It has often been said that a person's home is her or his castle. Whoever first made the remark may have intended some deep, metaphorical meaning – or, may actually have lived in a castle. Either way, the saying has endured. With a 21st century spin, i...

For most of us, talk of picnic tables brings to mind the traditional wood, rectangular tables, with two long benches. Although this table is still quite popular, the picnic table has undergone a dramatic transfo...

Everyone knows that water is one of the most abundant – and popular – chemicals on Earth. It's so popular, in fact, that anyone over the age of ten (and some who are even younger) can probably tell you that the chemical formula for water is H2O. So we k...

Gardens have been used as symbols of happiness since the Garden of Eden. Whether or not such a place actually existed, the perception has persisted. The expression, "a garden of earthly delights," signifies utopia or nirvana; and a blissful romance is r...

Although things have always changed quickly, in the past few years, the pace has increased so significantly that "new" sayings are being invented every day. All of a sudden, "40 is the new 20," "60 is the new 40," and "80 is the new 60." Also, "bald is ...

When someone asks you about your most prized possession, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Although some people may think about their houses or their cars, most people's thoughts will immediately turn to things that have no value to anyone but t...

"Personal space" is a term that's so much a part of today's vernacular that it has become a cliché. There's nothing unusual about that; people are always grabbing onto expressions, then using them ad nauseum. The amazing thing is how quickly a term can ...

Whether it's a graduation party, a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday, or a reunion, you'll attend at least one family gathering every year. Sometimes you look forward to them; sometimes you dread them. There will be people you're eager to see, as well...

Decorating a home has always been an exciting undertaking that requires much planning and research. Though daunting at times, it can be a lot of fun spending hours browsing through catalogs, websites, and specialty stores, collecting ideas on colors, sty...

In the beloved classic, "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy learned, after searching somewhere "over the rainbow" for her heart's desire, that true happiness lay in her own backyard. In the lightning-fast pace of modern society, with work hours getting longer, t...

Not long ago, outdoor furniture was largely comprised of those flimsy, folding aluminum chairs, with interwoven plastic strips for the backs and seats, that always left little red square marks across the backs of your thighs. Some of the fancier chairs h...

Garden bridges can be traced to the earliest civilizations, where they decorated landscapes from the stately grounds of ancient Roman and Greek aristocracy, to the exotic water gardens of Japan and China. They were built as much for decoration as for pra...

The next time you're looking through your family album – or anyone else's – notice how many pictures were taken on somebody's front porch. It's a place that's been front and center on our houses, and in our hearts, for centuries. We've spent many hours ...

Every year, teak garden benches, patio tables, chairs, dining sets, lounges, sun beds, and planters, are becoming more popular choices for furnishing porches, patios, decks, gazebos, gardens, and backyards. It's easy to understand this trend, because tea...

by Kathy Moran From their origins as rooftop structures, used mainly for observation, to their present status, gazebos have taken many forms. Throughout their colorful history, they have been known as summerhouses, screen houses, kiosks, pavili...