ArticlesBase.com - Free Articles Directory
Free Online Articles Directory
07.09.2008 Sign In Register Hello Guest
Email:
Password:
Remember Me 
forgot your password?


Extend Your Home Living Space Into Your Garden

Author: Kenneth Scott Author Ranking Gold | Posted: 19-04-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 118 | Rating:  (107) Article Popularity - Blue (?) Got a Question? Ask.
Sign Up Now!

One of the best ways to create more space in your house is to utilize outdoor space more effectively. Many modern houses can make their rooms look larger by using glass walls and other means to visually extend the room into the garden or lawn. Glass walls that use the same wall and ceiling materials as the interior room on a terrace and its eaves help to extend the visual line of the room. Any room can visually flow outdoors on wooden decks, brick terraces, or loggias with lattice roofs.

A terrace can be an inviting outdoor room if you make use of vines, fences, shade trees, flowers and shrubs as well. If you add a barbeque, you add another dimension, since you can then use your terrace, lawn, or garden as a place to dine in the great outdoors.

When planning a terrace, you should consider the installation of electric outlets for radios, an electric spit of the barbeque, and lighting. Vines can be used on a lattice roof to give a restful appearance. Additionally, vines like grape vines tend to leaf out in hot weather when you want shade and drop their leaves at the start of cooler weather when you do not need it anymore. They provide their fruit as a bonus as well! Any vine you select should be a fast-growing variety. Grape, hyacinth, and gourd vines are suitable for lattice roofs.

A terrace must relate to the rest of the lawn and grounds. This can be done by placing flowers and plants growing in pots, baskets and tubs around the edges of the terrace. The lines of the terrace, walls, or paving can be softened by using rows of potted plants. Including dwarf trees on the terrace and blooming shrubs in the retaining walls can help with the transition between terrace and lawn as well. You can also create visual interest by changing levels. Flowerbeds can be constructed around steps, walls, and trees, for example. A hard floor is essential for an outdoor room as well.

You will want your outdoor room to be enjoyed by all family members, so provide a play space for young children, perhaps by having a sand box that can be filled with plants later, or a small pool for sailing boats. And you do not need to depend on trees along for shade. A self-bracing roof for the terrace in an egg-crate design can be constructed using the side of your house and pillars made of metal, masonry, or wood. Two of the most popular materials for this purpose is corrugated plastics and reinforced glass, which are watertight, but let sunlight come through.

Another type of roof that has become popular, especially in hot climates, is a parasol roof, which extends from the walls of a house about four feet or more. This provides shade to the surrounding area. Because glare that bounces back from the bare ground is a source of heat, having a carpet-like area of shaded grass under the parasol roof can keep a house much cooler.

Outdoor rooms are most successful if they are easily accessed, sheltered from traffic noise or neighbors, and protected from the wind.

Rate this Article: Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/extend-your-home-living-space-into-your-garden-391397.html

Print this Article Print article   Email to a Friend Send to friend   Publish this Article on your Website Publish this Article   Send Author Feedback Author feedback  
About the Author:

To find more tips and ideas for your garden and increasing your living space outside visit http://complete-gardening.com

Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Comment on this article Comment on this article
Your Name
Your Email:
Comment Body
Enter Validation Code: Captcha


Related Articles

Teak – a Touch of the Exotic in Your Home & Garden
By: Miroslaw Moroz | 27/08/2008 | Gardening
Would you like to feel like you had parquet in your own garden? Think of modular decking systems. Teak, in fact, is a new solution for many houses: a variety of timber that will give you the unique opportunity to create warm and welcoming environments, where to spend pleasant moments with your family and friends.

Simple Patio Walkway Design Ideas for Your Lawn
By: Charles Kassotis | 17/11/2005 | Gardening
Discover exciting ways to make your property more attractive and valuable when you install useful patio walkways.

How To Find Discount Teak Patio Furniture
By: Dan Vianetto | 30/05/2007 | Home Improvement
Are you interested in revamping your outdoor patio area? If you are, there is a good chance that you may be in the market for some new outdoor patio furniture. If you are, you may want to take the time to examine teak patio furniture. Teak patio furniture is known...

Teak Garden Furniture: Improving The Appearance Of Your Garden
By: George Finnerin | 30/05/2007 | Home Improvement
Are you a homeowner who has your own garden? If you do and if you are like many other garden growers, there is a good chance that you take great pride in your garden. You may not only spend a large amount of time working on it to make it...

Teak Deck Furniture: Not Just For Your Backyard
By: Darryl Walters | 23/05/2007 | Gardening
In the United States, millions of Americans have their homes outfitted with patio furniture or garden furniture. Many of those furniture pieces are considered teak patio furniture, which is wood furniture beautiful beyond what words can explain. Unfortunately, there are many individuals who only associate teak furniture with backyards or...

Buying Patio Furniture? Why You Should Examine Teak Furniture
By: Michael Singer | 23/05/2007 | Gardening
Are you looking to outfit your outdoor space with new lawn and garden furniture? If you are, you will find that you have a number of different options. Lawn and garden furniture comes in a number of different sizes, shapes, and styles and is sold for a wide range of...

Vegetable Gardening Tips
By: Nicky Pilkington | 29/12/2005 | Gardening
With the costs of living rising all the time, it may be possible to save money and increase your family's health at the same time by growing vegetables in your backyard.

How To Choose The Right Trees For Your Front Yard Landscaping Ideas
By: Jim Johnson | 19/04/2006 | Gardening
Trees can contribute to the overall appearance of your front yard perhaps more than almost any other part of your landscaping design. Unfortunately, many new homes that are now being built come with almost no trees on the property at all, or at least very

Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Q&A Powered by:
Powered by Yedda 

Latest Gardening Articles

Installing Lawn Sprinkler the Easy Way
By: Robert | 06/09/2008
This article illustrates how to install the lawn sprinkler the easy way. It also highlights some of the relevant useful tips.

Twelve Top Tips to Fruit Tree Planting Success
By: Julian Bosdari | 06/09/2008
Autumn is nearly here and with it comes the season for planting fruit trees. Bare root fruit trees are best; they have been field grown and tend to be larger, healthier and stronger than container grown trees and there is no risk of their being pot-bound. Here are twelve easy to follow tips that will help ensure your fruit trees establish, grow away well and crop heavily.

Fun and Safe Pool Floatation Devices for Children
By: Gunter Walderon | 06/09/2008
Each and every child is unique. If you are a pool owner with children you will know just what I am talking about. Almost all kids enjoy playing in the water with their floaties, but not every child likes the same kind.

The Best Season for Garden Design
By: Georg Rosenbrock | 05/09/2008
Garden Designs can take a long time to do. It is best to time your garden design well in advance of spring. This provides you with enough time to finalize the design and to accomplish any hard landscaping. Having a prepared garden plan has many great advantages

10 Weed Prevention Tips
By: Carrie Wykeham | 05/09/2008
Weeds are a gardener's nightmare and can really spoil your enjoyment of you garden. A gardener's dream is to have a lush, green lawn and neat, colourful borders all free from weeds. It is said that prevention is better than cure, and this is certainly true for weeds. Let weeds...

Composting - is it Just a Load of Rubbish?
By: Steve Cownley | 05/09/2008
Everything you always wanted to know about Composting - But didn't know who to ask. Why should you compost and what are the benefits and I try and dispel some of those myths about compost and its smells.

What is a Weed? Know Your Enemy
By: Carrie Wykeham | 05/09/2008
A weed is not a specific type of plant, it is simply an unwanted plant or a plant that is growing where it is not wanted. Once upon a time, this weed was a wanted plant and may have been introduced to the locality for a particular use - to...

Simple Tips for Gardening
By: lily002 | 05/09/2008
Gardening can be cheap and fun as well and if done regularly, does not really need to take up a lot of time. Many people seem to think that just because all the plants have been put into their places for the summer and your perennials are blooming, or past bloom, there is no more work to be done. No, there is always work that may be done. These are a few gardening tips for you to consider here.

More from Kenneth Scott

Home Improvements - Have You Got All The Materials Required?
By: Kenneth Scott | 05/06/2008 | Home Improvement
The materials that you will need to take on a home improvement project depends the task at hand.

Cars Imported From Japanese Companies - New Competition?
By: Kenneth Scott | 05/06/2008 | Cars
one are the days when the GM, Ford and Chrysler were the reigning kings of the car industry.

5 Family Resorts To Consider For Vacation
By: Kenneth Scott | 03/06/2008 | Destinations
Travelling and children do not usually go together very well and any journey can be difficult to plan.

Boxing - Much More Than Physical Exercise
By: Kenneth Scott | 03/06/2008 | Sports and Fitness
If you want to improve your health and physical fitness a boxing training program may be what you are looking for.

Camcorder Reviews - How Reliable Are They?
By: Kenneth Scott | 02/06/2008 | Electronics
Before purchasing a camcorder in fact, any expensive product it is usually worth doing a bit of research. There are many sources of good information and the internet has vast numbers of product reviews posted constantly.

Playing Golf - How Difficult Can It Be?
By: Kenneth Scott | 08/05/2008 | Golf
An outsider watches the game. How hard can it be to hit a stationary ball? After all, major league baseball players hit balls traveling at high speeds all the time. With that in mind, the outsider decides to take up golf.

Travel On A Budget - Stay At Hostels
By: Kenneth Scott | 07/05/2008 | Travel
You might think of hosteling as something that college students do while traveling through Europe for the summer. However, hosteling is not just for the college crowd anymore, and now includes people of all ages and backgrounds.

Tips To Help You Making The Three Most Common Mistakes In Affiliate Marketing
By: Kenneth Scott | 27/04/2008 | Affiliate Programs
Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning money online. This program gives everybody a chance to make a profit through the Internet. They are easy to join and implement and pay a commission on a regular basis.

Article Categories







Give Feedback

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below