4 Inexpensive Yet Effective Ideas for Outdoor Living Areas
By DeAngelo Sage, Wardrobe Closets Editor and Interior Designer.
Outdoor living areas can be as simple or as complex as you’d like to make them. I prefer to make them somewhere in between with a strong emphasis on leveraging simple, used objects in my favor. It’s not only more fun this way but it saves money and creates a much more unique outdoor living design at the same time that visitors will remember. Here are some of my favorite tips you might want to incorporate in your outdoor living space.
The Parachute Cover
Who would’ve thought it’d be so easy to take a parachute and set it up as a huge outdoor shade? Get yourself an inexpensive parachute from a flea market or military surplus store and an extra set of hands to help you set it up. Stretch it out and set it up underneath tent poles or if the angle is right, simply hang it from a tree.
A Cheaper Gazebo
Gazebos are wonderful but a costly thing to set up – unless you use a folding gazebo. Described as a blend between an outdoor living room inside a tent, a folding gazebo and can set up (and taken down) in a matter of minutes. Most models cost around $100.
Inexpensive Outdoor Folding Chairs
A simple set of outdoor folding chairs will give extra visitors a place to sit without costing you much money at all. When not in use, simply fold and store on the side of the house or in a shed to keep them out of site and protected from the elements.
Tree Stumps
When I was a kid I’d always watch my Dad work a chainsaw against the trees that had fallen after a big storm. Eventually the tree would turn into firewood but the stumps were always used in creative ways. After treating the wood (and sometimes without treating it) they make a perfect seat or seating area. For a nice visual effect, try placing several tree stumps in a circle. This is perfect for a campfire.