted plants would be so much beneficial. For the season, potted pine trees are the perfect choice. This tree can serve as your outdoor Christmas tree. Perk it up by adding colorful decorations and lights.

Lighting
Perhaps, lighting is a must in decorating for Christmas especially in an outdoor area. There are many types of lights and you might need most of them. Spotlights are to highlight your focal point. You can also use this light to highlight large decorations such as statues and trees.

Then there are string lights which are perfect decorative accents. Other than that, Christmas lights are also popular for the season. just make sure you pick the ones that can be used outdoors. Christmas lights are also string lights. The difference is the blinking behavior and the colors.

There you go, these are just simple ways to perk up a Patio for the season but it’s worth doing. Just don’t forget to prepare your outdoor furniture and secure your patio umbrellas as winter comes.

How to Prepare Your Patio for a Party all along Chilly Days

Are you planning for an outdoor party on chilly days and nights? Do you want to extend the summer’s excitement in winter time? There is no stopping you. In fact, winter can be a great time for outdoor parties like for Christmas. There are so many proven ways that can help you in making your plans of having an exciting party, even in a bit frosty outdoors.

Talking about staying outdoors during chilly days, the very first thing to consider is to have an outdoor fireplace or a patio heater. We need it to make the outdoor comfortable.

There are many types of fireplaces and outdoor heaters to choose from. Portable patio heaters, available in propane or natural gas, are great for mobility; allows you move them from place to place. Sizes can range from full standing to table tops. Another patio heater option is an infrared patio heater, they are also powerful and convenient to use. They are fully electric so you don’t have to take the hassle of refueling.

If you wanted to enjoy the sight of real fire that dances and sparks, then portable fire pits and fire bowls come in handy. Portable fire pits are designed to let you enjoy the warming real flame of wood, safely in your patio. They have a screen cover to protect you from sparks and flying embers. On the other hand, fire bowls usually are fuelled with gel fuel or propane gas so you can instantly enjoy fire with in less time.

The good thing about fire pits and outdoor fire bowls, is that they make outdoor parties a bit more exciting. Imagine sitting around a fire that looks so entertaining. With a fire that is suitable and safe for cooking, it will be much more enjoyable when you have some mallows to roast.

Here are important winter reminders for your patio furniture sets.

Before bringing out or letting them stay outside in winter, be sure you have them prepared to endure the harsh outdoor condition. We cannot totally avoid water, that may come from spills and snowmelt, from getting into the furniture pieces. The water will make metals corrode or rust. The water stuck in the furniture will make damage when freezes back.

As some wood furniture types are not suitable for winter, they should be treated and sealed well. Sealing makes them protected from moisture before being absorbed then make a damage to the wood. Iron made furniture are also vulnerable to winter especially when getting some moisture. They easily rust which leads to deterioration.

A good tool to make extra care for your patio furniture is to buy them covers. Choose those that can protect them from snow and water. Any type of furniture design or set has corresponding covers to fit.

These tips are very important to keep your precious furniture stay in good shape.

After you have prepared the heat source and secured the furniture, then you can add whatever that makes your patio look interesting and make the party a fun experience. Add some outdoor lighting that can make the surrounding festive. Good lighting will also emphasize the best of your patio. Throw in some cushions and huggable pillows as these will add comfort and minimizes the cold feeling.

If Christmas is ahead, then it will be a great time to design your patio for the holiday season. Add a Christmas tree, decorate your patio with wreath, Christmas garlands, and lights.

Design Tips for Small Patio Spaces

A small outdoor room or patio would give only a limited space for room improvement. It can only accommodate the basic items we need for home outdoor leisure such as a little patio heater and a small table coupled with a relaxing seat. It would mean that we may not be able to spoil ourselves with extra stuff that pleases our senses. However, there will always be better ways. A small space should not be a problem and there are ingenious solutions.

The key to creating a relaxing, interesting, and beautiful small patio room is choosing the right items to put in. Knowing what you need and choosing the right design would make a big transformation which will satisfy your needs and wants.

To have a better perspective, we will identify the needs according to the factors that a perfect patio would have, beauty and comfort. Beauty which pertains to the design and decoration. Comfort is to the feel and ambiance of the place. This can be achieved with the design, materials used, the furniture you put, the appliances, and the decoration you add. Thinking all of these would make us think that we cannot make it in a small space. The good news is, all patio furniture and decorations have versions or design that are just perfect for small spaces.

Convertible and Multi-Purpose Furniture
Convertible and multi-purpose patio furniture items are the best solution for small spaces. The best example is a bench that can double as storage for other stuff like cushions when not in use. There are chairs that can be converted into lounge chair so that you can stretch when you wanted to. The list goes on. Any type of furniture you can think of, there will be multi-use and convertible versions.

Shade and Cover Options
With a limited area, it might be impractical to build a pergola, or gazebos for some sun shade. Well, all you need to be protected from the harmful and hot sun is a protective cover which you can get from a patio umbrella. The best part is that there are outdoor umbrellas designed for small spaces. An offset umbrella is a perfect example, available in many sizes and colors, the design is sleek while the post is on the side instead of the conventional which is in the center. Offset umbrellas also are esthetically pleasing. For a more space saving type of umbrella, use a wall mount outdoor umbrella. you will no longer have worry about any post.

Another solution is using a shade sail, a very simple no more sophisticated mechanism, but just the fabric and connecting strings to attach in your wall posts, and even the trees around.

Fireplace Alternatives
Though you can build a small fireplace to accommodate a small patio space, there solutions around that are ready to use, and are really space saving. Like portable patio heaters and table top heaters, they only take a little space on the side or on your table. The most space saving are the infrared patio heaters which are available in wall mount, hanging, and even the ones that have post can save you a lot of space. But the sleekness does not affect the heat output, these are compact and can give you substantial warmth for a small group of people.

Decorative Features
The ideal decor features for a patio include water features and garden plants. These features add a fresh ambiance to the room. When in outdoors, we expect to experience the goodness of nature most of the time. For a little space, there are space saving ways that allows us to create that experience.
Water features can be a pond, a waterfall, and fountain. There are little version of these in which you can add the of the effects with a little difference. A little aquarium is a great alternative to a pond. The great news about waterfalls and fountains is that there are table top versions which you will enjoy personally. Wall mount versions are also available so you can put them on walls to create a focal point..

Gardening is very much possible even in very little space through planters. Another version are the hanging and wall garden versions which are very popular these days. Many are actually using recycled materials and in DIY manner, going green. You can find many cool and creative ideas in the internet.

These are simple tips, but certainly will make a big difference.