5 Decorating and Design Rules for Indoor-Outdoor Living

Balcony gardens can be quite valuable for those living in urban areas with little outside space. They might not be big, but when they are carefully designed, balcony gardens can be truly magical spaces—bringing nature to the heart of a town or city. If you have a sliver of outdoor space by means of a balcony, here is what to think about.

If you are desperately searching for a lighting solution that DOES NOT require any electricity look no further! This quick and easy DIY light fixture is sure to suit your lighting needs, no matter how tricky the spot!

The ice-cream vans were in full throttle early on Thursday morning, preparing for the opening day of Bloom.

Jay Sifford freely admits his faults: He wears purple shoes, binge-listens to Cher, and had an epiphany regarding his design career while watching Mary Poppins. For landscape accents, he erects soaring violet and blue glass spears that could easily take down a charging ostrich. Most disturbingly, he loathes garden gnomes. But we forgive him because not only is he thoughtful and original, but he also fashions enticing outdoor spaces with plants, sculptures, and structures that linger in our minds. Headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, Sifford makes the hour-and-a-half drive to his mountain home in West Jefferson as often as possible. He named his sanctuary “Rhodwood” for the massive, 30-foot-tall native rosebay rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) that frame the back of the house. Rather than the quotidian log cabin you might expect to see in these parts, the dwelling is a dogtrot house, an architectural style associated with Appalachia in which a central breezeway (ideal for a snoozing hound) separates the kitchen and dining areas from the bedrooms. Sifford painted the house black so it recedes from focus in the summer and gives the garden center stage. When plants are dormant in winter, the structure shines. Here, he shares a few of his tricks.

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Tulips are popular around the World, often known as the soul of Spring, and historically symbolic for perfect love. Finding the perfect Tulip for your location can often be challenging, particularly as many of Tulip cultivar’s are fussy and short-lived.

Barns are a staple of the average homestead or farm. You need a barn for multiple purposes. Either it is to store your produce of grain, or to keep the livestock fodder dry and safe. Or you need space to keep the livestock itself, if not the tractor that you use on your farm. Barns are large enough for storage yet small enough to not take up too much land space.

Are you looking for a cheap garden lighting idea to transform your outdoor space into a magical retreat? Today I'm going to teach you how to make a beautiful DIY outdoor chandelier with a tomato cage and wood shims.

We have handpicked some stunning and useful DIY Plant Risers for Indoor Plants that will add instant charm while taking their looks to new heights!

Carson Downing

The day I meet David Godshall, one of the founding members of the progressive landscape architecture firm known as Terremoto, I climb the concrete steps outside his home in East Los Angeles, open a worn hinged gate, and see his garden for the first time. What I find is not quite what I was expecting, yet it makes perfect sense. Rather than the composed plants and austere rigor of the poolside landscaping Terremoto designed for actor Mandy Moore, for example, Godshall’s own garden is a tangle of mostly native and low-water plants, placed in a way that seemed haphazard but that the plants seemed to love. A dirt path is surrounded by bursts of unruly pitcher sage, sprawling California buckwheat, and Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’, all flourishing under the canopy of a Western sycamore. Cross-sawn timber planks from fallen local trees that otherwise would’ve been pulped weave through the yard like mini-bridges for his kids to play on. Raised beds tumble down the slope. A fashionable composter (yes, there is such a thing) sits under the eaves of a house that’s been painted black. Meanwhile, in one corner, a clawfoot cast- iron bathtub sits on a humble wood-plank base. This, I find out later, is where Godshall likes to bathe. 

The latest trending motif in design? Nature everything! That’s probably why wood and faux bois garden stools are everywhere right now. Yes, a stylish tree stump is the chicest place to sit or display items. They can be used in the garden, of course, but they’re great for the home, too. They add a little bit of warmth and a natural aesthetic to any room, from a spot to set a coffee cup or table lamp in your bedroom, to an extra perch for a houseguest in your living room, to a place to display a candle or diffuser in the bathroom for a spa-like feel. And in the garden, well, they just blend in and become the perfect spot to sit and enjoy some fresh air.