Do I have to surrender my backyard to the spiders?
Our lovely Portland, Oregon backyard has transformed into a spidery wonderland during the past year. Spiders are awesome and super important for the environment, but we need our personal space! What can I do to de-spider the back yard, short of spraying with pesticides?
How to decorate and de-boring an above-ground pool
Remember my parent’s house in Maui? This summer their home improvement project was to install an above-ground pool — so very much more cost-effective than a below-ground pool, and just as refreshing. Though it may be just as refreshing, an above-ground pool is not just as attractive. So here’s how we made the outside of this pool as pleasant as the inside…
Using dung beetles to keep poop in check and other backyard hacks for your dogs
In our post about composting pet waste Homie Maria told us how she used dung beetles in her backyard to keep her dog’s poop in check. Of course we were all very intrigued, so Maria was kind enough to let us in on the dung beetle details. Including some other brilliant backyard hacks thought up by her gardening genius late husband…
How to DIY an adorable bathtub pond
I’ve always wanted a house near some body of water. Since our current home is in a subdivision and our house is situated in what I think is geographically a canyon, my husband Jared and I had to get creative. So we created what we call The Tuttle Aquatic Gardens. That’s just a fancy name for a pond made out of a bathtub.
If you’d like to attempt your own bathtub pond, here’s how!
DIY wall-mounted bird feeder and bird bath
You’ve seen Homie Cheryl Hellcat’s LOTR table and driftwood key rack, but check out her awesome DIY wall-mounted bird feeder and bird bath, made from $3 plastic bowls and plates!
Reader roundup: Let’s have a virtual backyard party this Fourth of July
Yup, it’s summer in the Northern hemisphere and that means we’re getting a flood of amazing backyard photos in our Offbeat Home Flickr pool. And since it’s the Fourth of July in America and we’re all hopefully enjoying the outdoors while we celebrate our Independence Day. Let’s celebrate YOUR outdoors by having a virtual backyard party via all your awesome Flickr pics…
Impress your cat with a DIY rainbow deck
Let this cat introduce you to the latest and greatest in deck make-overs. Homie BubblesLeFay uploaded this photo to our Flickr pool and I just had to squeeze more details from her. This is how you can pull off your own rainbow deck re-do:
Create a “built in” dog pool just in time for summer
I love how Amazon user Martin Owen created this “built in” dog pool in his Florida backyard. I’m thinking this could be as easy as getting some bricks, and setting the Bone Pool inside of ’em. Boom: you have one cool, wet, and happy dog on your hands this summer.