It seems like everyone is trying to make better use of their outdoor areas these days, and one of the most popular things to do is to put in a new BBQ area. You can make it as fancy or as simple as you’d like, but the bottom line is you will be set up better than ever for those awesome summer gatherings you love to host. Before you start doing anything though, check out the following guide to setting up a new BBQ area.

Get a new BBQ

If you are going to go to the trouble of setting up a new BBQ area, this is probably your best excuse ever to go ahead and upgrade your BBQ as well. BBQs these days are miles ahead of those made even 10 years back, so take your time and research what’s out there, because your new BBQ area needs an awesome new BBQ to do it justice.

Pave an outdoor area

Without a deck or a patio ready made to put your BBQ on, you are going to need to establish some sort of hard, sturdy space for your new BBQ area. The easiest solution is to pave a small area in your backyard. Paving is cheap and easy to do yourself, and you’ll want to have somewhere flat for your table too, so pick out a nice spot that gets at least a little bit of shade, and pave a new BBQ area for yourself.

Outdoor furniture

You are definitely going to need some comfortable outdoor furniture for your new spot, because more often than not in the summer it will be far nicer to eat outside. If nothing else, get your place a few decent chairs and a table so that it is easy for you to just shift your BBQ dinner plans outside.

Cover

Having some means of providing a covering for your BBQ area will make it a far more usable spot, because apart from needing some shade while you are summer BBQing, you may need some shelter from the rain out of season as well. You can get anything from a large umbrella to remote control retractable awnings, so make sure you at least have enough cover so that you aren’t getting cooked or drowned out there

Additional support

If your new BBQ area is quite a distance from your kitchen and the main part of your house, consider some extra support for your area down there by having an extra refrigerator or freezer set up. It may be as simple as running an extension cord and having a small protected area for your small appliances built — it is definitely worth looking into.

It is a good idea to have a look online and in design magazines to see what other people are doing with their BBQ areas, and even talk to the people at your local home outfitter store about some of your ideas. Your BBQ area can easily become your favourite part of your home.

Setting Up a New BBQ Area is a post from: Price Pirate

If you have worked in the restaurant industry in the last 15 years, seeing stainless steel in the kitchen is certainly nothing new. And as people have started getting more professional with their cooking at home, stainless steel can be seen popping up all over the place in modern residential kitchens too. There are many advantages to using stainless steel; the following looks briefly at some of the many benefits of using stainless steel for a cleaner kitchen, whether in the restaurant or at home.

Easy to clean

One of the biggest reasons for the rise in popularity of stainless steel in modern kitchens is that it is extremely easy to clean. Stainless steel won’t absorb dirt and won’t be compromised by smudges or greasy fingerprints, all of which are easily wiped away using warm soapy water. As the name says, stainless steel won’t rust, stain or discolour, which will save you a lot of elbow grease throughout the years as well.

Looks good for longer

Unlike surfaces like wood, plastic or those that have been painted or treated, stainless steel will not fade or discolour, and by cleaning and maintaining it regularly, even its shine should last quite a few years.

More hygienic

One of the many benefits of stainless steel being non-porous is that there is nowhere for bacteria to make a home, making it the most hygienic surface to have in your kitchen. Wood and plastic can both come to house billions of bacteria, so even just having stainless steel plating on your dishwasher, refrigerator or other appliances can help eliminate the potential for bacteria to establish a home. Especially if you have kids, pets or both, consider some stainless steel upgrades in the interest of everyone’s health.

Modern and sleek

Stainless steel has a wonderfully clean, sharp and modern look that goes with pretty much anything, so if you want your kitchen to start looking a little more hip, incorporate a little more stainless steel.

Won’t affect food tastes

Unlike most surfaces, stainless steel won’t affect the taste or flavour of any food being prepared, as there is literally nowhere for remnants of any food or flavours to take hold. This is one of the huge reasons stainless steel is regularly used in commercial kitchens, where it is absolutely crucial for everything to taste exactly the same.

Won’t come off

Stainless steel is not a coating, and rather is a solid material, so it won’t chip, peel or come off in any way. This makes it perfect for areas of high wear and tear, such as the kitchen. It can be dangerous preparing food on or near any surface that may flake or become separated, as if it somehow ends up in the food, anything could happen.

Whether you get stainless steel counter tops or as use it as panels for your refrigerator or dishwasher, you will find it easier than ever to keep your kitchen clean and shiny.

Using Stainless Steel for a Cleaner Kitchen is a post from: Price Pirate

Choosing the right heating for your home can be a matter of life and death or, at the very least, a matter of a huge energy bill or not. Make sure you provide just the right level of heating for your home, because while you don’t want to have to be cold, you also don’t want to be wasteful. The following takes a look at some of the different ways that you can choose to heat your home.

Wood fire

If you live in a very small place and have a very large supply of firewood, heating your home this way can be an extremely efficient system. It may require a little more effort in terms of the chopping of all that firewood, but it will surely give you a better appreciation for the amount of resources an average person goes through.

Portable solutions

For those who live in small spaces without access to an endless supply of firewood and an axe, small appliances like ‘space heaters’ can provide that burst of warmth needed to help get out of bed in the morning without taking up too much space. Quite often, once you are out of bed and dressed, the cold seems way more bearable, and by restricting your heat use to only those times when you really need it, you will also be saving a fortune on your energy bills.

Central heating

For those who live in places like Canberra, or even worse, Canada, your heating needs are a little more serious, so you have little choice but to opt for central air conditioners. They work by blowing warm air through ducts throughout the house, and you can control the warmth down to the degree. When used carefully, these systems can be great because you only pay for the heat that you use, but their convenience can make them a trap, so only go this route if you actually live some place cold. Otherwise, stick to your little ‘space heater’.

Plastic it up

If you can’t afford to be wasting money on having the temperature just right, putting some good old-fashioned plastic up on your windows can be enough to do the trick. Cold has a knack of making its way through glass, so your plastic job will prevent it from making it any further. With plastic covering all of your windows, you are sure to gain at least a few degrees.

Don’t use propane

Propane heaters are a great idea for heating an outdoor area, but never use propane inside, as it produces carbon monoxide and can kill you quite quickly without ventilation.

Regardless of how you choose to heat your home, be mindful of the amount of resources you use, because few natural resources will last forever.

Choosing the Right Heating for Your Home is a post from: Price Pirate

Colour design rules for home decorating seem to be changing all the time, but when it comes to smaller and more central parts of your home such as your kitchen, the hard and fast rules have long remained the same. You will likely have heard some of this old-school advice before, so make sure you heed these words of colour wisdom, so that your kitchen can look as awesome as possible.

Use bright or bold colours as accents

While it might seem like a fun idea to paint your entire kitchen a bright colour, painting big areas a bright colour will often create an effect that is a little too intense. Instead, go with colour a bit less vibrant for the main parts of the kitchen, and use your bright, bold colours for accents. This will still provide a vibrant and lively effect without being too overwhelming, and often the smaller the patch of bright colour, the brighter it will appear to be on the wall.

Repetition

It is a good idea to use colour more than once throughout your kitchen, as colour repetition is an effective way to help tie the look and feel of a space together. Consider the art you have that might look good in the kitchen as well, because this may affect the perfect overall colour palate.

Work with your appliances

Unless you can afford to buy new appliances to match your new kitchen look, you are going to have to work around the look of what you have. So while your stainless steel fridge will allow you a lot of options, your bright pink marble wash cooktop may restrict you a little more.

Go a little lighter

Unless you have chosen colours for a paint job many times before, always go with a colour a shade or two lighter than you think, because the colour will always look darker on the wall.

Greying

Mixing in a little grey with those happy colours you have chosen can help calm them down a bit, and settle them into the room better. Even just a touch of grey may be enough to take that edge off, and help create a more sophisticated and mature look.

Connect it

Don’t leave your kitchen hanging out there — instead, make sure that you are using your choice of colour to help connect your kitchen with the rest of your living areas. This will make the kitchen look and feel bigger and make those stuck in there feel far less isolated.

The best thing about redoing the look of your kitchen is that you can always redo it if absolutely necessary. The kitchen also offers the added bonus of having countless ways to add to your colour scheme by way of art, appliances and accessories, so don’t continue living in a boring kitchen for a single day longer. The right colour in your kitchen can completely change the way it feels to be in there.

Colour Design Rules for Your Kitchen is a post from: Price Pirate

It is easy to accumulate more stuff than you have room for. If you are having a hard time downsizing your living room, you are going to need to find a few new ways to store everything that won’t impact your ability to use your living room. Chances are that you aren’t fully utilising the space you have in your living room; the following are some simple tips to help you get more out of every inch of space you have.

Trunks

One of the best ways to get more storage space out of your living room is to bring in a large trunk. Though it will take up a lot of space, the trunk can take the place of a regular coffee table, or even a bench, and will provide a huge amount of extra storage space at the same time. If you have kids, having a large trunk can be an especially good way to keep toys for the kids close by but out of sight, making it easy to do a quick clean up just before company arrives.

Bookshelves

Instead of having your books clutter up all of your available surfaces, store them in plain view on a bookshelf. Bookshelves can be made to fit pretty much any space, so if you have a lot of books and some awkward spaces to fill in your living room, think about having a custom bookshelf or two made up. You will find it far easier to find specific books when they are on shelves.

Under furniture

Having a few flat boxes can make it easy to take advantage of all of that space underneath your couch or other furniture in your living room. Regardless of what it is that you want to store, it will be safe and secure in a box, ready to be easily accessed again at a moment’s notice. Items like board games are perfect for this kind of storage, as you might only need to access them once in a while. This way, they will be out of sight but still nearby, and if you decide it’s been too long since your last game, they’re easy enough to pull out.

Feature boxes and containers

If you come across some fancy boxes in your travels, these can make for perfect ways to store items in your living room. Having a decorative box where you keep your whiskey — or a hand-woven basket for your knitting gear — can help make the way you store your items part of the charm of your living room setup.

Get small appliances

A large stereo or even vacuum cleaner can take up far more space than it needs to, so go through and replace large appliances for smaller ones and you will slowly but surely free up a mountain of space.

Your living room is supposed to be one of the most comfortable and relaxing parts of your home, so whatever you do, make sure that the way you are storing your stuff isn’t interfering with anyone’s ability to unwind. It’s amazing how much unused space there is in an average person’s living room, so before you despair and start throwing out items you think just won’t fit, get creative — it’s amazing where you can find that perfect storage spot.

Improving the Storage in Your Living Room is a post from: Price Pirate

The kitchen is the life of every house, and a place that most people spend a massive amount of time in throughout an average year. Considering how often you are in your kitchen, and some of the dangerous implements that are in there, it is important that your kitchen has more than enough light for you to see. If you have found yourself struggling to see in there lately, check out the following for possible solutions.

Windows

If your kitchen doesn’t have a lot of light, the best way to solve the problem is by knocking out part of a wall somewhere and putting in another window. This definitely isn’t cheap, and is only a solution if you own the place you live in. Pretty much everyone wants a well-lit kitchen, so apart from making it a far nicer place to be, you will also be significantly increasing the value of your house.

A skylight

Providing you don’t have someone living above you, having a skylight installed can be one of the best ways to boost the amount of light in your kitchen. Your skylight will save you from having to use your regular electricity for lighting all the time, and there is nothing like cooking up a feast while bathed in natural sunlight.

Pot lights

A classy way to light all the important parts of your kitchen without having to have the entire kitchen lit up is by using multiple pot lights. This way, you can have a little extra lighting in key areas like your prep area and around the gas cooktop, while still having an overall low light, intimate setting.

Candles

Unless you are cooking, you probably don’t need much light at all to just grab something from the bench or in the fridge, so during these times save yourself some power and use candles to light the kitchen instead. Candles aren’t going to provide enough light to cook by, but can help illuminate the kitchen enough when it isn’t in full use, at the same time helping to create a warm and cosy feel.

A night light

For those late night trips to the kitchen for a glass of water or a midnight snack, having a small night-light in the kitchen can be very handy, especially if you are trying to not wake up pets or people by turning on the lights. The small light won’t use up very much energy and will save you from injuring yourself when wandering around the kitchen in the dark trying to find the sink or the fridge.

Apart from being the place where you prepare your food each and every day, your kitchen is also generally where everyone will gather whenever you host a party, so your kitchen lighting should be practical, warm and welcoming. Even if you don’t entertain much, having the light in your kitchen always right will mean you’re more likely to enjoy your time in there.

Better Ways to Light Your Kitchen is a post from: Price Pirate

Making your living room more comfortable can make for a much more welcoming and relaxing environment. Sometimes even a small addition can make all the difference, so rather than just always hanging out at your friends’ places, make a change or two and see if you can make your living room a little more comfortable. The following ideas are all sure to help.

Cushions

Having lots of cushions of all shapes and sizes is a fantastic way to make your living room a more comfortable place to hang out either on your own or with friends. Scatter pillows over your couches and chairs; you can even have larger pillows scattered around the floor, as some people will prefer sitting on the floor with a nice fat pillow.

Rugs

Whether you have carpet or floorboards in your living room, a cushy rug can add a huge amount to the comfort level in the room. Providing you do a good job of regularly cleaning it, curling up on the carpet with a loved one and watching a movie can be one of the most comfortable ways to spend an evening. Cheap rugs tend to fall apart quickly, so save a little while longer and get something that will last.

Comfortable seating

Make sure that whatever seating you have is comfortable, especially if you are likely to have any elderly guests, as they won’t stay long unless there is somewhere comfortable to sit. Comfortable doesn’t always necessarily mean soft, so the best bet is to listen for feedback from people who use the chairs and adjust the seating according to people’s needs; adjustments can be easily made by way of using harder or softer pillows.

Air conditioning

When the summer heats up, you need to find a way to cool your living room down, so whether you get a portable air conditioner or a central control system, make sure you have a way to cool you and your guests.

Lower lighting

Nothing kills the comfort level of a room more than glaring bright lights, so make sure your living room lighting is easy on the eyes. Having lamps strategically placed around the room on dimmer switches will provide you with a huge amount of flexibility with your living room lighting, and make it a far more comfortable place to relax.

Footstools

Though they may seem like an unnecessary item of furniture, being able to put your feet up at the end of the day will do wonders for your ability to re-energise and rejuvenate. Your footstool can also act as an extra seat if you have a larger-than-usual crowd drop by, and you’ll be relaxing like never before once you get yourself one of those cheap plasma TVs you’ve been eyeing off.

Side tables

Having somewhere to rest a drink or position a bowl of munchies can help make a living room setup way more comfortable, so rather than having one large coffee table, place a number of smaller ones around the room so all of your guests have access to a little bit of hard, flat surface.

Get inspired

Whenever you are in your local library or even at the doctor’s waiting room, flick through any interior design magazines you come across, as you can often be inspired by someone else’s ideas. The best solutions are often not the most expensive to implement, so get your thinking cap on, get creative and make your living room a place anybody can be comfortable.

Tips for a More Comfortable Living Room is a post from: Price Pirate

While new appliances are coming out all the time, the same set of ‘essential’ appliances has remained the same for decades. Today’s versions of must-have appliances are far more advanced and sophisticated than those of decades gone by, though they remain essentially the same amazing tools, and help save time in the same ways they have since they first came out. The following appliances continue to be ones that every household really should have.

Fridge

You could live without a fridge, though it wouldn’t be easy, as without refrigeration it is almost impossible to keep any perishable food in an edible state for more than a couple of days. Apart from helping preserve perishable food for longer, having a fridge helps provide some of life’s biggest luxuries, like cold beer and frozen ice cream, and living without simply pleasures like these is not really living at all.

Washing machine

Being able to wash your clothes is important for your health and hygiene, and having the convenience of owning your own machine will mean you don’t have to lug all your dirty clothes off to a laundromat every washing day. Your only other option is doing them all by hand, which is extremely time consuming, so for the sake of your free time and your cleanliness, make sure you have a top-quality washing machine at your place.

Dishwasher

Now that modern dishwashers have become so water efficient and environmentally friendly, there is no longer any reason to continue living without one. Dishwashers have always been a fantastic way to save time, but modern dishwashers mean you’re likely to save water too.

Stereo

Everyone loves music, and though you might be able to live without a decent quality stereo, you shouldn’t! Nothing compares to coming home from a hard day of work and turning on your awesome surround sound stereo, or placing a record on your old-school, classic gramophone while you relax with friends over a couple of beers. A good stereo is a luxury item, and once you have, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

Oven

While microwave ovens can be handy ways to quickly nuke a meal for yourself, everyone should have an oven to cook food a little more slowly when you can afford the time. Nothing compares to oven-cooked food, so unless you just aren’t that interested in food, get yourself a decent oven.

While some people’s homes look like spaceships thanks to all of their modern appliances, gadgets and gizmos, all you really need are a few basics to be able to live comfortably at home. Remember, though, that these core ‘essential items’ get extensive amounts of use in any home, so when the time comes to make that big purchase, make sure you invest in something that won’t need replacing next year.

Appliances You Shouldn’t Live Without is a post from: Price Pirate

Depending on the colours you use, your choice of colour in the kitchen can make it seem like either a vibrant or sterile place. Your kitchen is the centre of your house, so make sure you create the right look and feel there — you’re bound to spend a huge amount of time in there every week. Having the right colours in your kitchen can make it easier to relax after work, feel creative when cooking and be efficient when you don’t have a lot of time. The following are some tips and considerations for using colour in your kitchen.

Give it a splash

If your kitchen has been painted well, but in boring colours, try adding some colour via the items in your kitchen — such as bar stools, appliances, light fixtures, etc — rather than having it completely repainted. Adding colour in this way will allow you to switch up your colour scheme more regularly, and is also a very classy way to add a personal touch.

One colour

A popular style in many modern kitchens is to pick one colour for everything in the kitchen — right down to the colour of the cups and kitchen appliances. This can create quite a striking effect and is a style that one can’t help but notice.

One wall wild

If you and your partner can’t agree on the colour scheme for your new kitchen paint job, a good way to compromise is to do both. Paint the brightest of the two colours on only one wall, and the other on all of the other walls; this will create a more balanced effect.

Stick to two

Using two main colours for your kitchen colour scheme usually looks best, as any more than that can result in your kitchen looking too busy or confused. Using two colours will allow you to play around with highlighting and shading, and provides an easy way to create an appealing effect.

Metal

Many modern kitchens are making use of a very metallic/industrial/futuristic look, which can be very effective at creating a kitchen space that looks clean, efficient and professional. If you want to bring a bit of metal colour to your kitchen, your best bet is with actual metal, as metal colour paint never looks as good as the real thing. Ovens and cook tops especially look great in metal.

Tie in the floor

Too many people forget about the floor as a fantastic way to add to the look of a kitchen. When you’re choosing colours for the rest of the kitchen, make sure they are going to work with the current colour of the floor. If you’re getting new flooring done, pick your colours at the same time as all your other kitchen elements and ensure they will look good together.

Herbs

Using colour doesn’t have to mean painting anything, as some of your best options for colour are living, breathing plants. Growing your own herbs in your kitchen will add fabulous colour and texture, as well as save you money on flavouring your food.

Using Colour for a Modern Kitchen is a post from: Price Pirate

Back in the day, a good outdoor entertaining set up was a BBQ and a kiddie pool, but times have changed a lot since then. While BBQs and kiddie pools most definitely still have their place, outdoor entertaining has become a lot more elaborate, with a whole realm of toys and gadgets. If you feel like you’re ready to take your outdoor entertaining to the next level, try incorporating some of the following into your backyard setup.

Heaters

Mobile outdoor heaters are making it so that it’s still worth having guests over for an outdoor event, even though it may be a little cooler outside. A prominent feature in outdoor areas across the hospitality sector, mobile heaters have become a fantastic way to get more use out of your outdoor entertainment areas at home. If your crowd are more the outdoorsy types, getting a nice fire pit put in might be a better option, so you can let your guests show off their wood chopping skills and have your heating provided the old fashioned way.

Lighting

While it’s no longer a new idea, motion-sensor lighting is starting to become a bigger feature in outdoor entertaining, allowing you to creatively light every part of your front or back yard. Mobile and flexible lighting systems give you a far greater scope for your entertaining, and significantly increase the size of the area you have to entertain in. Lighting can play a crucial role in having your place look amazing, so whether you get a gobo or just something to light your pathway, creative lighting is the way to go when it comes to outdoor entertainment.

Control

As the idea of home automation systems has begun to take hold, we’ve seen an integration of security and entertainment system elements, such as sound, lighting, heating, etc. You can even have your CCTV streaming via your laptop by the pool; this allows you to know when your friends arrive, ascertain who it is and buzz them in.

Projector

If you have an awesome outdoor entertaining area and at least one large flat surface at your place, you can hold your own outdoor video screenings with a LCD projector. Lightweight and affordable LCD projectors have made it easy for people to be able to extend their living rooms all the way to the back fence. Having the projector set up outside will also give you another TV option if people are already watching the plasma TV inside.

Retractable roof

Sometimes a dinner party is just too important to risk having it ruined by poor weather, so rather than have to move your plans inside, having a retractable roof can provide your event with cover, whether you end up needing it or not. No doubt inspired by the great sporting venues, this handy outdoor entertaining feature will take the worry out of any of your outdoor events.

Humans will always get together to socialise; we are social creatures, after all. However, the look of our gatherings has changed considerably over time, with some now embracing a far more sophisticated style of socialising and home entertainment. Your outdoor entertainment areas can often be some of the nicest parts of your property, so having a few extra special features and home appliances added will make your place the perfect year-round entertainment venue.

Beyond Barbecues — Advanced Outdoor Entertaining is a post from: Price Pirate