Guest Post - Outdoor Living Space Ideas to Make Your Own Enchanting Oasis

Our backyard is a great place for you and your family to unwind and have fun. Of course, you have to work at making it one. A bare backyard isn’t likely to do much for you, so make an effort and spend some money to convert your backyard into an enchanting oasis that will provide you, your loved ones, and even your friends an outdoor getaway just a few feet out of your house’s back door.

So how can you transform your outdoor living space into a beautiful and soothing escape at home? Putting up a patio misting system to keep everyone cool even at the height of summer would be an excellent idea. Here are some more.

Declutter your backyard

Before you can do anything fancy to your backyard, you have to clear out whatever clutter might be there. Old furniture, old playground equipment that your kids have already outgrown, or anything that doesn’t belong there must go. If your backyard has overgrown trees and hedges, prune them. Only when your backyard is clutter-free can you start work on your backyard getaway.

Make your backyard greener

In case your backyard doesn’t have trees or plants, make an effort to make it as green as you can make it. Plant a tree that will give the area plenty of shade, as well as plants of different sizes. If you can place plants that produce blooms, then that would also be great.

Build water features

Is there anything more relaxing and soothing than the sound of flowing or cascading water? When you put up any type of water feature in your backyard, you can make that part of your home feel like a sanctuary where you can just retreat and spend entire days in with only a book for company. You can build a mini pond, a small waterfall, or a column fountain.

Of course, the ultimate water feature you can have in your backyard is a swimming pool. So if you have the budget not only for its construction but also for its maintenance, then go ahead and build that swimming pool to make your backyard the closest thing to an actual oasis.

Put up a patio or a deck

If you’re going to make your backyard an oasis where you can spend a lot of time unwinding, you must have an area where you can do just that. A patio or a deck will be that spot. Throw in comfortable outdoor furniture, and you’ll have a place where you can relax all day. Patios or desks are also perfect for entertaining guests or having dinners there.

A fire pit for your patio

Not only will a fire pit help illuminate your backyard and keep everybody warm on a colder night. It can also be used for a barbecue! All you have to do is place grills or grates over your fire pit, and you can grill whatever you want. If you’re going for a permanent fire pit, have one built using stone, clay, or brick. There are also portable fire pits that you can buy at your neighborhood home improvement shops.

Lighting ideas

Your backyard must be well-lit to make it inviting even at night. You can go as creative as you want to be when it comes to illuminating your backyard. Wrap some string lights around tree trunks. If you want more natural lighting for your backyard oasis during one of your parties, oil-burning bamboo tiki torches will do the job, although you have to take all measures to ensure that they will be safe. You can also install garden path lights to make sure people can see where they’re going.

Fence it all in

It’s hard to relax in your backyard when neighbors and all sorts of nosy people can see you. For some privacy, it’s best to build a fence around your property. From white picket fences to rattan or bamboo fences, you have a wide range of choices that will fit your style preferences and needs.

These are just basic ideas to help you start transforming your outdoor living space. With a bit more imagination and creativity, you can come up with dozens more to help make your vision of a backyard oasis a reality.

About The Author: Anna Fox is the Content Marketing Strategist of Señor Mist, a Phoenix, Arizona-based company that provides high pressure misting systems/fog effects, comfort heaters, patio drop shades, hvls fans and more. When not writing, she makes use of her spare time reading books and hiking with her dog, Blaze.

Guest Post - 5 Tips for Tackling Your Small Home Office Project with Minimal Effort

When your home is tight on space, it can be tough to find a distraction-free area to work. But work still needs to get done. So, how can your reconcile the limited square footage inside your home with the need for a dedicated workspace? You can start by using these simple tips to create a practical small office in even the tiniest of homes.

You Don’t Need Tons of Space for a Functional Office   

As you look around your home, you may be wondering where you can fit furniture for your office. After all, you need a comfortable spot to sit and complete your work, but a giant desk and chair just won’t do. A built-in office desk could be a perfect solution to provide a compact workspace without actually taking up too much room in your smaller home. Building in a desk also allows you to customize this office essential to fit any area, including that spot under your stairs or corner of your guest room. Really, all you need to stay productive is a small area secluded from household distractions, and you have the perfect set-up for your small home office.

Your Project Budget Doesn’t Have to Be Big, Either

Unless you need a lot of tech, you should be able to keep the budget for your home office fairly tight. Springing for a small built-in desk, as mentioned above, can actually save you some cash, especially if you DIY. You can even use reclaimed wood or extra lumber you may have hanging around your house, so long as you have a set of basic DIY tools. You can also keep costs low by adopting a minimal decor style for your office space. Aside from being budget-friendly, minimalism will also keep your new work area free of clutter that can distract you. That’s an added bonus for your productivity and focus, in addition to a plus for your home office budget.  

Small Touches Can Add Major Comfort to Your Space

Keeping things minimal is good for your budget and business, but adding a few personal touches can sometimes make your home office feel more comfortable. That comfort is key, especially when you work from home on a regular basis. So, grab a comfortable office chair to go along with your customized desk, but try to pick one that fits your personality. If you’re the type who powers through the workday with the help of caffeine, then you may also want to consider adding a compact coffee maker so you can refill your mug with minimal interruptions in your workflow.

Your Office Furnishings Can also Be Multi-Functional

A built-in desk and a comfortable chair can make you more productive, but you can also look for desk, chair and other furnishing options that serve multiple purposes in your home. For example, a built-in desk that also folds into the wall can help clear out space when you need it in a smaller home. If you need a spot to store files and documents, you can find ottomans with storage that double as extra seating when you have guests. Some models even have filing spaces built-in, making them the perfect storage solution for smaller home offices.

Compact Tech Can Be Powerful and Effective

Even the most functional desk and office space can be useless if you don’t have the right tech, but this aspect of your home office does not have to take up a lot of space, either. A lightweight laptop can fit perfectly on even the smallest of desks, but it will also come in handy if you want to work while on the road or need to take your computer with you on an airplane. You can also find compact printers and routers. For file storage, go with the cloud instead of a bulky hard drive for added convenience and security.

Stop stressing about fitting a functional office into your small home. It’s easy to implement a simple work area into any spare corner of your place. You just need the tips above and a little elbow grease to get the job done.

Author Bio: Alice Robertson recently created Tidyhome as a place to share the great cleaning and organizing advice she has developed over the years. Alice loves helping others, and she knows having a clean, organized home can do wonders for stress and mental health.

Guest Post - Door Design: What First Impression Do You Want Your Home to Give?

It takes less than 1/10 of a second for someone to make up his or her mind about you from a single glance at your face. What you do or show later has little effect.

The same is true when someone first views your home. The first glance, the first impression, will be what shapes how your home is perceived. And in most cases, that first impression will be your front door. So, the question is, what first impression is your home giving? What impression do you want it to give?

Here’s some ideal matches between door accessory finishes and how you want people to shape first impressions of your home.

Brass Finish

If you’re going for the look of a home that is classically inspired, you can’t go wrong with an antique brass doorknob, door lever, or handle set. Antique brass resembles natural brass as a result of its golden and brown tones. Although it hails from the Victorian era in the 1800s, it features a glossy finish that makes it modern looking.

Antique brass is ideal if your home’s exterior features exposed wood or stacked stone. This type of finish is an excellent choice if you like brass but want to avoid the first impression many people get when they spot bright brass. Bright brass was popular in 1990s homes and in other older, colonial houses. However, it can come off as cheap and non-exclusive since they’re widely available today.

Choose an antique brass finish if you want your home to take on the charming look of a craftsman home.

Bronze Finish

If your goal is for your guests to feel as though they are stepping into the lap of luxury when they visit your home, door accessories with a bronze finish are a smart choice. A bronze door knob works particularly well with handmade, ornate furnishings.

Bronze pairs well with natural tones - for instance wood or paint hues like green, yellow, and brown. The dark brown tones found in a bronze door lever can even achieve a Tuscan or Mediterranean setting look.

Iron Black Finish

A black handle set on your front door can easily give your home an incredibly chic look. That’s because iron black is ultra-fashionable today, catering to the modern look that draws inspiration from Colonial Era blacksmiths’ handmade fixtures, the Bauhaus movement, and wrought iron fences.

What makes iron black such a unique finish option is that it effectively bridges the traditional and modern style worlds.

Iron black is ideal if your home features gray tones, large windows, and the types of geometric forms found in most modern residences.

Rustic Pewter Finish

This is an especially popular finish to use on an outside door, like your front door. Why? Because rustic pewter has a way of adding a powerfully distinctive touch to just about any door.

With a rustic pewter door lever, you can make sure that your front door fits the rest of your home’s decor. Rustic pewter door knobs feature a well-weathered look that can easily make your front door look more elegant.

Rustic pewter is great for accenting a plain door—especially a wooden one—to add that craftsman’s flair that many homeowners have come to love.

Chrome Finish

Like many others, may see chrome as an old-school accessory finish that may give your visitors a negative first impression. After all, bright, polished chrome gets its inspiration from the Roaring Twenties’ jazzy style and the Art Deco movement, as well as the 1930s-1940s minimalist approach.

However, your door accessories’ chrome finish doesn’t have to be shiny and compete with other bright colors. Instead, you can choose a satin chrome finish, for example. This type of finish, which is also linked to the Bauhaus movement, offers a clean, contemporary feel and look. What makes this finish stand out on the front of a modern home is its ability to avoid standing out too much; instead, it meshes well with the majority of styles.

Nickel Finish

Avoid mixing chrome and nickel. While chrome can be described as a cool silver hue, nickel is a warm one. If you embrace an urban feel at your home, you may simply want to go with distressed nickel, whose rustic vibe may remind you and your guests of the well-known Old World.

Distressed nickel offers a unique look that is achieved via tumbling, so no two distressed nickel pieces are the same. This type is great for home facades featuring exposed brick, reclaimed wood or concrete.

Door Accessories for a Number of Home Styles

Enhancing your front door’s appearance with the right accessories can go a long way boosting your curb appeal overall. As a result, you can feel prouder of the place you call home, and if you decide to sell your home in the future, you can expect a better return on your investment.

A wide range of accessory options are on the market today, thus increasing your chances of finding the right accessory for your front door the first time. Start looking for the perfect door design accessories today—accessories that will give your visitors a top-notch first impression every time.

About the Author:

Katie Tejada is a writer, editor, and former HR professional. She enjoys writing about events, travel, decorating trends, and innovations for the home, but also covers developments in HR, business communication, recruiting, and CRM solutions.

Guest Post - 5 Things to Know Before Adding an Addition to Your Home

Adding an addition is one of the most obvious ways to ramp up the square footage of your home, which means boosted market value and more space for you and your family to enjoy. But adding a whole new section of livable space is no easy feat. It requires the careful planning of skilled professionals, plenty of patience, and, let’s not forget, a sizeable financial investment. According to HomeAdvisor, the average cost of adding an addition is around $43,000, but it’s not unusual for costs to soar to over $120,000. Make sure you’re aware of all the ins and outs of building an addition before you start bringing your big ideas to life. Here are a few things you should know.

1. It Can Add Value … When Done Right

Can adding an addition boost your home’s value? In the majority of cases, the answer is a big YES! The fact of the matter is that, in most locales, square footage comes at a premium, so the more you’ve got, the more your home is worth. If you’re building purely for a return on investment, though, make sure you build the right type of addition, as not all add-ons are of equal value. The experts say that the highest value home additions come from big jobs like adding a second floor, which can bring as much as a 65 percent ROI, by the way, and adding on practical rooms like bedrooms and bathrooms.

2. It Should Feel Like an Extension of Your Current Home

Another thing to remember is that you need to think of this new space less as an extra, additional living area and more as an extension of what you already have. More specifically, think about:

• Heating and Cooling – You’ll need to figure out how to heat and cool your addition. The good news here is that, thanks to smart new climate-control solutions, such as single-zone ductless heating and air conditioning, you won’t necessarily need to account for new ductwork in the addition. This can be a big money-saver when you’re building.

• Architectural Integrity – Architectural consistency is a big topic of conversation in building and design. Unless you’re going for something groundbreaking—think: the undeniably breathtaking mashup of the charming old Louvre and its shiny new pyramid—then it’s best to honor the existing architectural integrity of your home and not go too off-track.

• Interior Consistency – There is no rule stating that your addition has to blend perfectly with the rest of your space, but it can feel a bit off if you don’t take the time to marry the interiors. Try to pay attention to seemingly minute features, like the style of the molding and the size of the floor planks or tiles. Consistency is key.

3. You’ll Need an Architect, a Builder, and an Engineer

Even if you have a builder you really trust, you absolutely must start out your addition building process with an architect. Don’t get us wrong — your builder will play a massive part in ensuring that your unique vision comes to life, but, at the end of the day, the structural and design challenges will need to be sorted out by an architect. He or she may work with a structural engineer, as well, to ensure that the plans are solid.

Working with building professionals such as these is especially important if you’re adding a particularly complex addition, such as if you’re moving walls, adding another floor, or adjusting the flow and setup of your home. Your architect will also help ensure that the design looks aesthetically pleasing and that it winds up looking cohesive and—if you so desire—as if it was there all along.

4. You’ll Need to Get Zoning Approval

Never build anything onto your home without first getting it cleared by the building commission in your area. There is no universal law governing what you can and cannot build, and the laws vary widely from one jurisdiction to another. The zoning department will help ensure that buildings are safe and up to code. As tempting as it may be, don’t attempt to skirt zoning regulations or skip out on getting the proper permits, as this can result in costly fines and frustrating delays in construction. Always be sure to set yourself up for a safe, sound, and legal renovation before you break ground.

5. There Are a Lot of Hidden Costs

Think of building an addition like building a brand-new tiny house. In most instances, it requires roofing, walls, insulation, flooring, windows, heating and cooling, electricity, and possibly plumbing, depending on the design. Naturally, all of these costs can add up rather quickly. Make sure you have a comprehensive list of what needs to be done before you sign off on any project (with a 10 percent buffer zone for extra and unforeseen costs). There’s the cost of the architecture, excavation, roofing, siding, interior finishes, windows, HVAC professionals, painters, and quite a bit more materials and services that are surprisingly easy to overlook.

Is Adding an Addition Worth It?

At the end of the day, whether or not adding an addition is worth it comes down to what you value. If your goal is simply to boost the monetary value of your home, then (with the proper planning), it’s absolutely worthwhile. Just make sure to do careful calculations and consider having an appraiser give you an idea of how much your home’s market value could jump post-add-on. If your goal is simply to enjoy your family and friends in a lovely, new space, then you’ve got nothing to lose—an addition will help you do just that!

Author Bio: Emily Hodges is a Marketing Communications Specialist for Comfort Up, a provider of indoor and outdoor heating and cooling systems. Emily oversees all marketing related functions from their Miami, FL office. In her spare time, she loves all things interior design and has helped many friends completely renovate their homes.