Display It

Display It Frame a little patio with a glowing  lattice grill screen, which enriches privacy and gives a room-like feel to an outdoor space. This screen project uses 4x4-foot posts to serve as an outdoor wall, specify patio space and assist conceal plastic storage bins.



Switch a Tray to a Tabletop Use a metal tray to turn a cheap stool into a cheap side table, or produce the stand as a DIY job. It is possible to use the tray for holding drinks or even potting supplies.



Build in a Bar Take a corner of your patio and set it to use within an entertaining area. A bar is built in under the kitchen window in this outdoor area with a fire pit by DesignFix, a California interior design firm. The bar, which has a red acrylic shirt, is encouraged by ornamental wood roofing brackets. Rope lighting underneath makes the bar seem cool at night, says designer Amanda Giles.



Snag a Striped Piece This stunning striped table was actually snagged on Craigslist for a condominium balcony by WAKE LOOM Design. Designers Gabriela Eisenhart and Holly Conlan often hunt at second-hand stores and on Craigslist to discover one-of-a-kind bits for less. To make the folding wood and metal chairs more comfy, the designers included a Mexican throw and patterned pillow.



Think Tall With small distances, sometimes the sky is your limit. "Add verticality. Small spaces require an element to draw your eye up," says Derrick Lepard founder of Cultivators Design and Landscape. When you put in height, such as the bamboo in a container within this Atlanta courtyard, you do not need to spend cash on plants to fill every area across the wall or fence.



Locate a Fountain for You Employing a black railing may fit with conventional or contemporary architecture of a patio or porch, and it may help the railing or a fence appear to fade away when you are trying to relax and revel in the view. This black railing employs steel cables, but Mosaic Group Architects and Remodelers  additionally has recreated the appearance on a lower budget. Mosaic spray-painted a chain-link fence black and discovered the result is much less obvious and the weapon more likely to fade into the background than using a silver chain link fence.



Use Slimming Black This terrace features a new dining table and containers with a vibrant patina. Buy cheap containers on closeout at a local home and garden shop and take thinned latex paint and perform a wash for an aged/weathered look, says Atlanta interior designer Steve McKenzie.



Brighten Up the Bland In a little area, you are already saving money by not purchasing a big outdoor furniture collection, but reduce your costs even more by seeing home decor and garden stores after Labor Day for end-of-season bargains on things such as seats. If you discover a used set of seats rather, you can spray paint the metal to freshen the finish, '' says designer Julie Montgomery.



Shop End-of-Season Sales Recover wood or metal chairs in a fun fabric, to add panache into a bistro set.



Splash on Color Bring texture into outside spaces with materials, like these net hanging screens made   with a roll of chicken wire and wood, or hunt for old chicken wire or mesh doors at building material salvage centers that are conducted by charitable organizations.



Add Mesh Details A matching patio set can be a nod, but you can draw inspiration from your table top. To glam a wicker dining table you own or a yard sale item, add a mirror or a piece of glass to the top.



Update a Table With Glass Architect and Designer Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson using Terracotta Design Build at Atlanta found five mounts piled up in a tiny store on the side of the street. They were bits of houses that had been demolished, but she loved the gray-blue patina and their scale. "Even in the event that you have a brand new house, accessorizing with found objects is a fantastic way to impart texture and charm and character without having to spend an arm and leg," she says.



Find a Cool Architectural Item Add a shine to a porch or patio with copper lighting. To do this look on a budget, you can take copper buckets, tubs or big bowls, which you may discover fresh for less than $50, and drill a hole in the base, states designer Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson using Terracotta Design Build at Atlanta. Insert a light kit, that can be sold from $5-$20, depending upon the finish, and you have one-of-a-kind exterior lighting.



Class It Up Using Copper Lighting Spaces underneath the deck can be unsightly, so display the perspective below the deck with vines or hanging displays, says Holly Brooks of King Landscaping in Atlanta. If you enjoy gardening, animal troughs can also serve as planters, rather than traditional elevated garden beds.



Shield Unused Spaces with Screens A bar table could offer a cool space to have a drink without taking up too much space in a small space. This DIY outdoor pub table is made from 2-by-4s that are cut into same-size cubes and glued together, then attached to a rack made of metal pipes and fittings, says Amanda Giles with DesignFix, a California interior design company. The dining table is accessorized with inexpensive metal stools.



Bring a High-Top Table A round glass table is an ideal choice for small spaces because of its compact form and its barely-there appearance. You can locate them at yard sales and decorate the legs, or set together legs from a different table with a piece of glass, instead of buying a new piece. If you are looking for glassware, you frequently can locate pieces at thrift stores run by charitable organizations says Michiel Perry, founder and curator of Dark Southern Belle.



Gather Around a Glass Table A semi-tarnished champagne bucket or used water pitcher may make a chic and one of a kind flower vase, '' states Michiel Perry, founder of Black Southern Belle. If you have a covered porch or patio, then don't be reluctant to purchase indoor bits and spray paint with outside protectant, '' she adds. Also, you may create a bar cart by buying an present side table or thrift store steal and gluing a menu you own to the top. Then paint it stamp it with your initials or some welcome message for guests.



New Use for Champagne Buckets Prop up container crops on unexpected items, including an old fashioned stool, to add elevation to a tabletop display, as seen here.



Pick Out a Cute Pedestal Based upon the design of your terrace, an outdoor shower could be part of your layout and create an interesting focus. If you've got outdoor plumbing, you are on your way to making this potential, says Leigh Spicher, Ashton Woods' national manager of design studios. Frame a small enclosure and treat with a teak accent. This one by Ashton Woods designers extends over the wall, but yours will be less detailed and require fewer materials. You are also able to use the bathtub to wash your container plants. Or find instructions to build your own DIY outdoor shower here.



Opt for an External Deck Refresh a indoor bar cart to make it outdoor-ready. Design blogger Alaya Sheardon spent $20 to a pub cart from a thrift store and sprayed it with slate grey rust-preventative paint. She then painted the shelves using a stencil and covered it in white paint to get a textured look. Now it retains container plants and supplies on the terrace.



Bring New Look and Goal to a Cart A small space is a superb location for a vertical garden, which one cost less than $10. Layout blogger Alaya Sheardon used a crib frame that was headed for the dumpster. She found pails for $1 each and poked holes into the floor to help drain water. She wrapped the headphones from shower curtain hooks and spray painted the framework bright white.



Design a Vertical Garden This side table is really a vintage painters' bench, which can be low enough to the ground to operate together with the low-slung red Adirondack chairs. California-based DesignFix also used recycled rock gravel and string lights when designing this small side yard.

A Caterer Knows

A Caterer Knows Peter Callahan was a secretary for 26 years and has arranged everything out of over-the-top engagement parties into U.S. State Department soirees. Though it's just him, his wife, Josephine, and their daughter, Juliet, 12, at the house, Peter designed his very own 1920s Haverford, Pa., kitchen "for rapid flow like a kitchen."



Smart Design The real genius of Peter's area is that, despite its own hard-working design, it seems personal and homey. "Our kitchen provides us the opportunity to do things as a family. We cook together, examine recipes and have great conversations in-house."



Storage-Packed Island The Callahans designed a 5 1/2-foot-by-6 1/2-foot island at IKEA with the shop's premade parts, then additional stainless steel. Open shelving at one end holds pans and pots, and cabinetry onto both shops small appliances. There are plenty of drawers to stash flatware, linens, plates and bowls in most sizes.



Restaurant-Worthy Hood Peter paired a residential Viking range with a commercial-grade Zephyr hood, which has an extra-powerful exhaust fan. "The best fish and steak dishes will need to be seared in a super-high warmth to make a tasty crispy crust," he states. "But only the top hoods can handle the amount of smoke which emits."



Lighting Mix A curvy iron chandelier hangs above the island, and the other lights that the butler's pantry. The appliances are cancel by both. But since a hard-working kitchen needs more than fairly fixtures to operate, the Callahans' space also has lighting under the cabinets and at the range hood to spotlight cook and prep spaces.



Cabinet Restoration The Callahans preserved most of the Shaker-style cabinet doors and rebuilt the ones that were in bad shape to match the originals. "Restoring rather than replacing saved the character of the distance," says Peter. They also turned out the first brass hardware for a similar style in nickel to match the stainless steel appliances.



Commercial Fridge Peter set up a restaurant-grade fridge in the kitchen plus a freezer in the butler's pantry, each with the potential for residential components, but stripped of crisper drawers and door shelves. A bonus of commercial refrigeration: an external thermometer for precise temperature management.



Family Message Center In the pass-through between the kitchen and the butler's pantry hangs a plank with a roll of white butcher paper so the Callahans can make lists and leave notes for one another. The whole unit is metal, so magnets adhere to it also. To get a similar look, try out the Wall-Mount Craft Storage Rack With Corkboard ($129, grandinroad.com).



Semi-Custom Shelves Creating a built-in look doesn't need to break your bank. The Callahans bought the unit to the glass canisters at a junk store for approximately $300. To make it blend into the area, they included molding, cut and hardware that match the rest of the cabinets.



Marble Countertop Following is a smart notion that customizes a space: The IKEA island is topped with Carrara marble (the remainder of the kitchen counters are black granite). The top was made by sandwiching two 1 1/2-inch-thick bits to produce a single 3-inch slab -- a luxe look for a fraction of the purchase price.



Butler's Pantry "Renovations today tend to tear out the butler's pantry and make the kitchen one big open space, but it had been among the things which I fell in love with the house," says Peter. A favorite first feature: the built-in cutting board beside the sink.



Stainless Steel Sink "We are big fans of stainless for the sink since we tend to knock around heavy pots, and stainless is fairly invincible," says Peter. "And I like the sink to be deep for washing fruit and veggies."



Wine Storage Glass-front cabinets are only the place to show off collections, and the Callahans' is quite diverse. They picked up the blue goblets to use outdoors, and even though they're plastic, they seem equally as pretty as the green glass pitcher and water glasses, and also the more formal china.



Dishes on Screen Inspired by her grandmother, who decorated her kitchen with family photos in black eyeglasses, Josephine covered nearly every inch of empty wall space with 88 photographs of her Peter's households, going back many generations. To cut back on framing costs, she had a carpenter build customized frames out of glass and cheap molding in The Home Depot, which she spray-painted black. "I love being surrounded by photographs from all phases of the family's life," says Peter. "They are probably my favourite items in the room."



Photo Gallery Wall "We use olive oil every single day, and this is my favorite. It is delicious and organic." (Paesano organic olive oil, Whole Foods Market stores)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Olive Oil "Bamboo is a good surface to cut, plus it is a renewable source." (Substantial bamboo cutting board, oxo.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Bamboo Cutting Board "I enjoy natural cleaning materials, but they need to work well, also." (Seventh Generation Free & Clear dish liquid and 100% recycled paper towels, grocery stores)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Cleaning Supplies "I use a lot of knives, but I'm partial to Henckels because they stay sharp." (Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro three-piece starter collection, cutleryandmore.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Good Collection of Knives "My novel's packed with recipes for miniature comfort foods, but Joy of Cooking is like my bible." (Bite by Bite, also Joy of Cooking, both barnesandnoble.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Recipe Books "This is my favorite gadget; it could toast even the thickest slices of bread" (Dualit chrome toaster, brookstone.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Deluxe Toaster "I can't live without this ocean salt -- it makes almost anything taste better" (Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, surlatable.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Sea Salt "I'm loyal to All-Clad pots and pans to get their cooking and sturdiness." (All-Clad d5 brushed stainless steel fry pan, williams sonoma.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Heavy-Duty Pans "It's perfect for keeping ingredients and keeping snacks fresh." (Heritage Hill 256-ounce glass jar with lid, crateandbarrel.com.)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Glass Canisters "How I cook, I still want these workhorse scrubbers to clean up afterward!" (Brass wool sponge, All-Spec Industries)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Brass Wool Scrubbers "They made the first stand mixer ; this one's still as strong as ever." (KitchenAid Artisan series stand mixer, macys.com)



Peter's Kitchen Must-Have: Classic Stand Mixer "Organic frozen soup and a baguette make for a great quick dinner" (Tabatchnick organic Tuscany lentil soup, grocery stores)

Horse Crippler Cactus

Horse Crippler Cactus A man who develops the horse crippler eats danger for breakfast after a morning run with scissors. In the wild, this cactus deflates through drought, making spines stand up, easily crippling unsuspecting horses. Sharp spines slide through a military boot like a hot knife through butter. Also known as devil's claw, devil's footstool and devil's mind, this rugged plant grows in states as hot as Hades, withstanding soil temps in excess of 160°F. It adheres well to life in a pot, just store leather gloves at the ready.



'King Cobra' Mangave This plant is indeed masculine it has man in the name! Together with snakey coloration and spiney leaves, this plant delivers the experience guys crave. It has the capability to draw blood or poke your eye out, but if you manage it right, it may not. What man can withstand that siren call of danger? Mangave (pronounced man-GAH-vay--even the name includes a macho ring) is a cross between manfreda and agave. Agave adds the spines; manfreda brings the colour. This butch beauty doesn't need pampering to look its very best. Simply give it a little water and a lot of sunlight.



ZZ Plant Move aside 007, Dual Z has came! This docile-looking houseplant is a superhero in disguise, complete with bulletproof character. It oozes manliness using its maintenance-free demeanor. Those shiny leaves are not waxed and buffed--that is the way they grow. Give this plant low light, warm atmosphere and valuable little water (we are talking water maybe 6 times in 15 weeks). That's all it requires. Dual Z stands for Zamioculcas zamiifolia. It is possible to phone it zamia for short.



Gunnera Any plant using a title which sounds like gun earns a place on the manly plants list. Gunnera, famous in backyard circles as giant rhubarb, conjures dreams of dinosaurs and journeys into the center of the planet. It is so testosterone charged it ought to demand a man card to grow it. Stems have thick spines that continue along leaf undersides. Leaves reach up to 6 feet across--readily earning the "bigger is better" award. 1 tip for success: Continuous moisture, boggy soil and light shade are a must.



'Big Boss Man' Pepper The name says it all. This is the pepper for the large guy at your residence. Plants produce peppers that quantify a whopping 7 inches by 3 inches wide--definitely more than 1 bite. It brings about the same heat as a jalapeno, therefore it's not a pepper for wimps. 'Big Boss Man' is a ancho-poblano form--it's called ancho when dried, poblano when new. Stuff it with cheese, wrap it in bacon and toss it on the grill for a snack no man can resist.



Venus Flytrap Half pet, half plant--venus flytrap is the best match for a red meat-loving man. Like any real man, this plant needs protein to endure. Its meat-eating appetite craves bugs, specifically flies and rodents. But these carnivores are known to eat caterpillars, grasshoppers, wasps and even small frogs. You may want to keep small pets away from this beast. Insects trip miniature hair activates on the trap leaves, causing them to snap closed in less than 20 seconds.



Festival Burgundy Cordyline The title appears to be a party, but this plant features a rocky personality that withstands heat, drought and sizzling summer sunshine. It's the perfect texture for a man cave patio, coupling colour with incredible growing power. You'll make compliments for its great looks without actually needing to do anything --making it the perfect low-maintenance plant! Where it is not winter hardy, haul it indoors (show off your muscles while doing this) and use it again next year (less plant purchasing and money savings). What's not to adore?



Tuff Stuff Mountain Hydrangea Do not let the pretty face on this tree fool you. Tuff Stuff is one hydrangea that takes its own licks like a man, withstanding warm summer sun without wilting and subzero temps without damaging blossom buds. It's a reblooming hydrangea, meaning it makes any man look good with its always great appearances. It is the ideal addition to a patio garden, in which it could bring beauty--and bragging rights--to backyard barbecues.



Boxwood Hedge Let us face it, boxwood could be boring. However, for a true man, a easy boxwood hedge won't cut it. He will draft blueprints, dig out the tape measure, rope line and maybe even a caliper or two, and tackle making his monster clipping Edward Scissorhands masterpiece. If your guy likes gadgets, this is the opportunity to get him a laser level and cordless clippers. Once he's completed, a drone may be next on the gift list--to capture aerial views of his invention and reveal his buds how it is done.



'Cream Spike' Agave Small but lethal, this attractiveness grows a just 4 inches high by 12 inches wide, creating a definite danger zone packed with prickly possible. Agave spines often pierce deeply, drawing blood. Forget safety goggles after growing this one--ensure your tetanus shot is current. The weird markings on the leaves are imprints left by the foliage border spines as leaves unfurl. Agaves don't need much in the way of care. Full sun, little water plus a well-draining soil keeps things copacetic.



'Purple Robe' Locust Following is a tree that displays a man's dudely smarts in picking out plants because it's a stunner. Purple blossoms in spring prevent visitors. Additionally, it gives him a opportunity to play with power tools, including leash and chipper-shredder. This tree forms thickets if you do not keep after it. In wind storms, brittle branches burst, giving another opportunity to break out the chainsaw. For a guy who longs to rev up his power tools, this tree has bromance written all over it.



Musclewood This native tree has a muscle-rippled trunk and tough-as-nails constitution. How hard is it? It's used in shopping mall island plantings in Atlanta. (Now that's tough.) It tolerates flood, drought, and light color, sunlight--and has great fall color. The dense, hard wood has been used to make tool handles, golf clubs, walking sticks along with the weapon that every red-blooded male longs to shoot: the longbow. This tree also goes by a far less glamorous names: American hornbeam and blue beech.



Dwarf Mugo Pine Give your guy a plant that makes his lawn the finest on the block--with hardly any work. Mugo pine develops gradually, rarely requires trimming and seems good yearlong. It's the Swiss army knife of landscape plants, fitting into foundation plantings, driveway pruning, tree borders or rock gardens. It even blends into a vegetable garden with ease. It is the ideal plant for a busy young daddy or a take-it-easy grandfather who wants lots of free time due to his grands.



Home Run Rose What's more attractive to a woman than a man with roses? A man with roses he climbed himself! With Home Run rose, fresh flowers are in season--with precious little effort demanded. This shrub rose's father is the famous Knock Out, meaning Home Run tolerates drought, salt and heat and shrugs off disorder like a guy shrugs at broccoli. To put it differently, any dude can develop it. Clip the flowers to your lady and let her see that your sensitive side. Score!