The Outdoor Lifestyle Blog

Independence Day cookouts are a time-honored American tradition and often the high point of the summer. But unfortunately for some people, another part of the holiday tradition is burnt-to-a-crisp burgers.

Don’t let that be you this summer—follow these tips for keeping your burgers juicy and evenly cooked:

Now that you have a beautiful new fire pit, you can look forward to many happy evenings relaxing with friends and family. And with a little proactive care, you can extend the life and looks of your fire pit for many years.

Here are a few easy maintenance tips that will keep your fire pit in top shape:

Clean up ash regularly

Clearing away old ashes is important for two reasons:

In our opinion, nothing beats tender pork barbecue fresh from your own outdoor smoker (well, except maybe a quality steak grilled to perfection). There’s something about slow-cooked pork slathered with your favorite sauce or a savory dry rub that makes it a perennial favorite.

Dreaming of a custom outdoor kitchen for entertaining friends and family? As you’re collecting ideas for what elements you’d like to include, be sure to consider the countertop.

Not only is it the surface where you’ll be doing a lot of practical prep work, it’s also one of the features your guests will first notice when they step into your outdoor living space.

Here’s a quick overview of outdoor kitchen countertop options:

There’s a lot to consider when designing your dream outdoor kitchen, from choosing the right appliances to setting up plumbing to making sure your kitchen is the right size.

If you’ve got a sunny exposure in your backyard, one thing you don’t want to forget is to be sure to provide some shade! After grilling the perfect hamburger, it’s a shame for guests to have to risk sunburn (or run indoors) to enjoy it.

If you don’t have a lot of trees in your backyard, you have several options to consider when it comes to providing some shade for keeping cool during sunny days.

In our last post, we discussed how to supply power for backyard lighting. This week, we’ll look at some of the many lighting styles available to you. This isn’t an exhaustive list—just something to get you started down the right path!

Solar outdoor lighting

Solar path lights: Help your guests find their way through your yard when evening falls with this low-to-the-ground lighting option. Solar path lights are simple to install since they require no wiring, and they come in a variety of designs, from utilitarian to whimsical. Just be aware that they’ll fade as the night grows late, so they may not be ideal as your only light source.

Deck post lights: Provide a little extra light with fashionable solar deck lights. Several styles are designed to fit like a cap over the top of a deck post, while others affix to the side.  

Dreaming of summer evenings in your new outdoor living room, or planning to entertain friends around the fire pit or fireplace on a chilly autumn night? If you’ve got a large backyard, chances are the fire-glow and your existing porch light aren’t going to be quite enough to help people navigate after sunset.

Dreaming of the ultimate outdoor living room but aren’t sure where to start? Any major home improvement project can seem like a daunting task to begin with, so it helps to break it down into steps.

Here are our recommended steps to create your ideal outdoor living room:  

1. Determine your goals

First, ask yourself: what makes the idea of an outdoor living room so attractive to you? Is it because you want to spend more time with family? Is it so you and your spouse can spend alone time together? Is it because you want to have a quiet place to meditate and enjoy nature?

Are you considering adding a fire pit, stately fireplace or a dramatic fire table to your backyard? There’s nothing like an outdoor fire feature to take the chill off fall or winter evenings, or to add fun to spring and summer get-togethers. However, before you rush to purchase and install your new backyard addition, you’ll want to do a little planning so you can enjoy it to the fullest. Here are five mistakes you’ll want to avoid when building your outdoor fireplace, fire pit or fire table:

Dreaming about the ultimate outdoor living room? Have you already started to sketch out designs on napkins or even graph paper? The planning stage can be a lot of fun, especially as you’re collecting inspiration on Pinterest or seeing what your friends and neighbors have done in their yards.

But to get the most out of your space, you’ll want to avoid some not-so-obvious design flaws that can cause frustrations and steal a little of the joy of having an outdoor gathering spot.

Below are three mistakes to avoid when designing your outdoor living room: