The Outdoor Lifestyle Blog

Want to add a little green to your outdoor kitchen or patio living area, but don’t have room for a big garden? The good news is that many plants don’t need a ton of space to thrive. In fact, many will grow quite happily in a flowerpot, decorative urn or other container.  

Container gardening is a fun hobby that combines artistic vision with a little trial-and-error experimentation. It’s a great way to enhance the look and feel of your outdoor kitchen.

Here are a few ways to incorporate container-grown plants into your outdoor living space:

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:

It's great that you're treating yourself and your family to a backyard makeover, complete with a custom outdoor kitchen! That addition won't be much fun for the kids, though, who need to stay away from the grill's open flames and dangerous heat. 

We've put together six ideas for backyard fun aimed at making sure you're little ones are having a blast, not just sitting bored around the dinner table. Even better, most of these ideas can be packed up and put away once the night is over, so you won't have to worry about a cluttered backyard!

It can be hard to enjoy your beautiful backyard when it's so, so hot outside. It's a shame to have your outdoor kitchen and living room go to waste, so we want to help you beat the heat!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas... Football Season! If you've been wanting to put your outdoor kitchen and living room to good use, football games are a great reason to have all of your friends, family, and neighbors over for a backyard tailgate! Kickoff the season with these great party ideas:

Having an outdoor kitchen doesn't make too much sense if you're just going to cook your food outside then bring everything inside once it's done. It makes way more sense to host your whole party outside, so as you start planning your dream outdoor oasis, don't forget to include spacious outdoor dining areas with comfortable seating for your guests.

We've compiled some helpful tips for you to keep in mind as you're planning your outdoor eating spaces so that you and your guests can sit back and relax in maximum comfort: