The patio is a great place to sit back and relax after a hard day’s work or to entertain family and friends for special occasions. It’s also a place to enjoy Mother Nature while still being near the comforts of home instead of the uncertainty of the great outdoors. The area just needs a patio umbrella to spruce up the surroundings, add the desired ambience and provide additional protection from the elements including sun, rain and snow.

Each patio is different from the other patios in the neighborhood in terms of space, ambience and uses. Fortunately, the market offers a wide range of patio umbrellas to choose from the small to the large, from to temporary to the semi-permanent, and even from the round to the rectangle. This article discusses these choices so that homeowners will have a better idea of these products even before logging on to an online site or visiting a home improvement store.

Choices in Materials

The most rustic and romantic of patio umbrellas are usually made from wood, said material of which is used on the poles and ribs. Wood provides for a classic and classy feel that other materials like cold metal often cannot offer the homeowner. However, wood can be less than durable than metal in terms of being able to withstand the vagaries of nature although many wooden patio umbrellas now have metal at the core of the wooden pole to boost durability.

An aluminum patio umbrella is a good choice, too. Usually, the aluminum is used on the poles and ribs with the cover being made from canvas, which makes for durable, lightweight and beautiful patio umbrellas. Consumers who live in windy areas benefit the most from aluminum models with the added advantage of being able to choose from many kinds of finishes to the metal.

Aluminum patio umbrellas also come with fiberglass ribs. The result is an umbrella that can withstand strong winds since fiberglass is more flexible and yet more durable than wood and aluminum combined.

Choices in Styles

Usually, a patio umbrella looks like the portable umbrella with the pole in the middle. But there are inherent problems with the design as the pole can get in the way of people facing each other. Manufacturers offer the offset patio umbrellas, also known as cantilever umbrellas, which provides for extra flexibility, shade and area. Just make sure that the base is heavier to prevent the offset umbrella from toppling over.

Yet another choice in patio umbrellas is the wall-mounted type. Obviously, it can be mounted directly to the wall, thus, providing for an outdoor café atmosphere right in the backyard. Other benefits include greater space for the tables underneath and lesser hassles in unfurling these umbrellas.

Patio umbrellas come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Homeowners and even business owners can choose from round, rectangular and polygonal umbrellas with sizes from single to double. The final choice in the patio umbrella will depend on personal preferences in style, the available budget and the allocated space.

Samantha Reynolds is a writer/blogger, focusing on home décor and outdoor décor using patio umbrellas from Patioshoppers.

 

Choosing a Patio Umbrella to Match Your Outdoor Decor is a post from: Cape Cod House Remodeling

A new current fashion among homeowners is constructing or enhancing open-air rooms around the house, for example patios or decks. A recent survey of the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) reveals that 60% of homeowners consider it vital for a house to have a comfortable open-air room. For the ideal open-air room PERC recommends as one of the best products the patio heater.

Another survey of the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (HPBA) reveals the fact that 55% of grill owners and 65% of gas grill owners are frequently grilling out all year long. With such an open-air patio heater these people could take more pleasure in eating outdoor even when it is cold outside.

One important aspect of home appliances regards the general safety. The current patio heaters meet the safety requirements, even more, they are constantly improved. The majority of gas heaters are equipped with piezo electric starter, thus you need no matches or pilot light. Some units also have an automatic emergency shut off, that will immediately shut it off, increasing the safety of these heaters.

Patio heaters are running on three type of fuel: propane, natural gas or electricity. Natural gas is used in the case of stationary heaters, while propane gives mobility to the heater. Most infrared heaters are running by electricity, but some of them by natural gas.

There are different and new patio heaters available in variable shapes and sizes to meet your individual needs. It all depends on what you are looking for: stationary or moveable heater, as well as the heat that you need, based on the number of people in the outdoor room. These are the things that you have to consider when you are looking for the suitable heater for you.

Self-supporting heaters are bigger and more powerful compared to table-top heaters. Table-top heaters on the other hand, are smaller and much easier to move around as you want. The Lil Artic Sun Original is such a table-top heater, able to emit heat in an eight foot range. For a bigger heater you might try the self-supporting Artic Sun Bullet, a reasonable priced heater, emitting heat in up to twenty foot range. Infrared heaters are usually highly adaptable; you can suspend them on a wall, on a pole or overhead.

Stationary heaters have the advantage that can be connected directly to your existing natural gas lines, not needing any tanks. However, if you are planning to move the heater to different places, a portable propane heater is recommended, available in self-supporting and table-top models.

The heating power of patio heaters is measured in BTUs. For example, a 20,000 BTU heater will radiate heat in a 10 foot diameter. Usually, the self-supporting heaters are much powerful than the table-top heaters, being recommended for bigger outdoor rooms.

Patio heaters have become a pleasant and practical accessory of the more and more popular American outdoor lifestyle. They are safe and efficient, perfect to turn chilly nights into warm evenings, ideal for your family and friends to get together in a relaxed atmosphere. After all, we all deserve to relax now and then.

Enjoy Comfort Even Outdoor: Patio Heaters for Outdoor Rooms is a post from: Cape Cod House Remodeling

Design is neither something simple nor just a subject of a creative mind. Creating a good design comes down to applying standards and following design prescriptions. If you want a great landscape design, you should follow the seven principles that are described in detail below:

The first principle is unity. Unity means keeping to the main subject or scheme of your landscaping design. Here, all elements within the design are combined in harmonic and consistent unity and connect with one another. But remember – do not go to extremes or you might end up creating a landscape that is too much for the eye to handle or something that is boring to look at. Unity within a design can be created using various objects with repeating lines like trees and plants, or items with a similar texture or color. However, it is important not to carry this unity throughout every aspect of your landscape as all open spaces need some sort of flare in order to captivate the eyes of those who view it.

The second principle concerning landscape design is balance. It gives the final visual symmetrical outlook that draws attention. Theoretically, there are three essences of balance when it comes to design. The formal or symmetrical balance is when the characteristics of items are identical on the both sides of the landscape. This can range from the amount, size or height of the items used; keeping the balance of the space equal. The other type of balance is asymmetrical. This is also known as an informal balance in landscape design. Here, we can say that each side of the landscaping design is balanced itself though both sides do not look the same way and their balance is not general and united. Finally, there is the balance that is radial. This is where a focal point is used within the landscape with the aid of an item such as a water fountain which has water squirting from the middle. The core of an apple and a daffodil are also examples of this.

Another principle is emphasis. This brings the attention to one certain part of the landscape design. This can be accomplished using an outstanding color, a simple backdrop or unusual lines. You can group some of the subjects in order to mark and indicate the focal point of the landscaping design.

Sequence aka Transition is a landscape design principle, which suggests grouping or setting some objects in an increasing or decreasing order – by size, quantity, colour etc. Gradual change in the objects that represent the idea of the landscape design expresses best the transition principle – objects like growing plants or other objects in transition. By implementing this principle, you could use this development idea, to create profoundness to certain key points within the design.

Rhythm in a landscape design is expressed with repeating of certain objects that gives the virtual idea of motion through the landscape. Rhythm makes the landscape design attractive, catching the eye and it stirs the design.

The last and seventh principle for landscape design is repetition. Here, we talk about identical objects with similar shape, texture or colour. This principle complements the other principles of the landscape design like rhythm and focalization but it is very important to avoid using too many repeating objects as you would spoil the whole design.

Your best landscape design could work out if you combine all the seven principles described above into one, unified design project without giving priority to any of them so that the whole design would be a balanced and successful design work.

The landscape photo used at the top of this post comes from Jeremy Levine Design’s photostream.

Designing your Landscape: Principles is a post from: Cape Cod House Remodeling