Christmas comes at a time of year when the sun shines only briefly, when darkness comes as early as 4 pm in many areas of the northern hemisphere, and many people start wishing for festive and cheerful Christmas outdoor decorations. Winter solstice starts just days before Christmas, and even though that date marks the time when days start getting longer, it seems like just the beginning of cold weather, cabin fever and the winter blues. Holiday lighting and decor can be one antidote for Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly known as SAD.
Read on to find some fresh ideas for your Christmas outdoor decorations. You are not limited to the holiday aisle at your local box store anymore. If you have a large house, building or yard, you can even purchase commercial grade lights and decorations that are basically bigger and studier than what you have been used to using.
Consider these options for Christmas outdoor decorations:
garlands, wreaths, finials and evergreen topiaries
bells, ribbons, and snowflakes
gazing balls and brightly colored glass bottles
chandeliers and wind chimes
banners and silhouettes
animated 3-d figures and air blown inflatable figures
nativities and creches
string and rope lights
Think about which features of your house and property could be decorated. Be imaginative! Typically homeowners like to decorate their house to highlight its unique architecture. That means wrapping and lining porches, columns, windows, roof line, and eaves. You can go beyond your house and consider decorating your garage, your pool house, your gazebo, garden shed, and even your doghouse.
Now let's get creative with the landscape around your house and adjacent structures. Consider using Christmas outdoor decorations in areas besides or in addition to your front yard, where face it; you are trying to impress and cheer up your neighbors. How about using holiday decor in your backyard, side yards, and garden; on your trees and large shrubs; around your swimming pool or pond. Think about decorating your garden features; patio, bench and birdbath; window boxes, decorative containers, hanging baskets; even a vintage bicycle, wagon wheel, or wheelbarrow.
Christmas lights are one of the most popular forms of holiday decorating simply because they bring light and color to our sometimes bleak winter days and nights. The sheer volume and variety of lights and lighting systems available now in stores and online gives you the ability to make very creative and unique Christmas light display. You could use simple strings of white mini-lites to highlight the architecture of your home, or go hole hog with large 2 dimensional framed displays of animated figures. Santa in his sleigh being pulled through the air by 2 or 3 reindeer, for example, is a very popular scene. Its up to you just how much time, effort and money you would like to spend on your Christmas outdoor decorative lights.
Options for Christmas holiday lighting displays:
LED lights, old-fashioned C7and C9 light bulbs, and mini-lites
twinkle lights, rope lights, string lights and net lights
lighted shapes and spheres
metal outdoor votives
2-d animated figures
holographic figures
Be careful when constructing outdoor Christmas lighting displays. Remember you are working with electricity and the elements. Use heavy 18 or 20 gauge wire that is covered with thick (SPT2 is thicker than SPT1) insulation. A good rule is to never plug in more than 1400 watts per electrical circuit. C7 and C9 bulbs, those old-fashioned bulbs that are a bit bigger than mini-lites are typically 5, 7, or 10 watts each. Strings of 100 mini-lites are approximately 50 watts.
For safety only use lights with the 'Underwriters Laboratories' label. Make sure you research your electrical needs and costs before you get started on a huge Christmas outdoor lighting display. Here is a simply equation to use to figure out your electrical requirements: Total watts, divided by 120 volts equals the amps you'll need to power your lights.
Test your lights and replace broken bulbs before installing. Electrical tape can be an alternative to nailing or hooking lighting decor onto structures. Use tree clips or twist ties to attach lights to tree and shrub branches. Avoid aluminum gutters and other metallic features on your house and property.
Christmas outdoor decorating is a fun project for the month of December. You'll be active in the crisp winter air, basking in the ethereal winter sun. When you go back indoors, you'll be able to enjoy the results of your hard work for weeks to come as well as feel gratified to know that your Outdoor Christmas decorations bring joy to your friends and neighbors.
Jumat, 15 September 2017
Kamis, 31 Agustus 2017
Outdoor Decor and Interior Design With Curtain Rods and Window Coverings
A beautiful yard is like a fabulously decorated home with Curtain Rods and Window Coverings: well thought out, purposefully designed and carefully put together.
If the impression your yard gives is as important of Curtain rods to you as the interior of your home for window coverings, you'll want to invest time and thought into this outdoor extension of your living space. You'll enjoy the rewards of your efforts for many years - and receive many compliments along the way!
Okay, to start: you're the landscape architect - pull up a chair and let's get to work! Let's start by deciding:
What you want to use the space for.
This can be single or multi-purpose. Talk to everyone in the house and curtain rods and Window Coverings brainstorm together. You may want to keep the entire space in thick, green grass just for putting practice (single-purpose). Or you may want to have a space for the kids and another for adults (multi-purpose). Do you cook outdoors? Want a flower bed? How about an area for your pets?
The other thing that goes hand-in-hand with this is considering what you're working with.
Is your land flat, hilly, rocky or full of trees?
How much sun/shade does each area get at different times of the day - and will it make a difference for that area's purpose?
Do you have a noisy neighbor? You probably wouldn't want to put a meditation corner near them.
Safety should be the first consideration for children's play areas. Place them away from streets and alleys, don't position the slide to end in the pond (unless that's what you want) and keep Fido's pooh-pooh area far away from their little feet! Using curtains and curtain rods we stop the direct sunlight in home. By using window coverings and curtain Rods we get cool sun light. Its an energy saving Idea.
Now get out a pencil and paper - or landscaping software - and map out the spaces, keeping in mind the "lay of the land" and other pertinent factors. For now just make general circles or squares to mark the space for each purpose.
What style you want to use.
Is it formal, informal, country, eclectic? And don't forget to consider what's already there, like the architecture of the house or the style of existing fencing. Consider the style of existing structures of curtain rods & window coverings that will stay and how those styles will fit in your plan.
What color palate you'll use.
Of course you must consider other existing colors: siding and trim on existing buildings and fences, landscaping colors, maybe even the color of a neighbor's garage if it's butted up to your yard.
My house is blue with white trim, and that's what I chose to use for the outdoor décor and interior Décor by curtain rods and window coverings: my chair cushions are a great blue floral, the stone deck is colored blue-gray and I just planted one of those gorgeous blue hyacinths next to the neighbor's white fence. Now, I could have gone with a green palate because there's so much green in the yard already (grass, trees), but that's just me.
Now comes the fun - uh, I mean the hard part: shopping for everything you need. And color coordinating and curtain rods & window coverings it. And making sure the styles coordinate. And having friends over to analyze the work (over food and drinks of course). And somehow, somehow managing to hold up under the enormous amount of praise and compliments you'll receive for your labors.
It's a tough job. But someone's got to do it. Might as well be you!
If the impression your yard gives is as important of Curtain rods to you as the interior of your home for window coverings, you'll want to invest time and thought into this outdoor extension of your living space. You'll enjoy the rewards of your efforts for many years - and receive many compliments along the way!
Okay, to start: you're the landscape architect - pull up a chair and let's get to work! Let's start by deciding:
What you want to use the space for.
This can be single or multi-purpose. Talk to everyone in the house and curtain rods and Window Coverings brainstorm together. You may want to keep the entire space in thick, green grass just for putting practice (single-purpose). Or you may want to have a space for the kids and another for adults (multi-purpose). Do you cook outdoors? Want a flower bed? How about an area for your pets?
The other thing that goes hand-in-hand with this is considering what you're working with.
Is your land flat, hilly, rocky or full of trees?
How much sun/shade does each area get at different times of the day - and will it make a difference for that area's purpose?
Do you have a noisy neighbor? You probably wouldn't want to put a meditation corner near them.
Safety should be the first consideration for children's play areas. Place them away from streets and alleys, don't position the slide to end in the pond (unless that's what you want) and keep Fido's pooh-pooh area far away from their little feet! Using curtains and curtain rods we stop the direct sunlight in home. By using window coverings and curtain Rods we get cool sun light. Its an energy saving Idea.
Now get out a pencil and paper - or landscaping software - and map out the spaces, keeping in mind the "lay of the land" and other pertinent factors. For now just make general circles or squares to mark the space for each purpose.
What style you want to use.
Is it formal, informal, country, eclectic? And don't forget to consider what's already there, like the architecture of the house or the style of existing fencing. Consider the style of existing structures of curtain rods & window coverings that will stay and how those styles will fit in your plan.
What color palate you'll use.
Of course you must consider other existing colors: siding and trim on existing buildings and fences, landscaping colors, maybe even the color of a neighbor's garage if it's butted up to your yard.
My house is blue with white trim, and that's what I chose to use for the outdoor décor and interior Décor by curtain rods and window coverings: my chair cushions are a great blue floral, the stone deck is colored blue-gray and I just planted one of those gorgeous blue hyacinths next to the neighbor's white fence. Now, I could have gone with a green palate because there's so much green in the yard already (grass, trees), but that's just me.
Now comes the fun - uh, I mean the hard part: shopping for everything you need. And color coordinating and curtain rods & window coverings it. And making sure the styles coordinate. And having friends over to analyze the work (over food and drinks of course). And somehow, somehow managing to hold up under the enormous amount of praise and compliments you'll receive for your labors.
It's a tough job. But someone's got to do it. Might as well be you!
Senin, 14 Agustus 2017
landscaping and Decorating With Cement Sculptures
Sculptures have been used to decorate gardens and homes since this art form first developed. The earliest sculptures were made from chiseled rock and clay. As the art form developed new mediums were used like marble, granite and bronze. The labor intensive process of creating sculptures has traditionally made them very expensive and unattainable for most homeowners. However, today we have access to less expensive mediums and molding technologies that make owning sculptures more affordable, especially cement sculpture.
Cement sculptures are an affordable option for garden decorations and landscaping. Small cement sculptures can even be used in your home. The affordability of this type of sculpture is due to the low cost of cement and the re-usable molding technologies used to create these sculptures.
To create a cement sculpture an artist needs to first create the prototype of the sculpture in clay. This sculpture is then used to create a negative mold for the cement sculpture. This mold is treated with resins so that it will not stick to the cement. After the negative mold has been created it is allowed to cure and harden. Once the mold is ready to use it is assembled and filled with cement. The mold may be rotated to help work out air bubbles. The mold is then stored in a stationary position to allow the cement time to dry. Once the cement has hardened the mold is removed and the sculpture is allowed additional time to dry out. After the cement sculpture has dried completely the rough edges may be filed down and imperfections are removed. At this point the piece is either ready to go to the showroom or it is sent to the painting department to be finished.
Cement sculptures are an affordable option for garden decorations and landscaping. Small cement sculptures can even be used in your home. The affordability of this type of sculpture is due to the low cost of cement and the re-usable molding technologies used to create these sculptures.
To create a cement sculpture an artist needs to first create the prototype of the sculpture in clay. This sculpture is then used to create a negative mold for the cement sculpture. This mold is treated with resins so that it will not stick to the cement. After the negative mold has been created it is allowed to cure and harden. Once the mold is ready to use it is assembled and filled with cement. The mold may be rotated to help work out air bubbles. The mold is then stored in a stationary position to allow the cement time to dry. Once the cement has hardened the mold is removed and the sculpture is allowed additional time to dry out. After the cement sculpture has dried completely the rough edges may be filed down and imperfections are removed. At this point the piece is either ready to go to the showroom or it is sent to the painting department to be finished.
Kamis, 27 Juli 2017
Inexpensive Outdoor Decor With The Look You Want!
Throughout history, people have recycled building materials instead of throwing away old materials and starting from the beginning. Recycling is not a new idea, just a bit recycled. Garbage itself in this modern age is also a relatively unknown garden necessity. You can create compost made mostly of food waste that makes a great, natural fertilizer for your garden or yard. Therefore, in addition to "penny-pinchers" and people who really don't have the money for elaborate landscaping - environmentalists may be very interested in this kind of gardening.
As I said before, recycling has had to evolve along with the kinds of things we decide to throw away. We have discovered ways of recycling new materials such as technological waste and even harnessing solar energy. However, some simple, long-known recycling methods are still with us today. For example: the recycling of glass. Which is the first type of garden I will discuss: artistic gardens designed with glass pebbles. Much like actual, traditional pebble gardens, you can use small pebbles of glass to create a distinctive garden design. They can be in flat pieces, round shapes or other shapes, depending on what you want. In multiple vivid colors like a stained glass window on the ground, to translucent shades, to prism-like shapes creating streaks of colored light, or a single color to serve as part of a sort of garden motif.
Japanese gardens are beautiful, too and often use pebbles as part of the same decorative concept. Of course, the Japanese pebble garden is not, in itself unimpressive, as a matter of fact, it is quite a nice look. The pebbles are just as inexpensive, perhaps, but the allure of a Japanese garden is often enhanced by the presence of other flowers and plants. These are plants such as small bonsai trees, gardenias, and more - which are not only more expensive but also much more difficult to keep alive and healthy.
From tossed-out gnomes and religious statuettes and everything statue-like in between, people discover perfect garden accessories at low costs that require virtually no maintenance all the time! Sometimes, you don't even have to go looking for them. You can get really innovative when you re-use items from your own home! For example: let's say you are re-decorating your bathroom or kitchen and you have pieces of removed tile from the floor. You can break and piece the tiles together as a sort-of walkway, a barrier to contain a small flower bed, and more. In addition a replaced glass window may be a great idea for an outdoor or patio coffee table. Or perhaps there are even better ways . . . if you are installing a waterfall or a fountain spitter you can sometimes re-use old piping or a replaced kitchen spout to save some cash.
You can take weatherproof "art" of any kind and perhaps add an alluring, luxurious, modern or abstract (but certainly distinctive) look to your garden. Many people find the perfect accessory to best suit his or her personal taste to add to a garden in progress. People bump into these treasures everywhere, often garage sales, antique stores, or sometimes the perfect garden accessory is something he or she will design him or her self. Such gardens as these may be, despite that they are interesting, not as pleasing to the eye in the opinion of some people as they are in the opinion of others. Nonetheless, (be it your objective) it does increase the likeness of your garden to a sort of art gallery.
As I said before, recycling has had to evolve along with the kinds of things we decide to throw away. We have discovered ways of recycling new materials such as technological waste and even harnessing solar energy. However, some simple, long-known recycling methods are still with us today. For example: the recycling of glass. Which is the first type of garden I will discuss: artistic gardens designed with glass pebbles. Much like actual, traditional pebble gardens, you can use small pebbles of glass to create a distinctive garden design. They can be in flat pieces, round shapes or other shapes, depending on what you want. In multiple vivid colors like a stained glass window on the ground, to translucent shades, to prism-like shapes creating streaks of colored light, or a single color to serve as part of a sort of garden motif.
Japanese gardens are beautiful, too and often use pebbles as part of the same decorative concept. Of course, the Japanese pebble garden is not, in itself unimpressive, as a matter of fact, it is quite a nice look. The pebbles are just as inexpensive, perhaps, but the allure of a Japanese garden is often enhanced by the presence of other flowers and plants. These are plants such as small bonsai trees, gardenias, and more - which are not only more expensive but also much more difficult to keep alive and healthy.
From tossed-out gnomes and religious statuettes and everything statue-like in between, people discover perfect garden accessories at low costs that require virtually no maintenance all the time! Sometimes, you don't even have to go looking for them. You can get really innovative when you re-use items from your own home! For example: let's say you are re-decorating your bathroom or kitchen and you have pieces of removed tile from the floor. You can break and piece the tiles together as a sort-of walkway, a barrier to contain a small flower bed, and more. In addition a replaced glass window may be a great idea for an outdoor or patio coffee table. Or perhaps there are even better ways . . . if you are installing a waterfall or a fountain spitter you can sometimes re-use old piping or a replaced kitchen spout to save some cash.
You can take weatherproof "art" of any kind and perhaps add an alluring, luxurious, modern or abstract (but certainly distinctive) look to your garden. Many people find the perfect accessory to best suit his or her personal taste to add to a garden in progress. People bump into these treasures everywhere, often garage sales, antique stores, or sometimes the perfect garden accessory is something he or she will design him or her self. Such gardens as these may be, despite that they are interesting, not as pleasing to the eye in the opinion of some people as they are in the opinion of others. Nonetheless, (be it your objective) it does increase the likeness of your garden to a sort of art gallery.
Sabtu, 15 Juli 2017
Outdoor Decorating: Professional Landscaping Advice
Landscaping is a great way to do some home improvement that will have a big impact. Your landscaping really improves your home's curb appeal and it's one of the first things people notice about your home. One thing to ensure is that you also take care regarding the look of your lawn as a whole. Amazing landscaping won't really help you if your lawn is patchy, brown, or unkempt. A beautiful lawn with tasteful landscaping can really catch the eye of a potential buyer. It could mean the difference between making a sale and continuing to set on the market.
Even if you're planning to contract out the entire job to a professional, you can still save yourself some money. Spend a few hours clearing out the dead plants, weeds, and any debris or trash from all of your beds and lawn will save you paying a professional hundreds to do the same work. Clearing out beds is not something you need experience to do, so why not save your cash for the work you really can't do?
A professional landscaper may provide lawn design or you may need to hire a landscape designer to draw up some plans for you. That doesn't mean you can't contribute to the conversation. Bring your magazine ads and photos to share with the designer so that they have a clear idea of what you envision in your yard. The designer can calculate plans with different options so you can see if your vision and your budget match.
Be sure to get references and referrals to find your designer. Talk with each of them and look over their ideas. Get estimates from each one, but don't let that be the deciding factor. Carefully consider what each one has to offer and weigh in their reputation and reliability.
Even if you're planning to contract out the entire job to a professional, you can still save yourself some money. Spend a few hours clearing out the dead plants, weeds, and any debris or trash from all of your beds and lawn will save you paying a professional hundreds to do the same work. Clearing out beds is not something you need experience to do, so why not save your cash for the work you really can't do?
A professional landscaper may provide lawn design or you may need to hire a landscape designer to draw up some plans for you. That doesn't mean you can't contribute to the conversation. Bring your magazine ads and photos to share with the designer so that they have a clear idea of what you envision in your yard. The designer can calculate plans with different options so you can see if your vision and your budget match.
Be sure to get references and referrals to find your designer. Talk with each of them and look over their ideas. Get estimates from each one, but don't let that be the deciding factor. Carefully consider what each one has to offer and weigh in their reputation and reliability.
Kamis, 29 Juni 2017
Helpful Ideas for Effective Outdoor Decorating
Just like indoor decorating, outdoor decorating is also important. A beautifully landscaped, relaxing backyard doesn't only provide you and your entire family a comfortable hang out place but it also invites people to come and visit your amazing home.
Creative outdoor decorating guarantees 100% return on your investment and certainly improves the value of your home. You can enhance your home's curb appeal with just a few helpful tips. Start with a well-thought plan which includes lighting, landscaping, an outdoor feature, pottery, a focal point and a sitting area. Avoid committing costly mistakes by taking your time to carefully think things out.
Before starting with your outdoor decorating project, take a photo first of your house's front view. This will give you the chance to look at your front yard in an objective manner. Get the picture form the curb and check if your door stands out or blends with your current outdoor decor. Your front door should stand out since it is your focal point. Your front door leads your visitors where to enter. A fitting color or a pottery placed on its both side can accent your front door.
Landscaping is another great way to improve your home's overall curb appeal. Make sure to carefully choose your plants as they will certainly reward you by thriving with less care and effort from you. You can also add different heights, textures and colors to improve your outdoor decor. Maintain all the trees in your yard as they provide shade and decrease energy costs by cooling your home in a natural way. Colorful flowers can make a statement and indeed effective in beautifying your front yard. They direct the eye to the front door and make beautiful accents.
Another effective way to decorate the exterior of your home is by coming up with outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting gives light to walkways and adds carriage lights around doorways - definitely a good investment. Outdoor lights' availability will not be an issue as they even come in a wide range of designs and styles to complement your outdoor decor.
If space permits, a sitting area in your front yard will be a good addition. You can place a nice outdoor bench or maybe a pair of rocking chairs matched with a fitting beverage table. You may also want to add a couple of relaxing fabric pillows in your sitting area for comfort. Another option is to add some hanging plants for a more refreshing ambience.
Remember that outdoor decorating should extend into your backyard so you can maximize your outdoor living area while building functional spaces. Maintain a style or theme that perfectly blends with your home decor. With proper planning and perfect execution, you can have a very nice relaxation area, an outdoor kitchen area or even an entertainment area.
Involving yourself in an outdoor decorating project is indeed very exciting as you want to end up making your front yard an amazing view for everyone.
Creative outdoor decorating guarantees 100% return on your investment and certainly improves the value of your home. You can enhance your home's curb appeal with just a few helpful tips. Start with a well-thought plan which includes lighting, landscaping, an outdoor feature, pottery, a focal point and a sitting area. Avoid committing costly mistakes by taking your time to carefully think things out.
Before starting with your outdoor decorating project, take a photo first of your house's front view. This will give you the chance to look at your front yard in an objective manner. Get the picture form the curb and check if your door stands out or blends with your current outdoor decor. Your front door should stand out since it is your focal point. Your front door leads your visitors where to enter. A fitting color or a pottery placed on its both side can accent your front door.
Landscaping is another great way to improve your home's overall curb appeal. Make sure to carefully choose your plants as they will certainly reward you by thriving with less care and effort from you. You can also add different heights, textures and colors to improve your outdoor decor. Maintain all the trees in your yard as they provide shade and decrease energy costs by cooling your home in a natural way. Colorful flowers can make a statement and indeed effective in beautifying your front yard. They direct the eye to the front door and make beautiful accents.
Another effective way to decorate the exterior of your home is by coming up with outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting gives light to walkways and adds carriage lights around doorways - definitely a good investment. Outdoor lights' availability will not be an issue as they even come in a wide range of designs and styles to complement your outdoor decor.
If space permits, a sitting area in your front yard will be a good addition. You can place a nice outdoor bench or maybe a pair of rocking chairs matched with a fitting beverage table. You may also want to add a couple of relaxing fabric pillows in your sitting area for comfort. Another option is to add some hanging plants for a more refreshing ambience.
Remember that outdoor decorating should extend into your backyard so you can maximize your outdoor living area while building functional spaces. Maintain a style or theme that perfectly blends with your home decor. With proper planning and perfect execution, you can have a very nice relaxation area, an outdoor kitchen area or even an entertainment area.
Involving yourself in an outdoor decorating project is indeed very exciting as you want to end up making your front yard an amazing view for everyone.
Jumat, 16 Juni 2017
Outdoor Lights - Beautiful and Practical Outdoor Decor
Depending on the space, design, and needs you have for your outdoor lighting, you can ornament and illuminate your home outdoors by hanging wall lights, post lights, hanging lights and much, much more. From antique design, to gothic design, to modern or even abstract designs - you can find great outdoor lighting for your garden, yard or patio. There are a wide range of many types of elegant, luxurious, and decorative, to simplistic and cozy kinds of lights for the purpose of hanging from the ceiling of a closed-in patio.
Exterior lighting can keep your outdoor area warmer as well as usable into the night because (of course) of the lighting itself. There are also outdoor lights available that serve as both a heater and a lamp so that you can enjoy the outdoors even more. I see outdoor lighting as an extremely decorative and accessorizing addition as well as the more direct purpose, the practical and necessary one.
By improving your garden, patio, driveway, pool or whatever else with the appropriate lighting you can also make it a project to seek-out wonderful looking outdoor lighting equipment. Low voltage landscape lighting can creatively illuminate your garden or garden pathway, a beautiful addition to any yard or garden. Low voltage lighting is also better for the environment because it uses so much less electricity than many other kind of indoor and / or outdoor lighting.
You can light up your mailbox, house number etc. with lights especially designed for mailboxes, stone carvings, waterfalls, and many, many more specific kinds of lights for specific purposes at night. Whether for practical or decorative (as well as practical,) purposes you can find wonderful lights for the outdoors.
Exterior lighting can keep your outdoor area warmer as well as usable into the night because (of course) of the lighting itself. There are also outdoor lights available that serve as both a heater and a lamp so that you can enjoy the outdoors even more. I see outdoor lighting as an extremely decorative and accessorizing addition as well as the more direct purpose, the practical and necessary one.
By improving your garden, patio, driveway, pool or whatever else with the appropriate lighting you can also make it a project to seek-out wonderful looking outdoor lighting equipment. Low voltage landscape lighting can creatively illuminate your garden or garden pathway, a beautiful addition to any yard or garden. Low voltage lighting is also better for the environment because it uses so much less electricity than many other kind of indoor and / or outdoor lighting.
You can light up your mailbox, house number etc. with lights especially designed for mailboxes, stone carvings, waterfalls, and many, many more specific kinds of lights for specific purposes at night. Whether for practical or decorative (as well as practical,) purposes you can find wonderful lights for the outdoors.
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