I bet I’m not the only one who is ready to be done with the cold weather for awhile. Even way down South on Florida’s lower Gulf Coast, where I live, this winter has been a rough one. Thankfully, we’re almost through it and the time for living outdoors will soon be upon us yet again!
This is great news! It means creating inspired outdoor spaces that just beg you to kick off your shoes (if you haven’t already), pick-out a comfy spot, and sit for awhile.
Outdoor Spaces Invite Color
Something about the sunlight and the large open views just encourages the use of lots of color. The photo above shows a couple of great remodeling tricks to creating an awesome outdoor space. One design idea in the picture is so subtle, I bet you can’t find it! The obvious ones are:
- Paint The Ceiling! – Blue, yellow, green…I’ve seen porch ceilings painted all sorts of bright colors and it always looks fun and inviting. This one plays along great with the furnishings and overall decor. Painting also makes the job of installing a v-joint ceiling like this much easier because you can rest easy knowing that mistakes can be painted over!
- Use a little extra trim to make panels on the walls – If you look at the outside wall of the house, you’ll see that they’ve created a cool paneled look by adding some trim. Not too hard to do, but the result makes this feel like a room, not a porch.
Did you see the subtle one?
- Paint a pattern on the floor – Is it totally uncool for me to say that I don’t like something? I really don’t love the floor with a very faint checkerboard, but I do think that there are some places where the idea can work great. I just point it out to see if you caught it the first time around or not! Did you?
Find Nooks-and-Crannies
Is that how you spell crannie? Cranny? I hope you know what I mean! Here’s a picture:
I’ve made my share of Adirondack Chairs and I can personally attest to the fact that nothing can add a splash of color the an exterior area better than an Adirondack Chair painted in a beautiful hue. Melissa wrote about outdoor areas last summer, including my backyard, but they still haven’t been to visit. It’s a bit of a hike.
Outdoor ‘rooms’ don’t have to be rooms at all. It’s possible in any yard to find a small spot where a little oasis of life can be created. Even if you rent, potted plants and some simple, easy-to-remove, structure can be used to frame a perfect little spot.
Are You Planning For Outdoor Living?
Big beautiful porch, or small cozy little hiding spot, the time for planning that outdoor space is now because spring is around the corner with summer close behind and this is the year to enjoy it in style!
Are you READY?
Written by: Tim Layton (aka Remodeling Guy)
