As spring begins to blossom, online retailer Fifthroom Markets is helping homeowners create their own Outdoor Fifthroom.  An Outdoor Fifthroom is a vacation destination at home in the backyard.  Fifthroom Markets has all of the patio furniture and garden structures homeowners need to create enviable outdoor living spaces, or Outdoor Fifthrooms.

The contest requires submitters to upload a current photo of their porch, patio, deck or outdoor space.  Then, contestants find the patio furniture or backyard structures they would use to make it over into a beautiful, functional Outdoor Fifthroom.  Using the photo caption box to talk about the products they chose and why they chose them, contestants can create a true design scheme and decorating plan to share with their family and friends.

The contest is open to all fans of the Fifthroom Markets fan page, and the contest is receiving submissions until Thursday, April 21.  The following day, on Friday, April 22, all approved submissions will open for voting.  Anyone can vote for their favorite Outdoor Fifthroom plan, as well as share the contest to encourage others to vote.

The contestant with the most votes on Tuesday, May 3^rd wins a $1,000 Fifthroom Markets gift card.  The first runner up wins a $100 Fifthroom Markets gift card and the second runner up wins a $50 Fifthroom Markets gift card.

“We wanted to give contestants a chance to really show their design ideas,” said Hazel Jennings, editorial manager at Fifthroom Markets and the coordinator of the photo contest. “We didn’t want to reward someone for simply having the most lavishly decorated patio or even the saddest deck.  We also didn’t want to simply give away an outdoor furniture set as the grand prize, for fear that it wouldn’t be exactly what the homeowner wanted.”

“We created this contest to serve the contestants perfectly.” Jennings said, “To help a homeowner purchase the perfect patio furniture that they picked out for their unique Outdoor Fifthroom.”

“Great ideas deserve great rewards,” added Reid Bandremer, marketing director at Fifthroom Markets.  “This isn’t just a contest of who deserves it most, but of who can create the most successful Outdoor Fifthroom from what they already have and what we have to offer.”

Contestants can visit the Fifthroom Markets Facebook fan page to enter a shot of their outdoor space as it is today, as well as a list of Fifthroom Markets patio furniture and backyard structures that would make it perfect.

“We hope that everyone has fun exercising their inner designer and shopping for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card,” said Jennings.

Surprise! We’ve done our own makeover.  It’s like all of our fabulous outdoor room make overs, in that we have a new style and a new purpose… as well as a new name!

We’ve joined our five distinctive and successful online specialty shops into one online marketplace called FifthroomMarkets.com.  Don’t worry– we’re still carrying all the best outdoor furniture, patio furniture, outdoor décor, gazebos, and pergolas you’re used to!

But now, you can access our over 6,000 products through FifthroomMarkets.com or through one of our individual specialty shops.  We want our customers to shop the way they love to shop.  So, you’ll be able to browse everything at once, like you’re perusing a large department store, or narrow your focus to a specialized boutique, as if you were shopping downtown.

We’ll have six shops and one easy check out.  We’ve been working hard on this project for months and are so eager and excited to share it with you.

Plus, we’ve given our blog a make over as well. We’ve revamped our blog, added a design super star team of expert bloggers and can’t wait for you to get involved.

Our team includes Sonja, who you’ve been keeping up with for weeks now, plus four new thrilling authors.

Included is Jenny Peterson, a garden and landscaping expert and the owner of J. Peterson Garden Design.  Peterson has found success blogging about all garden-related products and activities.

Blogging from her business in California, Marcia Blake, owner of Outdoor Interiors, will capture the latest buzz surrounding interior decor trends and the outdoor room phenomenon.

An interior design expert, Wendy Hyde, writes for The Shabby Nest blog and a contributor to the interior design resource, Houzz.com.  She will provide real and practical advice about furnishings, fabrics and function of interiors.

Author of over 20 quilt pattern books and host of a weekly radio show on crafting, Pat Sloan, quilter, author and crafting celebrity, will round out the FifthroomLiving.com blogger lineup.  As an expert on coloration, Pat also has her own signature line of fabrics.

Go check out the new FifthroomLiving blog now!

AllOutdoorPatioFurniture.com will still be available for you to check back, get tips and re-visit your favorite posts.  But, all new writing, how-tos, inspirations and posts will be over at our Fifthroom Living blog, so don’t miss out!

Outdoor spaces grow with every season, as homeowners create alfresco dining spaces with picnic tables and outdoor napping spots with swing beds.  However, the greatest opportunities can sometimes serve the greatest challenges.  I love the limitless prospects of decorating without walls or ceilings, but creating distinct spaces can be difficult without these go-to dividers.

Many people want a space for dinner parties as well as space for casual socializing.  Using creative barriers can help define spaces and communicate an open, yet structured outdoor space design.

Pathways: Often, space can be the best friend to the outdoor decorator.  If you’re lucky enough to take advantage of an expansive backyard, don’t feel pressured to pile your outdoor rooms on top of each other.  Housing your living space in a gazebo and your dining area under your porch (near the kitchen!) will clearly delineate your outdoor rooms.

To propel guests toward different outdoor rooms, use inviting pathways.  Paver stones and brick walkways work well, but treated pine roll-up walkways are an economical and portable option. Laying out pathways and walkways clearly tells guests where to explore!

Structures:  Using backyard structures like gazebos, pergolas and pool houses is another easy way to clearly separate outdoor spaces.  If you’re back deck is lined with patio chairs and chaise lounges, make your backyard gazebo a destination spot for dining.  Using structures not only adds dynamic architectural elements to your landscape, it creates more covered areas for relaxing and entertaining.

Flora: Using vertical gardening techniques can also create private spaces and living walls between outdoor rooms.  Growing wisteria or trumpet vines up a trellis or garden arbor will develop colorful, living and growing walls that will make guests feel at home in a secret garden.  Using garden arbors with gates and softening the latticed edges with growing morning glories will let beautiful color spill over into every available outdoor space.

Separating living, dining and lounging spaces within your outdoor rooms will make your backyard areas seem larger and more encompassing.  Group your outdoor furniture and patio furniture into outdoor rooms and make entertaining easy by cuing your guests around your outdoor living spaces.

Have Fun!

Hazel.

Many homeowners are constantly flipping through home and garden publications, reading outdoor living blogs, and wishing they had access to an outdoor pergola that fit their unique design needs.   Many homeowners fear that a custom pergola would be far too costly for their limited budgets.  But, this isn’t always the case.

Some of the most common situations requiring a custom pergola are covering a unique sized porch or patio, wanting to cover large spaces with angles as well as simply looking for a structure that will stand out from the crowd.

Unique Sized Porch or Patio:  Many custom pergolas are created to cover a porch or patio that does not conform to standard sizing.  Whether yours is long and narrow or short and wide, taking advantage of custom pergola options will help you create a covered outdoor living space that fits.

Angles and Spaces: Especially on large poolside properties, pergolas are required to cover a large span with custom angles.  Using an “L” shaped pergola creates more usable covered space that can hug the pool or other focal point.  It’s important to get the size and shape that nestled into your outdoor living space perfectly, so a custom pergola is incredibly helpful.  You will also want to ensure that all of your patio furniture and outdoor furniture has enough space to spread out beneath the beams.

Wanting to Stand Out in the Crowd:  Many homeowners just have that inimitable taste and can’t find their design personality in most standard pergolas.  Small touches like custom base trim or custom columns can turn any space into a designer space.  If it’s you, and not your space constraints, demanding a custom pergola… never shy away from getting what you want.  Outdoor living spaces deserve to be escapes from the everyday.

As February comes to a close, and the beautiful spring season comes upon us, it very may be time for a custom pergola.  Create a vacation get-away in your backyard this year, and enjoy every evening as if you were at a resort.

Many homeowners are constantly flipping through home and garden publications, reading outdoor living blogs, and wishing they had access to an outdoor pergola that fit their unique design needs.   Many homeowners fear that a custom pergola would be far too costly for their limited budgets.  But, this isn’t always the case.

Some of the most common situations requiring a custom pergola are covering a unique sized porch or patio, wanting to cover large spaces with angles as well as simply looking for a structure that will stand out from the crowd.

Unique Sized Porch or Patio:  Many custom pergolas are created to cover a porch or patio that does not conform to standard sizing.  Whether yours is long and narrow or short and wide, taking advantage of custom pergola options will help you create a covered outdoor living space that fits.

Angles and Spaces: Especially on large poolside properties, pergolas are required to cover a large span with custom angles.  Using an “L” shaped pergola creates more usable covered space that can hug the pool or other focal point.  It’s important to get the size and shape that nestled into your outdoor living space perfectly, so a custom pergola is incredibly helpful.  You will also want to ensure that all of your patio furniture and outdoor furniture has enough space to spread out beneath the beams.

Wanting to Stand Out in the Crowd:  Many homeowners just have that inimitable taste and can’t find their design personality in most standard pergolas.  Small touches like custom base trim or custom columns can turn any space into a designer space.  If it’s you, and not your space constraints, demanding a custom pergola… never shy away from getting what you want.  Outdoor living spaces deserve to be escapes from the everyday.

As February comes to a close, and the beautiful spring season comes upon us, it very well  may be time for a custom pergola.  Create a vacation get-away in your backyard this year, and enjoy every evening as if you were at a resort.

The origin of the word “pergola” comes from the late Latin word pergula, which refers to a projecting eave. Although the architectural word we use today in English is borrowed from the derivative of the original Latin word, the term dates back to before 1645 when an Englishman used it to describe what was built in Rome at the Trinitá dei Monti cloisters.

Modern Patio Pergolas:  When we think of the meaning of a patio pergola, nothing about cloisters or life back in 1645 comes to mind. In fact, we typically think of eating alfresco with outdoor furniture, covering a repose in the hot tub during inclement weather, and perhaps – if you’re well-educated in the outdoor living arena – the ShadeFX canopies that have recently boomed as an outdoor solution to gaps between backyard pergola rafters.

Al Fresco Dining and Hot Tub Coverage:  If eating alfresco or putting a cover over your hot tub brings the family outdoors on a more regular basis, the patio pergola or hot tub pergola is already worth considering. Not walled, like a gazebo or garden shed, a pergola shades you from the beating sun and protects from rain and snow. A cedar pergola can create the perfect scene for a Mediterranean dinner experience while a vinyl pergola’s versatility takes on a much more modern approach to covered spa or dinner party time.

Retractable ShadeFX Canopies:  If modularity is important, the retractable ShadeFX pergola is the best for opening up and closing when need be. The canopy can be automatically pulled close in case of rain or harsh sunshine but reopened quickly and easily – almost disappearing into its frame – when the skies above are desired.  Even if the weather isn’t fit for outdoor dining, using a ShadeFX canopy can protect your patio furniture as well.

A backyard pergola fills the spaces between structures fluidly while covering exposed patios and jacuzzis. Taking it all into account, pergolas keep outdoor dining and entertaining experiences just about unphased by the subtle shifts in Mother Nature.

Highlight the beauty of your wildflowers or spacious grassy knolls with a backyard gazebo that can redefine the space you call home. When considering the design of an outdoor area, less is often much more. We’ve all seen the one-too many look of holiday decorations or fake deer, and the point is to not replicate this image ever again. Thought it may be hard to believe, the wrong gazebo for the shape and scale of your backyard space is easy to mess up if you ignore the helpful hints of scale, weather protection, and interiors.

Less Gazebo is More Grace: Since size is not everything, focus on a small retreat that can hold a small get-together should you want to take your cocktail hour outdoors. The backyard structure should be built to last. With a cedar gazebo or pine gazebo that comes in many different shapes – octagonal, hexagonal, circular, rectangular, etc. – you can create the perfect getaway area for just you and your book too.

A Deeper Sense of Screening: If living in an area of sharp weather patterns changes, screens are a must. You’ll achieve the most use out of a gazebo that is prepared to keep out biting mosquitoes and rainfall alike, not to mention its resistance to strong winds and roaming birds or twigs. That said, keep screens intact and floorboards healthy with a gazebo that contains both of the above instead of wasting your energy on a wind or rainfall that hardly seems worth the trouble.

Keep the Austere Interiors:  The last step to making your backyard structure shine is the comfortable and functional interior design that belongs inside. Rather than trying to duplicate similar themes as your interiors, set it apart by using weather-resistant materials such as high quality teak furniture sets or pine and cedar shelving to match the façade.

Without trying to recreate your living room in the middle of your backyard, think of the cozy gazebo as a place for relaxation and contemplation that has the potential to completely redesign the way you and your guests interact with the surrounding design space.

Much of the east coast was blessed (or was it cursed?) with a brief taste of warm, spring weather.  There’s something about those mild temperatures that excites a renovation bug within our bellies.  After all, isn’t that what spring cleaning is all about?  Throw open the windows, move the furniture and vacuum up all that dust, finally get through that half-completed re-organization project sitting in the corner.

The same is true of backyards.  Once the weather starts to get warmer, all I can see are garden centers and outdoor living retailers creating gorgeous outdoor spaces.  The way the snow melts into the soil smells like opportunity.  A shiny new spring, a fresh new look at your backyard that hid under that snow all winter, a brand new chance to make your home exactly the way you want it to be.

One of the best backyard projects is an effective outdoor storage system.  No great gardens or outdoor dining areas can be created among clutter and tools laying around.  Creating an efficient and functional outdoor storage structure will help get all of your tools and supplies in line to create a more beautiful outdoor space.

Deck Boxes:  For those with minimal storage needs, one or six deck boxes might be a great solution.  Many deck boxes are made specifically to hold outdoor furniture cushions and other outdoor textiles, to help keep your patio furniture accessories clean and well-maintained in inclement weather.  Deck boxes are incredibly versatile, as they can double as patio chairs as well.  Though not terribly glamorous, deck boxes and patio storage can be used as a quick outdoor bench in a pinch.

Potting Benches: Potting benches are a godsend to any avid gardener.  A beautiful and high quality potting bench can add a dynamic element to your backyard space, as well as getting you organized.  Many potting benches have basins for potting soil, and all have specialized storage sections made specifically for a gardeners’ needs.  Say good bye to the pile of garden tools sitting in a rusty bucket by the backdoor. Say hello to your fashionable, functional outdoor potting bench.

Storage Sheds: If you’ve outgrown your current patio storage needs, and are currently re-configuring your garage’s intricate hybrid game of jenga and tetris… it’s time for a backyard storage shed.  The world of backyard sheds has come a long way, before you grimace at those plywood sheds often seen lined up in roadside parking lots.  Stylish backyard sheds can be customized to fit any space requirement, and can be built with high quality tongue-and-groove cedar interiors.  Work benches, green house windows, and porches are all available options on any top-grade backyard shed.  Create a garden structure that stores your stuff and elevates the style of your outdoor space!

Depending on your storage needs, a simple deck box may be all you need.  But, if you’ve been putting this off for awhile, a backyard shed might be the solution to your car perpetually parked outside your garage!  It’s nearly spring, start planning projects that will renew your home and garden now.

The log cabin has long been a favorite getaway for summers and holidays.  Even those with modern tastes can appreciate the rustic elegance of a log cabin nestled into the hill side.  But, even if you’re not lucky enough to have your own vacation cabin (and especially if you are!) incorporating whole log furnishings into your outdoor space design will bring home that country grace with a glass of lemonade.

Whole log outdoor furniture usually comes in one of two materials: white cedar outdoor furniture and pine log patio furniture.

White Cedar: Whole log outdoor furniture crafted from white cedar will stand up to the elements.  Naturally resistant to rot, decay and insects, white cedar doesn’t need any finishing products to protect it.  A semi-transparent stain containing sunscreen will help prevent the ultra-violet rays from fading the original coloring on your white cedar patio furniture.  But, many people also prefer the silver-grey patina coloring their aged outdoor furniture takes on.

It is necessary for cedar logs to “breath,” or dry out then take on more moisture.  The breathing process does cause the outer layer of the wood to develop harmless checks as the white cedar expands and contracts with natural humidity cycles.  The checks actually strengthen the structural stability of the wood, and add more rustic flair to your outdoor space design.

Pine Log: Whole log pine patio furniture is usually constructed with a treated pine material, but select pine can also be used to craft each piece.  Pine log is often considered to be the more economic option to white cedar patio furniture.  Treated pine is treated against mold, decay and insect damage.  But, a stain or pain will further protect it from discoloration.  Select pine, on the other hand, is not treated against damaging factors and does not contain embedded oils for natural protection.  Whole log pine patio furniture created from select pine must be stained/sealed immediately to protect it from the elements.

Using whole log outdoor furniture is a fun and easy way to bring the relaxation of an old log cabin right into your at-home outdoor space.    Consider your material options to ensure you make the best decision, and coordinate pieces that complement each other, as well as the architecture of your home or backyard structure.

Have Fun!

Hazel.

As the heat of summer sweeps the nation, porches and patios are quickly becoming vacation destinations for families and friends.  Whether you’re hoping your outdoor space will be a hub of social activity or a sanctuary of escape, designing a porch that suits your needs exactly will allow you to enjoy your outdoor space to its fullest potential.

Furniture: Your porch furniture is sure to define your entire space.  For an outdoor room to feel comfortable, it has to be furnished like a true room. Find outdoor deep seating collections or outdoor dining sets that are pre-selected to match.  It makes it a no-fail solution.  Plus, buying in groups usually saves you money

Lighting: Using outdoor lighting will let you enjoy your porch for longer.  While many porches do have an overhead light source, using outdoor lamps creates more ambient tones that make your porch feel more like home. “I have an outdoor ceiling fan with a built in light,” said Lauren Klock, a homeowner in the middle of a porch re-decorating project.  “The fan moves the air to keep the breeze going and the bugs away, and the lighting element is great for evening get-togethers.”

Drapes, Rugs and Pillows: Outdoor curtains, rugs, and outdoor furniture pillows can soften the edges of a porch and truly finish an outdoor space. Mary Morris, author of Front-Porch-Ideas-and-More.com said “A lovely outdoor rug can sure pull together an outdoor space like nothing else: it is soft for bare feet and gives your porch a comfortable feel.”  Keep a color scheme in mind when selecting textile elements like outdoor drapes, outdoor rugs, pillows and outdoor furniture cushions.  Making sure all of your softer pieces coordinate will streamline your design.

Morris also suggests letting the garden do the decorating.  “Grace your porch with seasonal potted plants, hanging baskets and vases of fresh fragrant flowers.  Dress up your bistro table with a vase of fresh flowers from your garden. Lilacs, gerbera daisies, vincas, roses, even fresh herbs are nice.”

Selecting the right patio furniture, porch lighting and outdoor textiles will create an outdoor space that you can’t wait to enjoy.