Home Equity Loan,Energy Efficien Home And Healthy Living

Create an Outdoor Room and Enjoy Garden Living All Year Long

We all crave time in the great outdoors, but most of us don't have the luxury of living outside 365 days a year. The good news is, you don't have to give up the serenity of a garden once winter rolls around or the dew point rises--simply bring the garden indoors. With some creative design work, you can make any room feel alfresco--no matter what Mother Nature has in store.

Windows
To help bring the garden indoors, try to establish a visual connection between the two. French doors and sliders extend your eyesight beyond the boundaries of a room, while lowering windows to seating height, wrapping them around corners or installing bay windows can help draw a room into the landscape. To strengthen that connection, forgo heavy window treatments in favor of sheers or shades made from natural materials such as woven grass or bamboo.

Floors
If the room abuts a patio, extending the flooring into the landscape will help bring the garden indoors, making the two flow together. (Saltillo tile, slate, bluestone, bricks and concrete are ideal for this purpose.) Or cover the floor with terra-cotta pavers or painted wood for an outdoorsy look.

Walls
Consider painting the interior walls to match the dominant colors in your garden, or echo the color of blooms or leaves in pillows, lamps or other accessories. You might even consider wrapping exterior siding such as shingles or clapboard around the inside walls--a great way to make a sunroom or den feel like an old porch that's been enclosed.

Furniture
Furnishings made from natural fibers such as wicker, rattan or woven water hyacinth instill an air of instant informality; pair with cotton or linen fabrics in stripes, solids or large florals to bring the garden indoors year-round. You could even use one of the sophisticated new outdoor fabrics on the market.

Rustic bent-willow furniture and Adirondack chairs are another great way to bring the outdoors in, as are vintage wrought iron or wire garden chairs. You can find old metal garden furniture at antiques shops and yard sales. To complete the setting, use a distressed painted bench for a footrest or side table, or make your own table from a planter or urn topped with a piece of glass or stone.

Hammocks inspire instant relaxation. So why confine them to the great outdoors? Hang one across the corners of a room and bring the garden indoors all year long.

Accessories
Accessorize the room with garden implements: tin watering cans, concrete statuary, birdhouses, weathervanes, whirligigs, armillary spheres--even something as simple as a glass bowl or hurricane lamp filled with rocks or shells will look great displayed on shelves and table tops.
Crave the sound of water? Consider installing a recirculating fountain. Just don't go overboard: You want your accessories to underscore the decor, not overwhelm it.

Plants
Don't overlook the most obvious accessory of all: houseplants. Large, lush flora such as palms, umbrella trees and weeping figs will help bring the garden indoors. Unless you're running a plant hospital, avoid spindly little specimens or plants grouped on shelves or stands--the 1970s are over, it's time to move on.

Got a brown thumb? Fill a bowl with lemons, green apples, dried pomegranates or even acorns or leaves. And unless you suffer from allergies, leave the fake plants to fast-food restaurants and hotel lobbies. Nobody should have to live in a house that looks like Denny's.