Guest Post - How To Change Your Backyard Into An Entertaining Space

One of the best ways to make your backyard both entertaining and useful is equipping it with useful, attractive, and weather-resistant furniture and decorations. Sometimes changing your backyard into an entertaining space can get pricey. Therefore, you can do your best to choose projects that you can do on your own. By creating a fun space, you will not only improve the curb appeal, but it will provide you with space where you can have fun with your friends and family. 

Install a Built-in BBQ

Having a full backyard kitchen is a very amusing touch, but taking on that project can be very expensive and time-consuming. Something that you can do to get a similar effect is by installing a built-in BBQ. It will make your space more entertaining and enhance your backyard, and you can keep adding things to it until you have a full backyard kitchen. 

Build a Cute Pergola

Another very simple home project that will spice up your backyard is bundling a cute pergola where you can hang out even when it's raining. It is an attractive way to provide shade in your yard. Pergola is the most affordable yet cute option that you can install by yourself without having to get a contractor. 

Create a Proper Outdoor Living Room

One of the easiest entertaining spaces you can create in your backyard is creating an outdoor living room. Having an exterior room is a great way to use all of the square footage you have. All you need are some tables, outdoor rugs as well as some comfortable seating and you will have the perfect entertainment space. 

Clean Up Your Existing Landscape

But before you get into adding things to your existing space, you should first make sure that your outdoor area is nice and clean. That will allow you to have a clearer picture as well as access to every single part of the yard. Make sure that you trim all of your trees, bushes and grass.  Also, make sure that the landscaping around the pool is neat because that will make the biggest difference. By simply doing so, your whole yard will be more appealing, and you will be able to continue visualizing. 

Add a Fire Table

If you are looking for a beautiful addition, there is nothing that will make your backyard look amazing other than a fire table. There you will be able to gather around and hang out with your loved ones even during colder times while roasting some s’mores.

Create Different Hangout Zones

If you have a large family, or you like to host great gatherings, creating different hangout zones in your yard will provide variety for your guests. As we have already mentioned, things like an outdoor kitchen, fire pits are great, but you can also add hot tubs, swing sets or somewhere to watch a movie. 

Create Some Privacy

There is nothing more annoying than having someone eavesdrop on you and your friends. So when you are looking to create an entertaining spot in your backyard, think about growing some climbing plants or having a fence to give you some privacy. 

Spice Things Up With String Lights

One of the most popular ways of keeping your outside area well lit is to hang string lights. It gives personality to your entertaining space. There are so many different styles you can choose from as well as solar string lights if you want a more low-maintenance option. 

Create Multiple Seating Spaces

Having a large group over is a great way to connect, talk and have some fun. But what stops a lot of people from doing that is not having enough seating space for all of them. As we have mentioned before, when you are designing your entertaining area, you should choose a similar layout to your living room. Think about adding sectionals as well as seating options around the firepit or anywhere that might seem convenient to you. 

In the perfect scenario, your backyard should look like an extension of your inside space. By taking on some of these ideas, you will turn your plain backyard into a more entertaining space. 

Author bio:

Alison Pearson is an interior design student. She is a content creator, but her ultimate passion is design and creation. She is also a bibliophile and her favorite book is "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner. Follow her on Twitter.

Need a Change? How to Completely Revamp Your Primary Bedroom

A primary bedroom should be a place for rejuvenation and relaxation. Changing the layout of the room can give it a new look. More space is created for better aeration. Bedroom revamp can be cost-effective when you dedicate your time and energy. Below are some tips to help you completely update your primary bedroom.

Change Your Lighting

The lighting put in the bedroom determines the mood you set. When you want a rejuvenating and relaxing atmosphere, get attractive bedside lamps. Some other lighting systems to use include ceiling fans, mounting sconces on the walls, pendants, rope lighting, and standing lamps.

Paint the Room

Changing the wall colors of your bedroom makes it lively. Paint old furniture to make them look new. Some of the best wall colors include pale pallet, pale beige, light lilac, light grey, and cream. These colors give you control to decorate your walls the way you want. They do not reflect light allowing you to sleep easily at night without distractions.

Change the Floor Appearance

There are many ways to change the floor appearance, including lamination. Laminate flooring is cost-effective and requires less maintenance. Most of these materials mimic premium flooring materials such as stone and hardwood, making your floor look expensive. It is easy to install the laminate flooring as you only need click lock, saving you the money you would have paid a professional to do the job.

Get New Bedroom Furniture Sets

The kind of furniture you have in your bedroom impacts its atmosphere. Changing old bedroom furniture sets from time to time creates an inviting room. Shop for a new bed, beddings, couch, and chair. When shopping for these materials, make sure to leave space to move freely. There are many affordable furniture stores to get these items.

Change Furniture Position

Take time and see how you can reorganize your bedroom to have a new layout. Change the direction of your bed and other furniture. Some of these changes open up spaces for better aeration. If it is possible, look for closet organizers and storage baskets to put your things in order.

If revamping your bedroom sounds like her challenging task, get help from a professional to do the work for you. You only need to have an idea of how you want your bedroom to look like. Create a budget for how much you are willing to spend on revamping and let them do the job for you.

Protect Your Floors from Scratches and Scuffs

Flooring is one of the most important part of your house. These days, flooring has taken different forms and formats. Right from wood flooring to natural stone flooring, you can ask the building planner your wish to make your dream house adorable in every sense. No matter whatever you use to make your floor it is very essential to protect it from scratches, scuffs, and other wear and tear. Take some essential steps to keep the flooring as vivacious as the new one. 

Protect your floor from unwanted scratches

Nowadays most people use engineered wood flooring as it is incredibly strong, durable, and look great. But it also shows signs of wear and tears over time and hence it is essential to take appropriate precautions. Other types of flooring are also susceptible to such unwanted scratches and scuffs if not given enough attention or take necessary precautions: 

The following are some steps that you can follow for protecting your floor from scratches and scuffs:

• Take off your shoes: Shoes can have a very bad impact on your floor and hence the first thing that you need to do for protecting your floor from scratches is to remove your shoes whenever you walk over the floor. You should never walk over the floor with spiky shoes, stilettos, and cleats as these things can easily dig into the woods and can cause scratches on the floor.  

• Add entry mats at the door: The areas by the door generally wear down quickly because of water. Hence it is very essential to keep two mats - one for going out of the room and another for entering into the room. 

• Avoid chairs with rollers: The chair with rollers has a huge chance to scratch the floor as dirt and grit can easily get caught in them. That is the reason why you should avoid using them or if you need to use that type of chair you should keep mats under the area where you have placed the chair otherwise it may destroy your floor. Dragging and sliding these ty4pe of the chair can also put scratches on the floor and so it is always better to avoid dragging or sliding the chair or any furniture over the floor.

• Clean your floor regularly: It is also very essential to clean your floor regularly to get the dirt and grit up. You must use hardwood cleaner for cleaning your floor especially if you use engineered wood flooring. 

• Place area rugs: You can put the area rugs in those areas where the chairs or any other furniture are moved very frequently.  Area rugs become very handy for the dining room and it also reduces the noise when your drag or move your chair or other furniture. 

These are some steps that you can consider if you want to protect your floor from scratches and scuffs. However, the type of flooring also matters a lot when it comes to scratches. Engineering wood flooring can is a better option if you want to avoid scratches as it is highly durable and easy to maintain. The installation process of engineering wood flooring is also easy and it can be installed using both nail-down methods.     

Tips on How to Build Your Own Indoor Woodwork Shop

Television and radio commercials have usually been starting with something along the lines of “in these troubling times”, and, while true, they can be annoying and probably an unpleasant reminder of the not-so-cool predicament we find ourselves in. However, this pesky pandemic has changed much of our habits or even completely turned our whole lives around, new hobbies have been adopted and some of them transitioned from hobby to an actual occupation. If you’re reading this, then you know exactly what I’m talking about: woodworking. Maybe you got into it out of boredom and, luckily, you had some woodworking tools at your disposal; now you’ve grown to love it and are looking to have your own shop to make whatever your heart desires. If you’re looking for tips, you’ve come to the right place.

Air Filtration System

A person is only as good as their health, which means that the absolute first thing you should think about putting in your idealized woodworking shop is an air filtration system. Working on and with wood creates a lot of incredibly thin dust which, in addition to being a health hazard in and of itself, may contain dangerous pollutants. A shop air filtration system is primarily for safety reasons, but it also functions as a workshop facilitator since it would be pretty hard to concentrate on what you’re doing with dust everywhere.

If an air filtration system doesn’t suit you or fit within your budget, we recommend using face masks and protective glasses to avoid inhaling any major airborne debris, albeit less successfully.

Size and Layout

Working wood requires a lot of space and proper organization. To begin, the ideal size for a shop is up to debate, there’s no straight answer because every shop is different and depends on the individual needs and objectives of its owner. However, if you don’t have much space to manage, the bare minimum should be a 75 square foot room. It all depends on the number of tools you’re going to have around and their respective sizes as well as the materials, which brings us to the next point. Aside from the main workshop space, we heavily recommend having an additional, smaller room dedicated exclusively to the storage, because - and this only applies if you’re serious about this, which you are - you’re going to be moving around a lot with plenty of material. And this absolutely mandatory “moving around” we’re mentioning can only happen if you manage your space successfully. Drawing a blueprint of the room with all the tools incorporated is the ideal facilitator of space management, you should always be aware of how much wiggle room you have. Also, consider larger doors and windows than those you have at home.

Cleaning Dust

We’ve finally arrived at the fun part: cleaning! Having your workspace consistently clean is a priority, you need to make sure no dust sits on your tools for too long and especially while they’re working. Dust is a health hazard for you and your tools. So, make sure you keep everything clean from the most obscure corner to yourself. This means that you’re going to have to get rid of the dust right at its origin: the woodworking machines. To make the cleaning process easier and less dreadful in prospect, you should consider acquiring a dust collection system which you can attach to the machines so that the produced dust goes directly into the central dust collector instead of the ground or your other machines.

Lighting

Efficient working requires efficient lighting - in order to see exactly what you’re doing, not make mistakes that can be traced back to you, and, most importantly, not harm yourself in the process, you need to keep the entirety of your shop well lit. You should consider ceiling lights and individual or portable lamps that you can adjust depending on the task at hand. Everything is better if you see absolutely everything. 

Final Touches

With your new woodworking shop up and running, there’s one last thing to keep in mind: safety. Make sure you always, without exception, use protective glasses, as wood can become dangerous especially when being tampered with. Gloves may be equally important, your hands are the driving force of your woodworking, and keeping them protected will go a long way. Earmuffs are optional but still needed, its use depends entirely on the noise produced by the machines, some are loud and some are deafening. Regarding safety, the last but not less important things we recommend are: always read the instructions, be focused, practice, keep everything dry, remember to unplug machines, keep a fire extinguisher in the shop, and lastly, be confident!

From this point on, you’re ready for woodworking and woodworking is ready for you. 

That’s it from us, we hope this guide was helpful and if you need anything else, just read this article again!