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!

Like closing up your cabin for the winter, certain measures should be taken to brace your patio and its patio furniture for colder months. Post-hibernation however, it is equally as important to inspect and treat a patio in the spring for the bumps and bruises that can occur while we were inside. Thankfully for our weary, cold weather spirits, springtime weather is just around the corner and with the help of these hints on how to spring your patio back into action, you’ll officially be ready for the sun.

1)  If your patio is concrete, make sure it’s free of cracks before bringing your outdoor furniture out of your garden shed.  To do this, first make sure that all of the outdoor decor is  cleared off. Then, with either caulk or epoxy, begin to fill in any of the cracks. You’ll want to add sand to epoxy for aesthetic purposes – making it a perfect match of the concrete – and then smooth over the epoxy just as you would flatten out concrete itself.

2)    Using a concrete sealant after filling in the cracks will help prevent future cracking. You should first make sure the area is swept, and cleaned with an acidic cleaning agent to best remove stains, before applying the sealant to the patio.

3)    Look over all of the patio furniture for damaged areas and reconfigure the pieces on the patio. You may notice a bit of rust or patina to the garden furniture, so if necessary repaint, reupholster, or purchase new additions as needed. Set them out according to a plan you have in mind from the previous year, or adjust as necessary.

4)    Speaking of new additions, one thing you’ll definitely want to add this year, if   you don’t have one already, is a grill. Together with the outdoor furniture, bringing a grill into the scene adds a charming outdoor dining effect and is convenient for warm summer parties. If you have one already, make sure it’s positioned right where you want it, equipped with its tools and gas or coal, and polished up for use.

If you go through the simple steps of ensuring your patio is topped off with all cracks filled, all outdoor furniture touched up, and with a new sealant, all you’ll need then is to pull out the grill and do some entertaining to officially get rid of the winter blues!

The quintessential patio chair – tried and true since their inception in 1903 when eleven pieces of wood cut from a single board made their shape – Adirondack chairs are a crowd favorite for entertaining in the backyard, rocking on the front porch, and even folding up when space is needed. It seems that whatever the purpose, an Adirondack chair has a solution for the problem. Thin, reclined, and with a great geometry that accounts for the comfort we seek in an outdoor patio chair, the Adirondack chair varieties serve almost all of our basic human needs in everlasting style.

Treated Pine Kennebunkport Chair: Named after the town in York County, Maine that is known well for its reputation as “a summer haven for the wealthy”, the Kennebunkport Adirondack chair uses Treated Pine in this classy version. Hand-crafted and durable from the nature of its wood, this chair uses galvanized bolts, washers, and nuts to finish out the Adirondack chair’s stylish appearance and help it to sit tall and strong forever.

Polywood Adirondack Rocker: Rocking in the already reclined comfort of an Adirondack chair is a beautiful way to spend the afternoon. Knowing it is made from a Polywood material, or polyethylene plastic lumber, makes you feel that much more at ease knowing you’re keeping forests in tact and plastics out of the landfill. Use this classic porch rocker on your porch or as a set on your patio by the pool. Wherever it decides to rest, a Polywood frame with stainless steel hardware adorning your outdoor living area makes the simple things in life the most pleasurable.

3) Eucalyptus Stained Folding Adirondack Chair: Likely a conversation piece wherever it rocks, the Eucalyptus Stained Folding Adirondack Chair is as apparently luxurious as it is sturdy. Often related to the Teak outdoor furniture whose natural oils help create long-lasting outdoor furniture sets, the FSC Certified Eucalyptus wood is dense and gorgeous when paired with stainless and galvanized steel hardware. To make it even better, this Folding Adirondack chair made it onto this list for its ability to do just as it states – fold up and be put away easily for events, dining or ray of sunshine that comes your way.

4) Red Cedar Southern Wide Slat Adirondack Chair: With massive 5” wide back slats for full body support, the design of this Red Cedar Southern Wide Slat Adirondack Chair lends itself to a great afternoon read or conversation without worry. The deep seating area provides plentiful comfort and lumbar support while the wide arms rest weary limbs at any point during the day. With zinc-plated steel hardware, the Western Red Cedar wood and its 390-lb capacity are a welcome addition to households where size and quality are almost as important as the beautiful design of the patio furniture.

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.

All too often in world of fashion, new styles enter the scene with a bang. Its not before a quick dressing room session and purchase that a silent prayer for comfort is made – since you know you’ll be wearing the non-stretchy skinny jeans or platform wedges regardless. With furniture, trends that range from hard and modern to thick and plush go in and out of style just as quickly as in fashion. This season, we welcome patio deep seating to the mix as one of the hottest – and thankfully, one of the most comfortable  styles of the season.

One of the coolest parts about the outdoor deep seating collections hitting the scene this spring is their ability to match a wide range of outdoor furniture you may already have. Take for instance the chic style of a Mission Sofa with cushions.  The outdoor sofa has cushions that come in so many different colors that it will find a way to match your pre-existing collections or outdoor themes.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, take a deeply set outdoor wicker chaise lounge or even a treated wood swingbed. The porch swing swingbed uses the same design as a classic porch swing, but boasts a deep and wide seat.  The deep seat lets loungers lay down and spread out, as if they were swinging on an outdoor porch bed.

Find yourself falling into one of the best pieces of patio furniture fashion with the deep seating collections for your outdoor living area. The robust surface area will prove itself as one of the best, most spacious alternatives to ordinary seating.

As the snow melts and spring is on the horizon, our imaginations run wild with the potential for creating fun outdoor activities in our own backyards. Why not bring the relaxation of an outdoor furniture favorite, the porch swing onto the branch of your favorite tree? This week we present a “How To” on the perfect tree porch swing that will keep your afternoons tranquil.

Although there are numerous ways to throw a rope over a branch and attach it to a swing, one of the most important things to remember about using nature in your outdoor design is understanding how to respect it. First, make sure you’re working with a live tree’s thick branch (measuring 8” in diameter). You’ll want to be sure the swing can hang approximately three feet from the trunk of the tree itself. If positioned too much further, the branch will feel the stress.

It seems contrary to popular belief, but I recommend using a large eye bolt in the branch as opposed to a rope to hang the swing. However, it is actually better for the tree to receive a bolt drilled into it that it can eventually grow around and thrive with rather than a rope that will end up constricting the life of the tree down the road. That said, use galvanized or stainless steel eye bolts measuring 5/8”. To install them, drill holes into the limb that will comfortably hold the bolts. After you insert the bolts all the way – with the eyes tight against the bark – secure them with a large flat washer and two nuts.

Without harming the tree you adore, hang a porch swing over the riverbank, garden, or grassy lawn of your backyard to infuse some movement into the finale of winter.

Hey everyone!

This is Hazel, managing editor of AllOutdoorPatio Furniture.  We’re going to try out a new style of posts today: The Product Round Up!  I’ve always loved perusing the product round ups on other home and garden blogs, so I’m excited to bring this style to our blog today.  Sonja is rounding up patio chairs–Let us know what you think in the comments!

Whether you dream about candlelit dinners on a cool summer evening in the backyard, or the deep seat with wide armrests of a classic adirondack to sit in while you admire the youthful spirit of your kids on a playground, patio chairs are elemental to your outdoor living space. In our product round-up this week we’ve highlighted four of the best patio chairs on the market – from the high back settee designs to the interesting fanback dining chairs – that will make your summer days and nights feel complete.

1) Oak Rocker Recliner

Made from 100% Solid Oak with zinc-plated steel hardware, the Oak Rocker Recliner uses rounded edges and smooth, inviting horizontal slats – with no levers or springs – to create the perfect patio chair. Finished in a clear oil to protect against weathering, the durability of this dual-functioning rocker/recliner includes a head cushion for a proportional finish from head to toe.

2) Treated Pine Fanback Patio Chair

Using treated pine with galvanized bolts, washers, and nuts signifies longevity in outdoor furniture. This pine patio chair contains a unique fanned design instead of slats on the backrest that put it in class of its own. Couple the chair with another and a side table facing out towards the yard or even a large patio table for a dining chair look. With cedar staining available on this deep seat with contoured back, it can be matched to other outdoor furnishings easily.

3) Cypress Adirondack Chair

For the best in traditional patio chair design working the Adirondack angle, the Cypress Adirondack Chair with stainless steel hardware tops the list. Ultra-reclined by nature, the characteristics of an Adirondack shine through from start to finish. The modern spin to this comfortable chair, compared to the others, is the variety of fun colors available. Classic and bold in structure and finish, nothing quite says “take a load off” like wide arm rests after a long day at work.

4) Red Cedar Royal Highback Settee

Like the loveseat of outdoor patio furniture design, this Red Cedar Royal Highback Settee is a relatively new design to the market. Made from Western Red Cedar and zinc-plated steel hardware, it is a high-back, no-frills approach to gorgeous double seats for the lawn or outdoor patio area. Offering lower lumbar support and a small table in the middle, the Royal Highback Settee design was derived from the award-winning, Highback Swing design.

Whether you’re searching for a patio chair in red cedar, treated pine, oak or cypress… you can find the right mix of style and practicality in any material.

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.