INSTALL-IT-DIRECT

A tea garden is simply a dedicated space where you can grow your own tea ingredients. For the strictest definition of tea, this will include Camellia sinensis, but it is still a tea garden if you do not grow traditional tea leaves and, instead, grow a variety of herbs to make herbal teas. If you do not have space for an in-ground garden or raised garden beds, many herbs used for making tea can be grown in containers. This means you can have a container tea garden tucked away ...in a corner of your yard or on your porch or balcony. If you happen to have the space, you could also make a more formal tea garden where you can both grow your own tea ingredients and invite your friends over to enjoy afternoon tea. This type of tea garden would include a seating area and, perhaps, even a structure for tea ceremonies. If you decide to go this route, you will want to discuss this with your landscape designer to include this space and its features in your professional landscape design.

Building raised garden beds is an easy, do-it-yourself home improvement project that almost any homeowner can do. There are plenty of options that require only minimal handiness, and some require just a few basic tools, such as a tape measure and a shovel or hoe. Once you have gathered your materials, you can install a raised bed or two in an afternoon, and you can easily create an entire backyard garden as a weekend project. Before we go into how to make a raised garden bed, let’s look at a few of the reasons you might want to go this route for your garden.

Understanding the basics of landscape design principles will inform the way you design your outdoor living areas and overall landscaping. These principles help both homeowners and professional designers create functional, visual appealing outdoor spaces that have a cohesive, harmonious look. Before you design or redesign your landscape, go through this list of eight principles to better understand how each ties into creating a unified space that will serve your purposes and is pleasing to the eye.

Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, many folks were trying their hand at raising backyard chickens to save money on eggs, lower their carbon footprint, ensure their eggs come from well-treated hens, and enjoy some of the side benefits of keeping chickens, such as natural pest and weed control and getting nutrient-rich manure to add to their gardens. Then the pandemic hit and along with it came egg shortages brought on by the sudden increase in baking, all of us cooking m...ore at home, and some folks clearing the shelves and hoarding them. This has led to an increased interest in raising backyard chickens, which has resulted in an increased need for backyard chicken coops. A backyard chicken coop is a great quarantine project since this is a DIY build that you can do alone or as a family over the course of a weekend or a few days. Plus, while your interest in backyard chickens might be due to the egg shortage right now, you will likely enjoy having them and will continue to benefit from gathering fresh eggs from your backyard long after the pandemic wanes. https://www.installitdirect.com/learn/backyard-chicken-coop/

Home automation is a growing trend that helps us make our homes safer, makes our lives easier, and allows us to spend less time maintaining our indoor and outdoor living spaces and more time enjoying them. Many homeowners now use their smartphones to answer their door, turn on the lights, make sure they locked the door when they left, and turn up the AC before they get home. With all of the technological advances that make smart home automation even easier and more convenient..., there is no reason to stop at just automating your interior lights or putting your robotic vacuum on a daily cleaning schedule. Now you can also modernize your outdoor living spaces with an expanding array of outdoor tech options to reduce the time you spend on yard work, make your property safer, and make spending time in your backyard even more enjoyable. Here are 11 outdoor tech options for modern backyards...

The act of meditation is thousands of years old and is practiced around the world. Some meditate to reduce stress and manage anxiety, some to lower blood pressure and improve their health, some to look inward for reflection and spiritual growth. The benefits of meditation are many and can be enhanced even further by combining them with the health benefits of spending time outdoors. Some of these benefits include reducing stress, boosting your immunity, improving sleep, increa...sing longevity, and even reducing inflammation If you have a regular meditation practice, you likely already have a favorite spot in your home for meditating. This might be a dedicated meditation studio, or it could be a comfy chair in the corner of your living room. To expand your options and combine the benefits of meditation and those of being outdoors, now is the perfect time to create a backyard meditation space where you can take your practice outside where there is fresh air, sunshine, and nature. An outdoor meditation area can be as simple as a cushion or yoga mat on your patio. After all, you do not need any special tools or a particular setting in order to meditate. You only need a comfortable spot where you can sit or lie down while quieting your mind and focusing on your breath. If you have a favorite bench or chair in your outdoor living area or garden, you might already have the perfect spot for outdoor meditation. If not, or if you want to create a more personalized space for your practice, here are tips and design ideas to inspire you and get you started.

We are all spending more time at home these days, which, for many of us, means spending as much time as possible in our backyards. The outdoor living areas we once used to host weekend barbecues and dinner parties are now functioning as outdoor offices or providing a much-needed opportunity to enjoy a little fresh air and sunshine while keeping ourselves and our loved ones safer at home. To make your outdoor living areas even more beautiful, functional, and comfortable, here are five DIY home improvement projects that you can complete during quarantine. Not only will they make isolating at home more enjoyable you will also keep loving these outdoor improvements once you can finally go back to hosting those famous dinner parties and bringing your family and friends together for a backyard cookout.

If you are feeling a bit cooped up these days but cannot get away for a camping trip to the mountains or the beach, now might be a good time to plan a staycation that will get you out of the house and allow you to enjoy some of the best aspects of a camping trip. Sleeping under the stars, spending time with your partner or family, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, and telling stories around the campfire can all happen right in your backyard. Since you will be only a short wa...lk from your house, backyard camping takes little preparation and comes with the comforts and conveniences of home, such as real bathrooms and being able to run inside if you forgot the graham crackers for the s’mores. For some, backyard camping might entail sleeping on cozy patio furniture after grilling a fantastic meal in your outdoor kitchen. Those who want more of an authentic camping experience can pitch a tent or roll out sleeping bags on the lawn, use flashlights to make their way through the dark, and cook on a camp stove or a Dutch oven on a tripod. However you decide to camp, backyard camping is a fun, inexpensive way to get out of the house and experience something different when you are not able to venture far from home. Here are seven fun ideas to help you plan your next backyard camping staycation.

The past few months have seen a huge transition to working from home. Companies have invested in the tools required for employees to be productive and stay connected remotely, employees have carved out workspaces in bedrooms and closets, and everyone has realized that successfully working from home is much more possible than previously thought. Employees are more productive without the multiple distractions that come with offices filled with coworkers, and companies are seein...g the potential for saving money by reducing office space. We are all finding that technology makes working from home easy and convenient, so it is not a surprise that some of the first companies to announce that working from home will become a permanent option are in the tech sector. There are many advantages to working from home, including reducing your commute time to zero, saving money on lunches and business attire, spending more time with your family, and increased options to achieve work-life balance. Since you may continue to work from home well into the future, the option to work outdoors is worth exploring. Being outside can increase concentration and productivity. It can also reduce stress and help us think more clearly. Aside from these obvious advantages, being outside is simply more enjoyable, so if we have the choice between working indoors or working outdoors, most of us are going to opt for the outdoor office every time.

If you share your home with cats or dogs and have upholstery, carpet or rugs, you can be pretty sure that you are going to be dealing with urine smells at some point. Accidents are bound to happen, so it is only a matter of time before each of us pet parents will be trying to figure out how to get urine smell out of carpet. And, if it is not your carpet, it is sure to be your favorite rug, your newest throw pillow, or the sofa. Of course, indoors might not be the only place y...ou have carpet or other textiles with unwanted smells. You may be having issues with dog or cat urine on patio rugs, outdoor cushions, or the carpet or artificial grass in your outdoor catio. Whether your urine smells are on indoor or outdoor textiles, you need to choose the right product to make sure you are really removing them and not just temporarily masking the odor. You also need to make sure you are using a product that is safe to use in areas frequented by kids or pets... See more

Southern California’s moderate climate means that you can grow just about anything you would like with at least some success. So, whether you love asparagus, apples, celery, or zucchini, you can give them a try in your garden. Of course, there are some fruits and vegetables that grow particularly well here and are better choices for beginner gardeners or folks looking for bigger harvests. To help you decide what to grow, here are 15 of the best fruits and vegetables to grow in Southern California...

The urine smell you are most likely referring to is ammonia which is a chemical compound composed of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3). When organic matter, like urine, decomposes it can generate the toxic substance ammonia, which produces the foul unpleasant odor you recognize in your yard where your pets go to the bathroom. Waste (i.e. urine, feces, etc.) from humans and animals happens to be abundant in nitrogen and as it breaks down, the nitrogen is converted to ammonia, a colo...rless gas, which gives off the pungent odor. So the question becomes how can we get rid of the urine smell (a.k.a. the ammonia smell)? The answer ...

Figuring out which home improvements you would like to complete is pretty easy for most people. Figuring out how to pay for those home improvements is generally more challenging. While most folks are able to spring for a few cans of paint or new doorknobs to spruce things up a bit, it is another matter when it comes to major repairs or significant improvements. If dipping into your savings is not an option or you just would rather not, there are several financing options to c...onsider. These include getting a home equity line of credit, refinancing your home, applying for an unsecured home improvement loan, qualifying for government grants, or using existing credits lines, such as credit cards. If you are making improvements that will conserve water or energy, you may also be able to offset your project costs with rebates or tax credits. Before we go into home improvement loan options, let’s first take a look at the difference between loans and grants.

A pergola is an outdoor structure generally used to cover or provide shade over a patio, walkway, or other outdoor living area. The structure includes vertical posts or pillars supporting beams with rafters or latticework. The roof section of a pergola may be left open or may have a cover that is permanent or operational, such as a retractable fabric shade. Pergolas with an open roof structure are sometimes adorned with vines, such as wisteria or bougainvillea, which provide shade and visual interest. Pergolas are most often made from wood, metal, or vinyl. The pillars supporting the beams are sometimes masonry. The structure can be freestanding or it can be attached to a house or other building.