Thursday, July 30, 2015
Turning An Outdoor Room Into A Family Project
How to get the outdoor room you want and get the family excited about it!
Recently, we wrote an article - Outdoor Design Therapy, and we’re
featured in the Summer 2015 issue of Outdoor
Living Magazine! (Pat on the back! Yes, we’re proud.)
So outdoor spaces
have been on our minds and we’ve really been reflecting on how important
outdoor spaces really are to us. Think
about it. We often don’t take the time
to stop and relax. To enjoy the moment
with family and friends. We get caught
up in the day to day flurry of activity and really don’t make relaxation and
spending time together a priority. So
what better way to make this special time more of a focus than to spend it
outdoors?
In the article we wrote, we talk
about how you can extend your living space by creating an outdoor room and how
to address it as you would when you furnish and decorate a room indoors. This is important but why bother to do
it? Well, if you’re truly wanting to
lure the family outside, away from the TV, computer and cell phones, you need
to have a spot that is comfortable and enticing!
Family Game night became a big
thing a while back. We’re not sure where
or why it really started but, at House By The Shore, we love the
idea. You can make creating your outdoor
living space a family game/project. Then once the project is complete you can
certainly enjoy family game night outdoors!
If you want all of
your family to be vested in this space and to want to be in it, you need to get
them excited about the project. Get
everyone involved by letting them help select the furnishings, choose colors
and determine the functionality of the pieces you need. We’ve come up with directions and a plan to
get your family involved in creating an outdoor room everyone will love! You have some research and tasks to complete
before you can begin though. You can’t
just spring this on them.
First, you must develop a budget
for your outdoor space. The reality is
we don’t all have tons of money we can spend to create the ultimate outdoor
space but everything can be accomplished in stages and there’s always DIY
projects that everyone can get involved in.
(Yeah, more time together – outside!)
This can become almost a game if
you do your research first. Create a
design board for your choices. This
doesn’t have to be fancy, a poster board or even a Pinterest
board is fine! Next, you need to measure
and draw out the space outdoors you plan to use. Graph paper is excellent for this and you can
make this part of the family tasks. It
is a great way to teach kids math skills!
Decide how many squares on the graph page are equal to a foot and chart
it. You may have a deck or a patio
you’re wanting to use.
Before you can start
to plan what to put in the space, you have to determine how it will function
and what you need. We’ve come up with a
list of questions you can get the whole family to answer so that everyone has
their say. Just sign up
and we’ll email it to you right away! This will help you to determine the type
of outdoor furniture pieces you need and how many. Try to incorporate what everyone wants to do
into the space.
Let family members vote on a
color scheme. If your family is anything
like ours, if you don’t narrow the choices for the vote - everyone is going to pick a different color and that creates a whole other blog post - believe us!
So mom or dad research your outdoor furniture options and color
schemes first. You can take a screenshot
of our color schemes and print them.
Cut out the colors you like and create two or three color cards that the
family can then vote on. Do the same
thing for the furniture collections.
With our questions on
functionality, we have included a shopping list for all the different items
you’ll need to create your outdoor space.
So if you didn’t sign up before, you’ll want to now.
As your family votes on your selections, add them to the shopping list
and to your design board. You should
have pictures of your chosen color scheme and your furniture collection on your
design board now. You may want to print
or pin the individual furniture pieces to your board so everything is very
visual. You’ll also want to have someone
add the furniture to your space plan.
You can draw a square for the chairs or rectangles for a bench or table
on another piece of graph paper to the measurements of the furniture
pieces. Label what the piece is and cut
it out. Then as a family you can
manipulate the paper furniture pieces on your space plan to create the
layout.
Now comes the fun part. Adding the décor, rugs and pillows to make
the space comfortable and inviting. An outdoor rug will
anchor your space. It also will provide
a place for the kids to play games and sit if you have company filling all the
chairs. Give your family 2 or 3 choices
you have narrowed down and let them vote again.
Once a decision is made, add it to your design board.
Now that you’ve chosen
the color of the furniture and the rug, you have colors to pull from for pillows and other
décor. This is a great way to teach the
kids about primary, secondary and tertiary colors. If you need a refresher yourself – Color Matters is a great source for color theory. It would also be great to show the kids how
you want to balance the color (and why their idea might not work if you need
proof). Once you’ve added your pillow
selection to your design board, now it is time to look at outdoor lighting and accents.
You have created a design board
for you space and a shopping list. So
now you can order or determine if you need to do this project in stages to fit
your budget. If you’ve got to accomplish
this in stages, make use of a wish list. You can create an account and add your items
to a wish list. That way you don’t
forget your plan and it is easy to purchase the next stage when you’re ready. You can also share your wish list with anyone
who might be looking to buy you a gift!
Not only have you created your
design and have a plan but you’ve done it as a family. You’ve taught the kids some math skills, a
little about art with color theory and helped them to learn how to decorate a
space which is a skill they’ll need some day with their own home. Best of all, you’re going to get that outdoor
room you’ve been dreaming of!
House By The Shore's Blog Policy
House By The Shore's Blog Policy
Thursday, July 23, 2015
New Additions In Outdoor Furniture
House By The Shore's outdoor furniture is custom made in the USA and built to last in all climates with a lifetime warranty!
Our outdoor department is thriving so we wanted to add a new line called the Plaza Collection that features the iconic lifestyle of the 50's era when work and leisure seemed
balanced. The lines of the Plaza Collection recall the classic style and
balance of the 50's. Available in premium polymer and pressure treated pine with 29 color options to choose from. The below photo is shown in apple green, such a bright and friendly color.
We have a large selection of outdoor rugs & pillows to compliment your outdoor furniture. A few we thought would be fun accents with the apple green color are:
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Back To Campus Essentials
It's that time of the year again.
House By The Shore can help make your new place feel just like home!
Let's start with the basics:
A Great pair of sheets with easy care that are designed with comfort in mind. You will need plenty of good sleep to keep up with classes, studying and the occasional parties :)
Bath towels that are soft, comfortable and in fun colors to help you kick your day off right.
Proper lighting is a must have and at the correct height for your desk so there's no glare in your eyes for those late nights of cramming. We have lamps that match our storage boxes too - check out the Essentials lighting options we have.
Storage is essential to throw things in before your friends and family come to visit. Our Essentials Storage & Book Boxes are fun, colorful and built to last. They come in sets of 3.
Carry your items to class in style with our Sailor Bags:
Our Sailcloth Back Packs are tough stuff with three large compartments.Plus handy interior pockets to keep small items like cell phones, iPods,
and keys organized and easy to find.
Easy access mesh outer pockets hold water
bottles, shoes or gloves. Great for school: Enough room for textbooks,
notebooks and binders, along with sports gear or outerwear and lunch.
Waterproof linings keep wet clothes separate from books and papers.
Wide padded
shoulder straps and padded back panel for all day comfort.Our Sailcloth Computer Bags are great for taking your laptop to class or study sessions. With a padded compartment that fits up to a 17" laptop, an interior section that zips closed for the most important files and two slip in side pockets big enough for files or magazines, there is just tons of room in this sleek, nautical bag. And all of this storage has our waterproof linings and is covered in durable sailcloth to protect your computer. Fold away 'tote' type hand grips and a comfortable shoulder strap.
And finally after a long day of classes your study sessions don't have to be stressful, curl up with a favorite throw and pillow that reminds you of home and have a few extra with lots of color to let your personality shine though.
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