Custom Patio Blog

It’s the new year and here are the top 5 2020 outdoor living trends you may want to incorporate into your own backyard!
Outdoor Kitchen

This 2020, more people are looking into making outdoor kitchens as their primary kitchens. Outdoor kitchen design easily maximize space while avoiding the look of an overstuffed and cluttered area. The technology and innovations incorporated also provide homeowners the flexibility of adding unique features and accessories such as a table hearth or television.

Fireplace or Fire Pit

As more people embrace the outdoor living lifestyle, fireplaces and fire pit take centerstage to provide warmth and coziness to outdoor living areas. It becomes the major crowd-drawer and compensates for the occasional chilly breeze that sweeps the area.

Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Areas

Walls continue to be skipped in favor of glass windows or flowing drapes which allows for a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living setups. With this wall-less trend, living areas become brighter, spacious and liberating. There’s also a sharp decrease in energy costs as natural light easily filters in.

Skylights in Patio Covers

To further let more natural light illuminate rooms, skylights are favored rather than the traditional solid patio cover. By daytime, it lets enough sunlight in while it provides a spectacular view by nighttime.

Family Gardens

As more people become more aware of the ecological movement, more families are also starting to bring back the idea of garden plots into their backyard. By having container gardens, parents can teach their children the value of gardening and growing plants and vegetables. Container gardens are also a great focal point in the backyard and a great investment that gives you a valuable and priceless return.

Water Features

As classic blue is the color of the year for 2020, expect that water features featuring a brook of burbling crystal blue water to dominate most backyards. Whether it’s a fountain, pond, or stream, water features are seen to be a huge trend this 2020.

If your outdoor is still unprepared for the coming holidays, we’ve just got the right and easy solutions to your holiday décor worries. Here are 5 last-minute outdoor designs to give your outdoor that much needed serving of holiday cheer!

Spell it out.
When you just don’t have the time to think of anything unique and want something quick and easy, just spell out your greeting, print or stamp each letter onto a large carton paperbag and post it against a cheerful background of either your hedge or Christmas garland. Just make sure it’s correctly spelt to avoid embarrassing grammar jokes.

Hang a bird feeder brimming with iconic holiday elements.
Whether it’s Christmas balls, stars, poinsettia or red berries and dry conifers, this is a minimalist yet eye-catching holiday design that can adorn your outdoors.

Project snowflakes onto your house’s façade.
With some lighting, liven up your place by focusing a projector onto your house and flashing random snowflakes upon it. You can also play with different light colors and snowflakes. This simple décor that comes alive with a single push of a button can easily win you the most interactive and fun design in your neighborhood, too.

Hang up wreaths made from icons.
Whether it’s a wreath of dried conifers or poinsettia woven around the band, ribbons or garlands or even stars, wreaths convey the holiday spirit. You can hang it in your front door and by every window for better impact. It’ll be more beautiful if its components are varied.

Hang holiday socks and sacks.
No, we don’t mean your laundry but those festive holiday containers for all sorts of sweets and gifts. It might be a bit cheeky but having these décor themes on your outdoor can only mean you’re more than ready to receive all the blessings coming for you this holiday season.

Each year as the holiday season rolls in, don’t we all feel that nostalgic yearning for the holidays of our childhood? If you want to bring it back through decorating, here are 5 ways you can create a vintage look for the holidays.

Display cartoon standees garbed in holiday attire.

If you loved sitting in front of the television, watching your favorite cartoon characters go on their holiday adventures, bring them back to enjoy the holiday with you in a 2D way. Populate your yard with these fun, beloved characters but don’t forget to bathe them in appropriate lights so they won’t end up looking creepy at night.

Put snow globes as centerpieces.

This applies to indoor and outdoor setups. Snow globes bring back the wonder and excitement of the holidays, often featuring an idyllic snowy scene. It’s also an interactive design element that lets us pause for a moment to watch the snow gently float and descend upon the scene.

Orchestrate a nativity scene.

The most classic holiday decoration there is, fill a nativity scene not only with baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary but also with their dotting animal companions, angels, and the bright star. Pallets and hays can complete the scene to make it warm and inviting.

Decorate with beloved childhood toys and games.

From trains running tracks peddling small gifts to vintage boxes of your favorite tabletop games as a kid, these items surely bring back a lot of childhood memories. Your tabletop games can also be given as gifts to the little ones, making a new generation discover, explore, and enjoy your beloved games once again.

Play old-fashioned songs as you decorate.

Put yourself in a cheerful holiday mood by playing the holiday songs popular when you were a kid. This might juggle your memory a bit and make you remember a decorative detail from your childhood you might have forgotten.

If you plan on making your patio a place where you can just hang back and relax, a hammock patio might be the design theme you’re looking for. In this article, we list the top 5 elements to turn your plain patio into a hammock outdoor area.

The Hammock

Of course, at the top of the list is the holy grail of your patio furniture—the hammock. It can be suspended from the ceiling on all its four corners making it a swing seat. Or a traditional and classic hammock hanging from two sturdy posts. You’re also not limited to just one hammock. If you’re installing the hammock from the posts of your patio or porch, you can install one per section.

Go one step further and install a hanging bed instead. Add more comfort with throw pillows and have a day bed where you can lounge for whole afternoons just soaking in the soft sunlight and watching the world go by.

Privacy Screen

If you’re a bit conscious of having neighbors or passersby, having a privacy screen is a must. In lieu of a trellis, you can opt to have potted palms or ferns to give that tropical vibe to your hammock patio. For a more wispy and magical treatment, you can go for silky or satiny curtains draped across your hammock patio.

Pillows

What makes a hammock look more enticing is the presence of pillows. So, go ahead and put not just one or two but a couple more of pillows for a comfortable lounge or nap.

Trees

While not a mandatory requirement when creating a hammock patio, trees don’t only provide sturdy posts to hang your hammock onto, it also gives you the cool shade you need when lounging.

Lights

When the sun goes down and it gets darker, the right lights will make your hammock stay a bit more pleasant. You can put lights directly above the hammock, on the posts or a bit far back. It’s also best to keep the light switch near your hammock post so you can easily switch it off when you want to switch to stargazing instead.

We always get questions about pergolas. In this article, we’re going to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about pergola. Read on and find out the answers to the 5 FAQs about pergolas below.

Where should I put my pergola?

Pergolas are an adaptable patio structure. It can replace a solid patio cover, become part of the entryway to your backyard or garden or a section divider for the different spots in your outdoor area.

What is better: a pergola kit or a custom pergola?

Pergola kits offer convenience available in different sizes, price ranges and materials such as vinyl, aluminum and wood. However, it offers almost no room for customization and is set up as-is.

If you have preferences in the way the pergola is built, then having it done by a local and experienced contractor will eventually be better.

What is the cost of installing a pergola?

Depending on the materials used, features, accessories, size, and design, a pergola installation in The Woodlands can cost anywhere from $1,500 up to $8,000. Meanwhile, the average cost in Houston is around $3,847.

Labor costs will vary but it’s worth paying for an experienced contractor.

What other features can be added to a pergola?

To make a pergola more functional, you can add proper lighting which makes it accessible even at night. You can also make it an extension of your garden by allowing vines decorate the columns and beams naturally. Combat humidity with a ceiling fan attached to the beam.

If you need a pergola to act not only as a patio cover but also as a shield from rain, you can consider a transparent solid roof cover which still lets the sunlight in but effectively covers you from the rain.

Still haven’t found the answer to your pergola questions? Call us today and let’s talk about your pergola queries in a free, no-obligation consultation!