Bring your Home Outside

Yes, it’s an art and science to get your blinds to compliment and enhance the décor of each room of your house. And, if you think about it, blinds are boundary markers separating the inside of the house from the outside. But even in Minnesota with its long winters people today are thinking beyond that, looking to extend the interior design of a house to the exterior, especially onto backyard decks and patios.

Take kitchens, for example. The closest thing on the deck used to be a greasy old tripod charcoal grill and plate on the table for the cooked burgers and franks. Then came console gas grills with increased barbequing capability for making even Dad look like a master chef! Today, people are bringing their indoor stove and oven units out on the deck or the patio. These can be either free standing or built in. This not only increases the variety of food that can be served but also keeps the cooking heat outside on what are often already very hot days.

Seating design is another area where the traditional deck chairs or a hammock are just not adequate for contemporary entertainment needs. Those cast-iron patio chairs can be pretty uncomfortable! Today we are seeing everything on the patio from love seats set in stone walls to arena circle seating in brick or wood around a central fire pit. This is perfect for entertaining a party of guests with roasting marshmallows or hotdogs and good conversation!

Finally, don’t forget that your patio or deck environment needs a good house to enhance, and now is the time to purchase just that house.