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If you’re beginning to have trouble telling the difference between outdoor teak furniture and teak furniture made for indoors, don’t feel bad. Increasingly, designers and manufacturers have been blurring the lines between the two living spaces.

Where outdoor teak furniture used to be mostly straight lines and even a bit utilitarian, today’s designs take elements and features from their interior cousins, including sweeping arms, stately legs and even ornate carved features.

In some cases, homeowners are actually using their outdoor furniture indoors; it being perfect for certain rooms in the home. For instance, in many places in the country, homes have sunrooms or Florida rooms that are designed to let the light shine in while still not being technically part of the every day living spaces of the home. These rooms lend themselves particularly well to teak furniture, even pieces designed originally for the outdoors.

Part of the reason for the confluence of indoor and outdoor furnishings is the versatility of teak itself. Designers love the warm color of the honey-gold wood and its rich grain. It is an ideal material not only for coffee tables and chairs, but also dining tables, end tables, chests and even sofas and love seats.

Another bonus for indoor use is that outdoor teak furniture is virtually indestructible. It is low maintenance, needs cleaning only once in awhile and if you have children, it can put up with a tremendous amount of rough housing and abuse, including weathering nicks, crapes and bumps, thanks to its hard surface.

If you find yourself doing a double take at a friend’s furniture, it may because their new teak furnishings were originally designed for the outdoors. By bringing them inside, homeowners can create a space that feels as if one is on a permanent vacation, offering a welcoming place to relax and entertain that is of the highest quality but never pretentious.

Outdoor teak furniture is more affordable than ever, thanks to the use of managed forests and new manufacturing protocols that are not only more efficient, but more economically friendly, too.

If you want to use your outdoor teak furniture outdoors, that’s fine, too. It is by far the most popular type of furniture out on the market these days and designers are continually challenging the envelope with breathtaking new designs that can give your patio, deck or balcony a completely new look.

If you can think up a style of furniture, ten to one there’s an outdoor version of it, including teak chairs, benches, tables, side tables, dining tables, planter boxes, storage chests, bars and swings and stools.

Most homeowners prefer to keep the wood in its original honey-gold color rather than letting it weather to become a silvery gray. This can be accomplished by applying a teak protector to the furniture once a year. This will restore the rich luster of the wood and keep it looking like new. Before you apply a protector, you may want to give your outdoor teak furniture a thorough cleaning. Start by scrubbing the entire surface with a mixture of 2/3-cup laundry detergent, ¼ cup of bleach and one gallon of lukewarm water. When the entire surface is clean rinse it off with fresh water. Don’t use a high-pressure washer. It can harm the surface. Let the furniture air dry or your can use a clean towel. If there’s a stain that won’t come out, use some teak cleaner to remove it. Then apply teak protector.

With a little annual care, your teak furniture will continue to give you years of enjoyment, whether you decide it should be on the inside or outside of your home.

Landscaping has often been likened to the painting of a picture. Your art-work teacher has doubtless told you that a good picture should have a point of chief interest, and the rest of the points simply go to make more beautiful the central idea, or to form a fine setting for it. So in landscaping there must be in the gardener’s mind a picture of what he desires the whole to be when he completes his landscaping project.

Should you include lots of bare open lawn in your landscaping theme? A large extent of open lusious green lawn space is always beautiful. It is restful.

This type of open landscaping adds a feeling of space to even small grounds. If you cover your lawn space with many trees, with little flower beds here and there, the general effect is choppy and fussy. A bit like an over-dressed person. Not the most visual appealing result from your landscaping efforts.

When landscaping, a single tree or a small group is not a bad arrangement on the lawn. Do not centre the tree or trees. Let them drop a bit into the background. Make a pleasing side feature of them. In choosing trees for your landscaping project, keep in mind a number of things. You should not choose an overpowering tree. The tree should have a good shape, with something interesting about its bark, leaves, flowers or fruit.

For the beauty of landscaping, the catalpa is quite lovely by itself. Its leaves are broad, its flowers attractive, the seed pods which cling to the tree until way into the winter, add a bit of picturesqueness. The bright berries of the ash, the brilliant foliage of the sugar maple, the blossoms of the tulip tree, the bark of the white birch, and the leaves of the copper beech all these are beauty points to consider when planning your overall landscaping arrangement.

Landscaping may follow along very formal lines or along informal lines. The first would have straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds, everything, as the name tells, perfectly formal. The other method is, of course, the exact opposite. You should consider the advantages and danger points in each.

In conclusion, plan for open lawn spaces in your overall landscaping design and keep a visually appealing tree to blend in the background. Think balance and you will come up with a beautiful landscaping design for your yard.

Want to know how to make your landscape design more Eco-friendly?
Check out these simple, straight-forward tips for converting your landscape into a haven for clients, passersby, and wildlife.

Using organic landscaping techniques can save you money because your outdoor space is a prime location for showing off your commitment to developing a green building that is not only better for the environment but also healthier for humans and animals alike. Developing a stunning yet beautiful landscape will be more attractive , require less maintenance, and save you money from year to year.

Here are six easy to implement tips for you to apply in your next project:

1. Choose the right plants:
Choosing plants for their beauty is one way to build a pleasing landscape design, but failing to also examine their maintenance requirements will cost you money and increase time spent on caring for them. Drought tolerant plants are a good bet for any climate, but those that are considered native to your area are even better. Since they grow naturally without any human intervention, they will require little more than the rain that falls naturally, and wont need much if anything in the way of soil amendments.

2. Compost:
Adding compost (a mix of decomposed organic matter) contributes beneficial nutrients, minerals, and organisms, increases water retention, improves soil structure, and prevents soil erosion. Together these benefits mean you will require less watering, few (if any) fertilizer applications, and less work. If you make your own compost, you will have a ready supply that is local and inexpensive.

3. Mulch:
Composed of bark or wood chips, shredded leaves and branches, straw and hay, or rocks and gravel, mulch will help to prevent weed growth, reduce evaporation and water loss, and add to a pleasing visual landscape. Again, the benefits include lower maintenance requirements, lower irrigation costs, and reduced need for pesticides.

4. Organic amendments:
This group of materials includes lime, organic fertilizers (made without synthetic chemicals), and manures (both animal and non-animal), which will improve soil acidity as well as mineral and nutrient content. These products are made from readily-available, renewable, non-petroleum-based materials, are healthier for plants, animals, insects, and humans, and can often be less expensive than conventional products.

5. Use integrated pest management:
If you have done your homework and designed an efficient, natural landscape you wont suffer from as many pests as comparable, conventionally-designed outdoor spaces. However, when you do require pest management, choose integrated pest management (I.P.M.) which relies on a whole-systems approach that looks at the relationship shared between pests and their environment. It substitutes harmful chemicals for safe, complementary control methods. Effective (I.P.M.) involves many aspects, but can include two important factors: prevention and removal. By removing features that attract pests, adding physical barriers, and employing humane, mechanical methods for removing pests, you will cut pesticide and herbicide costs while making your space less toxic and more enjoyable for all who dwell in it.

6. Practice intelligent landscaping:
Taking water conservation to the next level by considering the whole system in terms of water use. It means (among other things) grouping plants together by similar water needs so that those that require a lot of water are together, and those that can survive in more desert-like conditions are in a different area. A smart landscape design will lower water consumption, reduce plant deaths, and increase the overall beauty of your space.

Toxic, potent chemicals may be a great short-term solution to your landscaping improvement requirements, but they are no good for the earth or the health of those enjoying your outdoor space (including local wildlife). So green up your green space, the planet will thank you.