Four Gorgeous Outdoor Add Ons

Splurging on a fire or water feature for the yard makes outdoor living more enjoyable and romantic.

The long, snowy Northeastern winter is finally drawing to a close and cabin fever makes me long to be outside. But a recent scene on the TV drama “Parenthood” – where a long-married couple snuggled up in front of their outdoor fire pit – has me conjuring up backyard built in ideas. I found these four. A fire pit tops my backyard built in idea list and while we don’t have space on our stone patio for a square charmer [top], a fire pit like this is relatively easy to build. It can be wood-burning or gas fueled.

Another “dearly wanted” item for our outdoor space is a wood-burning pizza/bread oven which can be used during most of the year. Culinary blogs show some elaborate installations. A German designer built an ideal outdoor oven in her yard and one as rugged as this is all I would require.

Last summer our daughter had an outdoor shower installed on a back deck that leads into her house from the pool. The job took less than a day. A more elaborate shower tucked into a nook adjacent to the pool in an Alabama home has a wonderful “secret garden” quality, no doubt due to the creeping fig vines covering the brick.

Running water can be so soothing that it must be almost therapeutic to have a rustic fountain like this one in the yard. With all the local auctions during the spring and early summer, it might not be difficult to locate two old marble planters and old gate pieces to recreate this look. It’s not fussy or formal in the least and it also isn’t some readymade bit from the garden store that you’d see all over the neighborhood.

(Source: alderwoodlandscaping, theselby, birminghamhomeandgarden, ozarchitecture)

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