Patio Cushions Left Out: The Slow Rot Problem
I currently own twenty seven outdoor cushions. Twenty seven. I counted them properly last week, laid every single one out on my building’s shared roof deck like some kind of…
Fire Pit on a Deck: Where the Heat Really Goes
I was out on the deck at seven in the morning, before work, doing the least glamorous task known to homeownership: sweeping ash off the boards with a dustpan that’s…
Patio Table: What Belongs on It Through the Seasons
I counted the other day, out of pure nosiness about my own habits, and I go out to that patio table roughly eleven times a day between April and October.…
Outdoor Coffee Table: Built for Weather First
My mom walked into my backyard in July, looked at the new coffee table, and said, “Chloe, that thing looks like it’s already been through a hurricane.” I told her…
Outdoor Light Color: What Suits a Yard or Patio
My sister Maddie walked onto my patio last June, looked straight up at the string of bulbs I’d just spent forty five minutes untangling and clipping to the fence, and…
Outdoor Lighting Temperature: What to Pick for the Yard
I checked my porch light app the other night, out of boredom more than anything, and it turns out I’ve adjusted my outdoor lighting temperature eleven times since April. Eleven.…
Fire Pit on Grass: Protecting the Lawn
I own six separate things whose entire job is to stop my fire pit from murdering my lawn. Six. A heat resistant mat that lives folded in the shed for…
Under an Outdoor Rug: Pads, Drainage and Deck Protection
I ruined a rug in one season and I want to be very clear about how avoidable that was, because the whole thing came down to a decision I made…
Chiminea on a Deck: Rules Worth Knowing First
I bought my first chiminea because a colleague at school posted a photo of hers on a Friday afternoon in October, looking extremely pleased with herself, glass of wine in…
What Goes in the Bottom of a Wood Burning Fire Pit
Seven. I own seven wood burning fire pits, which is a sentence I did not expect to type with a straight face when I started writing this, and yet here…