Your deck is an outdoor living space, and it should be as functional for you as any room in your home. If you’d like to create a deck area that’s perfectly suited to your family’s needs, it’s essential to have a good plan. Rhino Deck can help make determining and executing your plan as seamless as possible.

First, identify your needs. The more specific you are, the better your results will be. Will you be using your deck for cozy family dinners? To host large parties? To house your new outdoor kitchen? To lounge by your pool? Your deck’s function will largely determine its size, features, materials and layout, so pinning down exactly what you need it to do is essential.

Next, consider your specific space. Location, foot traffic patterns, sunlight exposure, existing landscaping, availability of plumbing and electrical fixtures and your home’s footprint should all be taken into consideration to determine and deal with your limitations. For example, let’s say you have a small backyard but dream of a deck that’s ideal for large parties. One option could be to build over most of your yard. Or you could build a smaller deck and find creative ways to make your space work for you, such as creating levels or setting up temporary party spaces.

Once you have your plan firmly in mind, take the time to sketch it out. You don’t need to be an artist. You just need to translate your basic design onto paper so that others can help you execute it. Your city planners or your homeowners association may also need to see a visual of your plan to determine what permits, if any, will be necessary.

Once you’ve determined logistics and created a solid, feasible layout for your deck, you can get started on selecting your materials. First, think practically. Go back to your function and space planning to help you determine what would best meet your needs. High traffic areas require highly durable materials. Areas with high sun exposure need fade-resistant materials. Another factor to consider is maintenance: Once the deck is installed, how much maintenance are you willing to undertake?

Next, think about aesthetics. Your deck space should blend in beautifully and effortlessly with your home and perfectly reflect its style and sense of place. Determining your home’s style first, and then thinking about your personal preferences within the scope of that style, will help you determine what boards, rails, and accents will look best.

Rhino Deck offers three lines of composite decking, with different levels of durability, strength, and maintenance requirements. The company can help you determine what products best fit into your specific deck plan. Rhino Deck also offers a wide range of attractive decking styles, meant to suit any decor. If you need ideas, the Rhino Deck product portfolio is a great place to start.

Once you have all of your deck ducks in a row, all that’s left to do is build, then enjoy your perfect outdoor space.

I’ve told you before how she figured out how to open our 1800′s-style latched French door (and made a video to prove it). I decided to make another little video of Livvy figuring out how to get into our “firebox.”

Our “firebox” is a small, boxed extension off the living room wall. I built it to house a gas log fireplace (when we get one). The gas line is all set up and everything, and we cut a small access panel into the side of the box. We haven’t made a door for the panel yet.

Unfortunately, Livvy likes to slip through the panel hole into the firebox. I don’t like her going in there because I don’t want her to get into trouble, seeing there’s a gas line and valve in there. When she hops in, I scold her to get out but she just gives me the stink eye.

So the husband cut a piece of cardboard to temporarily keep her out. He placed the garbage can in front of the cardboard, for good measure.

But Livvy will not be thwarted!

:-O

She’s unbelievable. And did you notice how she turned around inside the hole and looked out at us, blinking cutely?

What a cat.

LOL!!!

Did you wear braces when you were a teenager? I never did, but tons of my friends did. And who can forget Richie Cunningham and his Happy Days girlfriend in their notorious “metal mouth lock” on their first date? :-O Oh my gosh, the horror stories I heard about those nasty metal braces. Two of my friends even had to wear the metal neck brace and another was doomed to retainers for the rest of her life. Golly gee, as if the teenage years aren’t awkward enough, orthodontists created braces to make the poor kids look like Frankenstein.

When my dentist told me that two of my kids needed braces (as in “medically necessary”), I nearly fainted. All I could envision was a household of wailing Frankensteins for the next four years. I was glad to hear that neck braces had gone out with Purple Rain and roach clips, but the metal boxes were still glued to their teeth. Instead of metal wires, the orthodontist used tough plastic ones. It was still hard on the girls, and they still have to wear their retainers.

Now I find out that my son needs braces. Yes, “medically necessary.” His teeth are terrible, a mangled mess. Honestly, I didn’t think they could even glue metal boxes on his teeth, they are so bad. But now there’s this new-fangled technology called Invisalign. Have you heard of them? They are clear braces — basically a clear plastic retainer that covers the teeth. They are remade periodically to reposition the teeth into place. Unlike metal boxes and wires, Invisalign braces can be temporarily removed for brushing and flossing and important things like EATING — even eating popcorn, caramel and peanut butter! It’s truly remarkable!

Heck, I might even get Invisalign braces…

Aren’t they neat? I love the fact that you can remove them to clean your teeth. Oh, how my girls languished, trying to floss underneath those metal contraptions! Ugh! I like the Invisalign idea.

If this piques your interest, check out the Invisalign website, or get more information on the Invisalign Facebook page or their Twitter page. On the website, you can do a location search to find qualified Invisalign doctors in your area and get an an Invisalign smile assessment. Of course, you should ALWAYS get a doctor’s opinion about these things before you leap in. This blog post is not medical advice — I’m only remarking about my own experiences and opinions. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I personally think Invisalign sounds very cool. And it’s a HUGE improvement over the painful metal mouth. Defintely take a peek at the technology.

Once again, this will be the year that we skip any major overhauls and work on or finish up the multitudes of smaller projects. For starters, we have a LOT of interior trim work, shelving, and other small carpentry work to do. If you recall, last year we re-painted the living room, got new furniture, and built two glorious built-in bookcases. They turned out SO well. This was my first big carpentry project, and it looks pretty nice.

But it’s not completely done. I have yet to complete the trim work. I’m using a nice red oak for the units, and we re staining everything a pretty mahogany color. I really like it and it adds a formality to the room.

We also have plans to add a small deck on the back porch. Right now, it’s just a dilapidated stoop with fiberglass roof (ugh), but when I close my eyes I can see a wide deck large enough to hold all our Adirondack chairs! I’m not very familiar with outdoor wood staining so I’ll definitely be deferring to the easy-to-apply Flood® Wood Care. They have this cute guide widget called Staining Made Simple that make planning your project SO easy.

The guide leads you through the selection process, first by determining your project and leading you to the type of stain that best suits it. It even helps you find the store nearest you that carries your chosen Flood stain color and style! How’s that for simple??

In addition, you can enter a very nice sweepstakes to win some terrific Flood products, AND a $1,500 gift card! Sweet!! All you have to do is “like” Flood on Facebook to enter. Check out the Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes here.

It’s nice to know that– despite all the projects we have planned — things are made a little easier. You can read more about Flood stain for your wood projects online at the website or check out their Facebook page.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States of America and (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/17/2013. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit www.facebook.com/flood. Void in Puerto Rico and where restricted or prohibited. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to Facebook.

This is the *real* Livvy.

Uncanny!

I wish Livvy was able to have kittens. i would LOVE a houseful of these kitties.

I can’t even begin to imagine how insanely cold it must have been for the original occupants. In the 1850s, most people around here installed coal fireplaces for their houses, although the kitchen here still had a pot-bellied wood-burning stove until the 1960s! But as far as I have been able to tell, there were only four fireplaces in the house– one for the kitchen in the back addition, one for the parlor, one for the dining room, and ONE for all four bedrooms upstairs! It must have been agonizing up there. As a matter of fact, the original builder’s wife died of pneumonia in her icy-cold bedroom. Back then, they didn’t insulate (much) or even have luxuries like atrium windows reviews to find good windows at good deals. Can you believe the leaps and bounds we’ve made in modern home comforts since the 1850s? It’s pretty amazing, I think. Today, we have SO much at our disposal that the choices are dizzying and aggravating. Of course, we can access atrium windows reviews and building products to find out what’s best for our needs and climate, and I am thankful. I’m mainly self-taught by stuff like that.

So how’s your winter going where you are? In the Northeast, February tends to be the most difficult month. This is when the snow is brown, when the cold temperatures are biting instead of invigorating, the air is dry and we are sick of winter. We long for spring and green and soft air again. Many of my peers turn to their gardening catalogs about this time, too (I just got High Mowing Seeds and Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalogs in the mail), but it’s too early for me to think of gardening, ugh. I’m still trying to keep warm so my thoughts go toward atrium windows reviews and fiberglass batting and furnace BTUs!

Well, all these sub-zero temperatures are making me plan our next step for the home's heating system. When we gutted the kitchen and dining room, I rpped out the forved air furnace ducts. The system had been installed in the 1940s, and was an absolute DISASTER. Besides, I hate forced air. It's dirty, drafty, and wasteful. Since then, we've been incorporating more energy-efficient means of heating the house, although the upstairs has baseboard heat for dire emergencies. I'm too afraid to use those things, the utility bills may bankrupt us.

I have to get a fireplace insert in the living room and then get another in our future family room that we'll be building sometime. I like the warmth of gas fireplaces but to be honest the gas scares me. And I'd rather be more self-sufficient. So I'm checking out pellet stoves and pellet stove inserts. These little things are amazing! Check out this cool infographic from Harman Pellet Stoves.

From what I've heard, the best pellets stoves are Harman stoves. I've done a little digging into the history of the company, it's very impressive. The first Harman stove was born out of the 1970's energy crisis, when skyrocketing energy costs made it nearly impossible to heat a house, and Jimmy Carter's sweater advice just wasn't going to cut it. When people heard about the new invention, they clamored for replicas. That's how the company got their start. I love entreprenuer stories like that! You can follow Harman Stoves on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest if you want to know more about them.

A Little Giveaway

I'm also honored to be giving away a really nice Harman journal-sized notebook and pen! The notebook is made from recycled materials and is very cute! Leave a comment saying what you like about Harman to enter the contest. I'll randomly pick a winner in a few days and email you if you are the winner.

So I'm not sure if we'll go for a pellet stove or an insert. I think an insert needs some kind of brick fireplace backing…. that would look beautiful in the family room but I'm not sure I want to go to that expense. A few of my pals have pellet stoves and this popular heating alternative works beautifully to heat the whole house during the winter. Sounds good to me. With the cost of energy going up again, it's time to start thinking not only about efficiency, but self-sufficiency.

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the contest!

Last week, we had a vicious cold spell. Temperatures dipped down to sub-zeros. We had to bring the Yorkies into the living room for a bit, as the room they stay in doesn’t have a heater. Well, it DOES have a heater, but it’s an electric heater. The bills were atrocious so we decided to discipline ourselves not to use it. Almost as soon as we decided that, the weather temps plummeted. Yeah. So we set up the pen in the warmer living room, and freaked Livvy out for a few days, lol.

ANYWAY, did you find her?! If not, here’s a hint: she must be pretty tall….