Category Outdoor Living

The first dinner party I hosted on my patio was a disaster. Eight people crammed around a table meant for…

I have spent four summers testing mosquito control methods in my backyard, which backs up to a wetland area. I…

I have installed ceiling fans on three different patios over the years, and I have made every mistake in the…

I mounted my first outdoor TV seven years ago. It was a standard indoor model that I put in a…

I built my first outdoor bar from a repurposed potting bench and a folding table. It was wobbly, the drinks…

I sat around a friend’s fire pit one evening and watched a gust of wind blow a sheet of flame…

I have owned patio furniture in almost every material made, because I am cheap and I keep buying whatever is…

The yard behind my first house was twelve feet wide and bordered on three sides by neighbors whose second-floor windows…

When I was planning a shade structure over my back patio, I spent a confusing week trying to sort out…

The first outdoor rug I bought lasted exactly one wet spring. It was a natural fiber jute rug that looked…

When I bought my house, the backyard sloped downhill at about a 15 percent grade. The first contractor I called…

Working from a desk staring at the same four walls eventually grinds down anyone who does it long enough. Moving…

Training outside changes the feel of a workout. A set of kettlebell swings under open sky hits differently than the…

I built my first outdoor living room out of stubbornness. I had a 10 by 12 foot concrete slab behind…

There is a reason so many painters chase the landscape out of doors. The light is alive, the colors are…