March 9, 2025 • 39 mins
Dean offers tips and tricks for you to maximize the outdoor space at your home. From storage options to opening up space for entertaining, Dean talk about it all and offers the latest details and trends to the most bang for your buck!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the
house Whisper on demand of the iHeart Radio app, live
streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Did you
know that this very program is also what's known as
the house Whisper Podcast that you can listen to anytime,
(00:22):
anywhere on demand, hundreds of episodes, all searchable by topic.
It is your very own home improvement reference library. And
one more thing. If you're thinking that's all great, Dean,
but what we really need is Dean and Tina standing
in our house trying to figure out that problem right there,
Well you can do that too. You can book an
(00:43):
in home design consult with me and Tea. You just
go to house Whisper dot Design, and you also get
to while you're there read some really cool quotes things
that have been the theme of our design careers together.
It's a good little website to check out house Whisper
dot Design. All right, back to the subject of making
(01:09):
more space for yourself for the least amount of money.
Yesterday we talked garages. Today I am talking about getting outdoors,
but I'm approaching it from this perspective. What's it going
to take to get you outside, you land lubber you.
And basically the angle that I'm approaching this from is
(01:30):
the opposite of the ultra luxurious stuff that you hear
and see all of the time. But that doesn't mean
it isn't pleasant and beautiful and lovely and enough. That's
what we're talking about. What is enough to get you
outside and really start enjoying the space around your home.
We've already discussed the idea that the first and foremost
(01:52):
thing is a comfortable place to sit, and that is
the right kind of furniture. And it doesn't have to be,
you know, crazy expensive patio furniture. What it has to
be is for you to take the time and find
the right kind of chair or chairs that are going
to allow you to relax comfortably without all the maintenance
(02:14):
and the upkeep and all of that kind of stuff.
I know this, and I had referenced the the you know,
I'm prone to thinking this way because I'd referenced the
fact that, you know, spent most of my life as
an avid backpacker and doing mountaineering and all of that
kind of stuff. My idea of camping is not folding
down the tailgate of the truck and putting the tent
(02:36):
ten feet away from the car. Nothing against that, super fun.
But my idea is like getting out, getting away miles
and miles and miles away from the nearest road, the
nearest car, the nearest anything. And so that means you're
carrying it all on your backpack, everything in and when
I get there, you know what, I'm not planning on
(02:58):
just sleeping on the hard, cold ground. We've got tents,
and we've got bedpads, and we've got camp chairs, all
ultra light. But that provide comfort and make setting up
camp pleasant. Okay, so that's not what I'm suggesting for you.
But in the spirit of that, the fact that even
(03:19):
when I am surrounded by nothing but hundreds of miles
of wilderness in every direction, the spirit of being able
to sit comfortably, to stay warm, to stay dry, or
to stay cool from the heat of the sun, all
of these things are things to take into consideration in
(03:40):
that kind of extreme environment. You would think, if we
can figure out how to do that, all we need
to do is get you outside on your patio to
spend a little bit more time outside of the house
and enjoy a little bit more space. Can that be
done inexpensively, Yes it can. So First before I talk
about shade and warmth, okay, because those are factors, absolutely factors.
(04:07):
Let's just talk about the floor beneath your feet. Okay,
what is it going to take to get you outside?
What it takes most people to get outside is to
be able to walk outside and not get their feet wet,
not get their feet muddy if it's been raining or
anything like that, or dirty. In other words, you want
to clean safe surface to walk out on. And for
(04:31):
a lot of people, they imagine that's a concrete patio,
or it's a you know, a paved of some kind
of paved patio with stones and flagstones and mortar, or
maybe it's a wood deck or a composite deck. All
of these things are wonderful, but what would be the
(04:52):
bare minimum. The bare minimum is, in my opinion, one
of the most beautiful elements that can go oh into
a backyard setting, by the way, and that is pea gravel. Now,
stop those of you who are saying, well, listen, you
know you can't walk into pea gravel in high heels.
I'm like, I'm not inviting you to, you know, wear
(05:15):
your stilettos in the backyard. It's time to you know,
relax a little bit, you know, put on your slips,
put on your tennies, or just put on your flip flops.
And no, it is a misnomer from a lot of
people that a pea gravel area is unsafe or difficult
to walk in. I can understand there are certain, you know,
(05:37):
extreme conditions in which you know you'd rather be walking
on a hard surface, which, by the way, is when
you simply set paving step stones within the pea gravel
in order to ensure that somebody who needs to get
out there, who has a little bit of trouble with that,
can walk on the stepping stones with the pea gravel
around you. But the fact of the matter is a
(06:00):
beautiful pea gravel area for chairs, for a fire pit,
for who knows what a dining set and table is.
It has a very zen feel to it. It has
a very natural, organic feel to it. And the cost, well,
what do you think the cost is of that?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on Demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're talking about getting more elbow space for your home
today by spending more time outside, but I'm specifically talking
about spending more time outside inexpensively as possible save in
the budget. So now we've entered into this area of
simply creating patio space for you to walk on, clean,
(06:49):
dry patio space to extend the comfort level of your home.
And yes, of all surfaces possible to put out there,
the least expensive and in my opinion, one of the
most gorgeous and most organic and most enjoyable is simply
(07:11):
using pea gravel. Now, gravel comes in all different sizes.
For those of you who are curious and wondering big
road based gravel and the kind of gravel that we
put into main concrete, you know, structural concrete structures can
be you know, three quarters of an inch to an
inch big, big, big particulate rocks. Pea gravel is exactly
(07:34):
what it is describing. We're talking about smooth, the little
pieces of gravel at the most about three eighths of
an inch in diameter that are about the size of peas,
you know, peas like frozen peas. So pea gravel is
comfortable to walk on, even in bare feet. If it's
the right kind of soft, smooth gravel it is, it compresses,
(07:58):
it stays in place, It does not blow around with
the wind. Because it is rocks, by the way, and
heavy enough to stay in place. It is easy to maintain. Here.
Can I get a little nature boy on you? At
the same time, one of the things that you've heard
me talk about when it comes to hardscape on our
properties is that almost everybody's house in southern California has
(08:22):
too much hardscape, too much stuff, and then water hits
this non permeable hardscape that means concrete and stone and
all of that, and it has to run somewhere. So
we have to add to that a whole layer of
drainage considerations, and we've got to get all that water
conveyed into drains, and then that drain system has to
(08:43):
take it out to the curb. And then water falling
on our property, a large amount of it gets conveyed
off of our property into the storm drain system, which
then just gets flushed out to the ocean. And the
whatever rain we do get in southern California doesn't end
up stick with us. And that starts at the home owner,
(09:05):
individual lot level. I am a huge proponent of allowing
as much water that falls on your property to stay
on or I should say, underneath your property, to feed
your plants, to become part of the water table, to
become part of the aquifer that feeds the entire region.
(09:26):
And one of the ways we do that is by
creating pathways and entertainment and spaces that are permeable hardscape.
Permeable hardscape in other words, hardscape that allows water to
fall through it and still soak into the ground below
without having to convey it out into the street. Pea
(09:49):
gravel is the ultimate example of that, because a two
inch thick layer, and that's usually what I recommend, is
about two inches thick layer of pea gravel allows water,
even in the most torrential of rains, to fall right
through it and soak into the ground below. And yet
you go walking across it and you are dry. I mean,
(10:11):
your feed are as dry as when you're walking on
cement during the rain, except cement can get slippery. Pea gravel.
Never does you get better traction in inclement weather with
pea gravel than you do with cement. Now, it's not
the universal answer for everybody, and so again universalists out
(10:32):
there who take everything I say, and say, well, I
can think of three situations where pea gravel isn't the
best thing, Dean, well, good for you. I can think
of eighty situations where pea gravel isn't the best thing.
But that doesn't change the fact that in a lot
of applications it should be used far more than it
is getting used. And it is without question, if we're
(10:57):
talking about a hard serve, safe, clean, dry environment, it
is the least expensive of all the paving scenarios for you,
and the most attractive and the easiest to maintain. How
inexpensive is it, Well, it depends on where you live.
(11:19):
You know, prices vary by region. But I will tell
you nationally right now, the average cost of a scoop
or a cubic yard or a ton of pea gravel
is the average cost is hovering somewhere in about the
fifty dollars range. So here in southern California, I can
(11:40):
tell you this. Let's say we want to spread two
inches of pea gravel over an area of maybe one
hundred and twenty square feet, a ten by twelve rectangle,
ten feet deep, twelve feet across. What's that going to
(12:00):
run you. It's going to run you about sixty dollars.
Are you kidding me? Yeah, it's gonna it's gonna run
you about sixty bucks for a ten by twelve area
one hundred and twenty square feet of pea gravel two
inches deep. That is not a lot of money, now,
(12:23):
Is that the only consideration when you're putting together a
pea gravel area? No, you know, it's it's good idea
to put some borders on it to contain it, you know,
especially if you're gonna make a little patio area. So
there's the cost of a little bit of bordering material
which could be made out of wood or other materials,
and some staking into the ground. Or you could build
(12:44):
a concrete curb and contain it that way. They're all
different ways to approach this problem. But the fact of
the matter is, I'm just going to tell you my experience.
As I told you, I don't have a big, grand home.
I have a little home. But we are sitting on
about a third of an acre. And if you think
that I'm going to pave all the pathways to get
(13:05):
everywhere I want to go on my third of an
acre in concrete and spend that kind of money. Then
you got another thought coming. It is pea gravel paths,
garden paths and areas all over the place here, And
I love it when I got up this morning to
walk out to the hen house to let the chickens
out and give them their mourning meal worms and all
(13:26):
of that. You know, in the quiet of the morning,
here's my feet crunch and crunching, crunch, crunch, crunch across
the pea gravel. Sometimes I'm barefoot. Sometimes you know, I've
got my flip flops on or slippers or shit, it
doesn't matter. It's just a lovely experience. And the point
being not for those of you who are looking for
(13:48):
ultimate luxury, but those of you who are looking for
a beautiful way of getting outside. What's it going to
take you to get outside? What's it going to take
you to get out on to the patio to spend
some more time outside. Well, one of those preconditions is
I don't want to get messy. I don't want to
get dirty. I want to be able to walk in
(14:08):
and out of the house without dragging in you know,
mud and clay and stuff on my feet. The least
expensive way to go to do that here is pea gravel,
and pea gravel is beautiful, it's what zen gardens are
made out of. And pea gravel is in expensive and
(14:31):
so so flexible, And talk about the ultimate DIY. If
you build the borders and get a rake and a shovel,
you can do your own garden pathways and patio areas
all by yourself, and you can get it done. And
it's a beautiful thing. And by the way, it is
not just an economic or it's not just a product
(14:56):
for people who don't have a lot of money. I
design pea gravel pathways into multi million dollar landscape jobs
because it's such a beautiful material. It also happens to
be incredibly inexpensive at the same time, and those are
projects in which cost is not even a part of
(15:17):
the consideration. We simply do it because it's gorgeous and
it's wonderful and it's zen and it's natural and it works.
And so I say to you, the second condition, other
than a comfortable place to sit, is going to be
a comfortable surface to walk on. Consider it. And if
you need to put some stepping stones in it in
(15:38):
order to make it easier to walk on, for somebody
who's older or somebody who's not quite as stable on
their feet. Then there you go. You can mix pee
gravel with decking, you can mix it with hard scape,
you can mix it with concrete, you can mix it
with stepping stones. It's just a beautiful approach to it,
(15:59):
all right. So where do we go from here? Now? Well,
what's it going to take to get you outside? A
comfortable place to sit and enjoy yourself, A comfortable surface,
a clean surface so you can move in and outside freely.
We got those two covered. How about now? Temperature, Yeah,
the environment itself. We need to stay dry, we need
(16:22):
to stay warm, and sometimes we need to stay cool.
All of those we will address right on the other
side of.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Live streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You
are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper. That's me.
I design custom homes, and I am here on the
weekend to help you understand how to take your home
to the next level. And I understand that we're in
(16:57):
a time right now where a lot of budgets are
very tight. Inflation has not left a lot of room
funds are tight, but so is the house as far
as elbow room, and we're looking for a little bit
more space without having to engage in the full on
remodel or room edition or all of that kind of thing.
And so just an approach this weekend for those of
(17:19):
you who happen to benefit from this kind of thinking
that there are two off overlooked spaces where we can
get the biggest bang for the smallest buck. One of
them is looking to the garage and which is already
an interior room structure. That's about three quarters of the
way there. We just need to take it over the top.
(17:39):
That's what yesterday's program, or the previous episode of our
podcast was all about, So go back and check that out.
On the podcast today, we're talking about outdoors, spending more
time outdoors. Now. This is true anywhere you live in
the country, truly, anywhere you live obviously right now, certain
(18:00):
seasons not outdoor living for everybody, obviously. But the fact
of the matter is spring is right around the corner here.
The thaws are beginning everywhere soon enough, and before you
know it, we're going to be in that time where
being outdoors is going to be an option for everybody,
(18:20):
and how do we do that as inexpensively as possible. Well,
we have to answer this question, what's it going to
take to get us outside. We've talked about comfortable seating,
We've talked about hardscape areas that are inexpensive, like utilizing
materials like pea gravel instead of concrete and paving and
specialized stone and decking materials and everything that goes into that.
(18:43):
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with those things. But if
we're talking budget mindedness, then pathways, even patio areas in
pea gravel is inexpensive as a beautiful and safe and
clean area can get your home. And yes, the question
came up, what about decomposed granite, Dean, I've heard that
(19:06):
that can also be inexpensive. It can be decomposed, granted,
has its own set of challenges though, just know that,
and it's a little bit more involved. And so the
reason it didn't make the very very first item on
my list is that decomposed granite is almost i mean
practically speaking, in most cases installed by contractors who know
(19:30):
exactly what to do with it. Because it has to
be laid down just right. It has to be compacted
just right for it to last, and it also degrades
faster than just pea gravel. Pea gravel is literally you know,
you dump it out, you rake it out, and pretty
much you're done. And that's why it falls at the
(19:50):
very very top of that list. All right, But there
are other considerations, as I mentioned before the break, when
it comes to spending time outside, what's it going to
take to get you outside? Well, I need to comfeeding,
not only in my seat and in my walking space,
but also I need to be warm enough, I need
to be cool enough, and I need to stay dry. Okay,
(20:10):
so where do we go there, Well, we could talk
about patio covers, we could talk about shade structures. When
it comes to shade, by the way, I'm all in
favor of a nice, big, old, beautiful tree. I've got
an ash tree, which here in southern California, by the way,
(20:33):
is one of our native trees that grows unbelievably fast.
So you can buy an inexpensive, smaller ash tree and
in just a handful of seasons have a big, beautiful
shade tree in your yard. I've got an ash tree
sitting sort of right smack dab in the middle of
my yard that now provides shade for our outdoor dining
(20:55):
deck because we love eating outside whenever we can. And
how is it that it provides shade, Well, you know,
it's big, and we built the deck in the right
place relative to the tree, which brings up this one thing.
The most invaluable tool for outside living planning that a
(21:16):
lot of you have just not really thought about is
a compass. A compass which you can just dial up
on your phone, by the way, these days, that's the
one I use every time we go to a console,
and every console we go on, inevitably people will see
me take my phone out and I let them know
I'm paying attention to you. I'm not taking a call.
(21:36):
I'm pulling up the compass because I always want to
see for myself exactly how a house is situated on
a property. That's one of the troubles with tracked housing,
by the way, is that the you know, the four
or so model floor plan models that went into your
housing tract that you're living in one of them. Your
(21:57):
house has been you know, rep heated multiple times throughout
the neighborhood. Sometimes it's facing north, sometimes it's facing east
west south. I mean, who knows it's the end of
a cul de sac or it's sandwiched in between other
houses kind of soldiered along the orientation of the house.
I was just having this conversation with a young architectural
(22:17):
student this week. The orientation of a tract home is
one of its biggest deficiencies. Now, maybe your house lucked
out and your house got positioned just perfectly in regards
to where the sun rises and sets and how it
travels through the sky during the day. But the point
is every other house that's oriented differently handles it differently,
(22:40):
and yet the windows and door locations aren't moving because
they weren't designed with any consideration about whether it's going
to maximize its view or take in the sunlight the
right way. That's just one of the things about tracked housing.
So the point is when we go to customize a house,
(23:00):
a tract home, and we're starting to make changes to it,
I always want to know where is the sun midday,
where is it in the morning, where will it be
in the evening in regards to this room, or for
today's discussion, in regards to this yard, this outdoor space.
So knowing that my house is oriented the way that
(23:21):
it is, and knowing that the space I had on
the north side of my ash tree was the perfect
place to build our little dining deck and put our
outside dining table. Why because I live in the Northern
Hemisphere and the sun is always always traveling across the
(23:43):
southern sky. Even at the peak of summer, when it
almost seems like the sun is directly overhead, it's not.
It's just a few degrees still to the south. So
the point is the north side of your home, the
north side of a big, beautiful feature tree, always shady,
(24:04):
always in the shade for the most part of the day.
And as it is true, the only time our dining
deck gets direct sunlight is in the early morning hours,
when number one, we're not out there, and number two,
when even during the summer, that direct sunlight is not
burning hot sun. By the time that the sun gets
(24:27):
to it's kind of a well, right about now in
the eleven ish hour, the dining deck is already in
the shade and it will stay in the shade well
into the late afternoon, which is the perfect time for
it to be in the shade and to be completely cool.
So when you are planning coolness for your outdoor experience.
(24:49):
You know what it Get the compass out on your phone,
the Compass app, and start taking into account where the
sun travels across the sky. It it amazes me that
I still regularly run into homeowners where I say, well,
you know, the sun is always traveling on that side
of the house and this side of the house is
(25:09):
always in the shade, and they think, well, I guess
that's true. I never really thought of that before. It's
incredibly important information when you're planning how to take advantage
of light and or shade when it comes to your home.
So understand what that is. And a lot of you
already know very very well what that is. But that's
going to affect how we and where we position shade structures. Okay,
(25:34):
the most problematic of which are when it comes to
the house at least, is when you know your backyard,
the backside of your house is facing due south, because
you get blasted with that direct southern sunlight all day
long when the sun is out and shining in the
sunshiny parts of the year. As a result, the shade
(25:58):
that even a patio cover or creates is going to
be offset from that cover location quite a few feet
and so you need to get out and do a
little shade testing. You need to hold a broom up
in the air to about the level of where you
imagine that shade structure is going to be and see
(26:18):
where its shadow is falling on the patio, because way
over there, that's where the shade's going to be, not
where you're standing where you build the shade structure. So
all of this to say, all of this to say,
the least expensive and the most effective way to bring
shade regularly into an outdoor space is with an umbrella,
(26:45):
an umberella. Okay, yes, why because they can move, two
because they are the least expensive forms of shade, and
three because we live, whether you know it or not,
in the golden age of patio umbrellas. And there is
(27:06):
an umbrella, a shape, a size, and a configuration that
will work best for you. Let's talk about that. Right
on the other side.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Here we are wrapping up another three hours together. Can
you believe it? I can? I can. It's always a
great time to be with you. But we're not done.
Yet I've got a lot more to share with you here,
so hang tight with me. Okay, Right before the break,
I had broken open the subject of shade and the
(27:46):
least expensive way, the least expensive way to stylishly but
effectively get outside, get yourself out into the yard is
with no not a new patio cover, awning, not a
California room, not a new roofed shade area, nothing wrong
(28:07):
with those. But by the way, you know everything I
was just saying before the break about southern sun orienting it,
understanding your orientation of your yard to the compass, understanding
where the sun rises, where it sets, what's in the
shade already, what's not. All of these things only are
(28:30):
compounded by the fact that the sun moves across the sky.
And you're like, yeah, I Dan, we are aware of that.
I know you're aware of it. But strangely enough, not
a lot of people give that thought when they're thinking
about investing in that big, rigid patio cover structure, because
(28:50):
we only imagine, oh, I build a patio cover, then
I'm gonna get shade underneath it. Well, not exactly, maybe
at some point point during the day you pretty much
get shade underneath it. First of all, if it's facing south,
then the offset of the shade is going to be
you know, a couple three feet in the summertime, and
(29:13):
maybe several feet or maybe no shade at all when
the sun is at its lowest point across the sky
in the winter, okay, because the angle of the sun changes,
and as it gets lower in the southern sky, then
that shade is going to be thrown much closer to
the house and not actually where you want to be sitting.
(29:34):
It's something to think about, and the fact that that
rectangle of shade keeps moving. In the morning, when the
sun is just rising, it may be twenty feet over
there to the left, and in the evening when the
sun is setting, it may be twenty feet over there
to the right. And only during two or three hours
of the height of the sun during the day is
(29:58):
the shade actually where you want it to be. And
that might be okay, But just understand that these more expensive,
luxuriant structures sometimes have inherent weaknesses their inability to adapt
to the movement of the sun. Hence the ultra luxurious
(30:19):
movable closable kind of shutter styled patio covers that companies
like Structure make Right where you can open and close
and adjust the shade level. Up there. Now we're getting really,
really luxurious. But the point is even those have limitations
when it comes to the movement of the sun across
(30:40):
the sky. Far easier and considerably less expensive to have
a lovely umbrella next to you that can be simply
tilted and adjusted, opened and closed. And that's a choice
that Teena and I have made for our home. We
love sunshine, we love open air living, and when it's
(31:03):
not too hot outside, I don't want anything in the way.
I also want to be able to go out and
sit on my deck when the rain is pouring and
still feel comfortable and in doing so. In order to
do so, we have a couple of cantilever style umbrellas
(31:24):
that are that are sitting on our deck. Cantilever style
umbrella simply means that instead of the umbrella being concentric
to the pole right in the middle of a round
kind of shaped umbrella, that the pole is offset, you know,
it's off to one side, so that the whole area
that the umbrella is shading is free and open, free
(31:47):
and open to move furniture around or to have chairs
sitting under and there's no pole. You're not like a
pole in between you and the person sitting across from
you that you're trying to talk to. A market umbrella
is a very very simple umbrella that works like a
typical umbrella, where the pole is in the center. Also,
by the way, a market umbrella can sit next to
you if it's a personal umbrella, no problem whatsoever. And
(32:10):
market umbrellas you can pick them up at a big
box store for about forty five or fifty dollars. We're
not talking about a lot of money when it comes
to creating some shade in the backyard, okay, But for
larger groups and for bigger entertaining or just a bigger
amount of protection, cantilevered umbrellas with an offset post are brilliant.
(32:34):
Now they come with really big bases on them, really
heavy bases. That may be something that you don't like
because it's not easy to move around. But if you
plot out the location of where you want your umbrellas
and you want to fix them in place, they can
also be And that's what we've done to our deck.
I don't have the big bases on the bottom of
my umbrellas, because I actually designed my deck with the
(32:56):
wood superstructure right where it needs to be, so that
I bolted these umbrellas directly into the deck, and they
are just coming up right out of the deck, and
right now they're folded away because it's a beautiful day.
I don't need an umbrella to keep me cool, and
I don't need it getting in the way of the
sky for me. But these two market umbrellas happen to
(33:18):
be eight foot by thirteen foot rectangles. That's the other
thing about I'm sorry I called it a market umbrella.
These two cantilevered umbrellas. That's the other thing about cantilevered umbrellas.
They can be roundish in their cannabies, but they also
these days, because we live in the golden age of umbrellas,
(33:40):
they can be rectangular. Mine are two rectangles, and they
sit on opposite sides of our deck with the fire
pit right in the middle. And so when I open
up these two two eight foot by thirteen foot umbrellas,
I get a sick sixteen by thirteen foot area because
(34:03):
I've set them up so that they just touch in
the center and they shade out the entire zone as
if I had a big, expensive patio cover up above us,
but I don't, and they also recede and go away.
Now how much did these cost? I think I picked
these up for about eleven hundred dollars a piece. That's
(34:26):
not cheap when you think you can get a market
umbrella for forty bucks, but twenty two hundred dollars to
completely flexibly cover an entire area around my fire pit
on my deck compared to building a patio cover. Try
building a patio cover for twenty two hundred dollars. It's
(34:48):
not going to happen. So the point is, shade is
not that hard to come by these days. There are
creative ways to do it and saving a lot of money.
And I again I would argue, this is not just
a cost saving thing for people who you know are
budgetarily challenged. We do these kinds of umbrellas all the
(35:10):
time on a state level homes because it's just the
right solution for some of these places on an estate.
It's just the right idea. Okay, So don't be adverse
to it. Think about again, what's it going to take
to get you outside? And then on that's the cool
side of things. If you need to bump the cool up.
(35:31):
Think of a personal mister system that you can hook
up to a hose or mounting a misting system. You
know it will drop the temperature under those mists by
twenty degrees instantaneously, inexpensive to buy, easy to install. Or
there are freestanding little misters that you can run down
(35:51):
and pick up very very shortly at the big box
and the hardware stores that just to hook up to
a garden hose and give you your personal experience. When
it comes to heat, of course, fire pits. They come
in every shape and size and expense portable ones, propane
driven ones. You can hook one permanently into your gas line. Again,
(36:12):
far less expensive than you would think on the low end,
and of course they can cost gabillions on the high end.
But you don't need that, just a little flame and that,
And if that's not even in your realm, then a
portable infrared heat dish heater that doesn't attempt to heat
(36:33):
the air around you outside, but you just point it
at you and you plug it in, run a little
extension cord to it, and you point it in your
direction and it heats up you and that's all. At
the end of the day. That we're really looking for, right,
is that level of comfort. Infrared heats you under your skin,
(36:53):
it doesn't heat the air around you, and it keeps
you snugly and warm. And of course, when I say
snugly and warm, the all to omit. The easiest way
to stay warm outside is to have a comfy coat,
a comfy pair of warm shoes, and a blanket. And
you know, at the end of the day, that's all
(37:15):
we really need to be able to get outside, to
get some elbowroom, to get out of the house, to
have more space, to take advantage of all the space
that's around you without breaking the bank. Now, there's a
final component to this which we're not talking about today,
and that is how to create an outdoor landscape environment
(37:37):
worthy of you wanting to be out there and enjoy
it with birds and bees, flowers and trees and everything
that is potentially amazing about your yard. That, my friend,
is another show, and that show good news is coming
very very soon. But until then, I am going to
(37:59):
leave you with this very very simple thought today, all
of these things are aggregates. Just like in life, one
tiny thing builds upon another, one tiny thing makes a
little difference, and then we build from there and from
there and from there houses, homes, estates. It does not matter.
(38:22):
They are all built from the smallest of components, one
after the next, after the next, after the next, And
so is a beautiful life. And so what I wish
for you today is that you take a moment, whether
you the temperature is zero degrees outside right now, or
whether it is sixty five like it is in my
(38:42):
yard at the moment, but take a moment, step outside
and consider, when everything is optimal out here, how can
I better take advantage of this space, and how for
the rest of today can I take advantage of the
life that I've been given and build myself a more
beautiful life. All right, everybody, that's it for me today.
(39:04):
We will see you right back here next weekend. Until then,
get out there, build yourself a beautiful life, and we'll
talk to you soon. This has been Home with Dean Sharp,
the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on KFI
AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to eight
(39:25):
Pacific time, and every Sunday morning from nine to noon
Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the
house Whisper on demand of the iHeart Radio app, live
streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Did you
know that this very program is also what's known as
the house Whisper Podcast that you can listen to anytime,
(00:22):
anywhere on demand, hundreds of episodes, all searchable by topic.
It is your very own home improvement reference library. And
one more thing. If you're thinking that's all great, Dean,
but what we really need is Dean and Tina standing
in our house trying to figure out that problem right there,
Well you can do that too. You can book an
(00:43):
in home design consult with me and Tea. You just
go to house Whisper dot Design, and you also get
to while you're there read some really cool quotes things
that have been the theme of our design careers together.
It's a good little website to check out house Whisper
dot Design. All right, back to the subject of making
(01:09):
more space for yourself for the least amount of money.
Yesterday we talked garages. Today I am talking about getting outdoors,
but I'm approaching it from this perspective. What's it going
to take to get you outside, you land lubber you.
And basically the angle that I'm approaching this from is
(01:30):
the opposite of the ultra luxurious stuff that you hear
and see all of the time. But that doesn't mean
it isn't pleasant and beautiful and lovely and enough. That's
what we're talking about. What is enough to get you
outside and really start enjoying the space around your home.
We've already discussed the idea that the first and foremost
(01:52):
thing is a comfortable place to sit, and that is
the right kind of furniture. And it doesn't have to be,
you know, crazy expensive patio furniture. What it has to
be is for you to take the time and find
the right kind of chair or chairs that are going
to allow you to relax comfortably without all the maintenance
(02:14):
and the upkeep and all of that kind of stuff.
I know this, and I had referenced the the you know,
I'm prone to thinking this way because I'd referenced the
fact that, you know, spent most of my life as
an avid backpacker and doing mountaineering and all of that
kind of stuff. My idea of camping is not folding
down the tailgate of the truck and putting the tent
(02:36):
ten feet away from the car. Nothing against that, super fun.
But my idea is like getting out, getting away miles
and miles and miles away from the nearest road, the
nearest car, the nearest anything. And so that means you're
carrying it all on your backpack, everything in and when
I get there, you know what, I'm not planning on
(02:58):
just sleeping on the hard, cold ground. We've got tents,
and we've got bedpads, and we've got camp chairs, all
ultra light. But that provide comfort and make setting up
camp pleasant. Okay, so that's not what I'm suggesting for you.
But in the spirit of that, the fact that even
(03:19):
when I am surrounded by nothing but hundreds of miles
of wilderness in every direction, the spirit of being able
to sit comfortably, to stay warm, to stay dry, or
to stay cool from the heat of the sun, all
of these things are things to take into consideration in
(03:40):
that kind of extreme environment. You would think, if we
can figure out how to do that, all we need
to do is get you outside on your patio to
spend a little bit more time outside of the house
and enjoy a little bit more space. Can that be
done inexpensively, Yes it can. So First before I talk
about shade and warmth, okay, because those are factors, absolutely factors.
(04:07):
Let's just talk about the floor beneath your feet. Okay,
what is it going to take to get you outside?
What it takes most people to get outside is to
be able to walk outside and not get their feet wet,
not get their feet muddy if it's been raining or
anything like that, or dirty. In other words, you want
to clean safe surface to walk out on. And for
(04:31):
a lot of people, they imagine that's a concrete patio,
or it's a you know, a paved of some kind
of paved patio with stones and flagstones and mortar, or
maybe it's a wood deck or a composite deck. All
of these things are wonderful, but what would be the
(04:52):
bare minimum. The bare minimum is, in my opinion, one
of the most beautiful elements that can go oh into
a backyard setting, by the way, and that is pea gravel. Now,
stop those of you who are saying, well, listen, you
know you can't walk into pea gravel in high heels.
I'm like, I'm not inviting you to, you know, wear
(05:15):
your stilettos in the backyard. It's time to you know,
relax a little bit, you know, put on your slips,
put on your tennies, or just put on your flip flops.
And no, it is a misnomer from a lot of
people that a pea gravel area is unsafe or difficult
to walk in. I can understand there are certain, you know,
(05:37):
extreme conditions in which you know you'd rather be walking
on a hard surface, which, by the way, is when
you simply set paving step stones within the pea gravel
in order to ensure that somebody who needs to get
out there, who has a little bit of trouble with that,
can walk on the stepping stones with the pea gravel
around you. But the fact of the matter is a
(06:00):
beautiful pea gravel area for chairs, for a fire pit,
for who knows what a dining set and table is.
It has a very zen feel to it. It has
a very natural, organic feel to it. And the cost, well,
what do you think the cost is of that?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on Demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're talking about getting more elbow space for your home
today by spending more time outside, but I'm specifically talking
about spending more time outside inexpensively as possible save in
the budget. So now we've entered into this area of
simply creating patio space for you to walk on, clean,
(06:49):
dry patio space to extend the comfort level of your home.
And yes, of all surfaces possible to put out there,
the least expensive and in my opinion, one of the
most gorgeous and most organic and most enjoyable is simply
(07:11):
using pea gravel. Now, gravel comes in all different sizes.
For those of you who are curious and wondering big
road based gravel and the kind of gravel that we
put into main concrete, you know, structural concrete structures can
be you know, three quarters of an inch to an
inch big, big, big particulate rocks. Pea gravel is exactly
(07:34):
what it is describing. We're talking about smooth, the little
pieces of gravel at the most about three eighths of
an inch in diameter that are about the size of peas,
you know, peas like frozen peas. So pea gravel is
comfortable to walk on, even in bare feet. If it's
the right kind of soft, smooth gravel it is, it compresses,
(07:58):
it stays in place, It does not blow around with
the wind. Because it is rocks, by the way, and
heavy enough to stay in place. It is easy to maintain. Here.
Can I get a little nature boy on you? At
the same time, one of the things that you've heard
me talk about when it comes to hardscape on our
properties is that almost everybody's house in southern California has
(08:22):
too much hardscape, too much stuff, and then water hits
this non permeable hardscape that means concrete and stone and
all of that, and it has to run somewhere. So
we have to add to that a whole layer of
drainage considerations, and we've got to get all that water
conveyed into drains, and then that drain system has to
(08:43):
take it out to the curb. And then water falling
on our property, a large amount of it gets conveyed
off of our property into the storm drain system, which
then just gets flushed out to the ocean. And the
whatever rain we do get in southern California doesn't end
up stick with us. And that starts at the home owner,
(09:05):
individual lot level. I am a huge proponent of allowing
as much water that falls on your property to stay
on or I should say, underneath your property, to feed
your plants, to become part of the water table, to
become part of the aquifer that feeds the entire region.
(09:26):
And one of the ways we do that is by
creating pathways and entertainment and spaces that are permeable hardscape.
Permeable hardscape in other words, hardscape that allows water to
fall through it and still soak into the ground below
without having to convey it out into the street. Pea
(09:49):
gravel is the ultimate example of that, because a two
inch thick layer, and that's usually what I recommend, is
about two inches thick layer of pea gravel allows water,
even in the most torrential of rains, to fall right
through it and soak into the ground below. And yet
you go walking across it and you are dry. I mean,
(10:11):
your feed are as dry as when you're walking on
cement during the rain, except cement can get slippery. Pea gravel.
Never does you get better traction in inclement weather with
pea gravel than you do with cement. Now, it's not
the universal answer for everybody, and so again universalists out
(10:32):
there who take everything I say, and say, well, I
can think of three situations where pea gravel isn't the
best thing, Dean, well, good for you. I can think
of eighty situations where pea gravel isn't the best thing.
But that doesn't change the fact that in a lot
of applications it should be used far more than it
is getting used. And it is without question, if we're
(10:57):
talking about a hard serve, safe, clean, dry environment, it
is the least expensive of all the paving scenarios for you,
and the most attractive and the easiest to maintain. How
inexpensive is it, Well, it depends on where you live.
(11:19):
You know, prices vary by region. But I will tell
you nationally right now, the average cost of a scoop
or a cubic yard or a ton of pea gravel
is the average cost is hovering somewhere in about the
fifty dollars range. So here in southern California, I can
(11:40):
tell you this. Let's say we want to spread two
inches of pea gravel over an area of maybe one
hundred and twenty square feet, a ten by twelve rectangle,
ten feet deep, twelve feet across. What's that going to
(12:00):
run you. It's going to run you about sixty dollars.
Are you kidding me? Yeah, it's gonna it's gonna run
you about sixty bucks for a ten by twelve area
one hundred and twenty square feet of pea gravel two
inches deep. That is not a lot of money, now,
(12:23):
Is that the only consideration when you're putting together a
pea gravel area? No, you know, it's it's good idea
to put some borders on it to contain it, you know,
especially if you're gonna make a little patio area. So
there's the cost of a little bit of bordering material
which could be made out of wood or other materials,
and some staking into the ground. Or you could build
(12:44):
a concrete curb and contain it that way. They're all
different ways to approach this problem. But the fact of
the matter is, I'm just going to tell you my experience.
As I told you, I don't have a big, grand home.
I have a little home. But we are sitting on
about a third of an acre. And if you think
that I'm going to pave all the pathways to get
(13:05):
everywhere I want to go on my third of an
acre in concrete and spend that kind of money. Then
you got another thought coming. It is pea gravel paths,
garden paths and areas all over the place here, And
I love it when I got up this morning to
walk out to the hen house to let the chickens
out and give them their mourning meal worms and all
(13:26):
of that. You know, in the quiet of the morning,
here's my feet crunch and crunching, crunch, crunch, crunch across
the pea gravel. Sometimes I'm barefoot. Sometimes you know, I've
got my flip flops on or slippers or shit, it
doesn't matter. It's just a lovely experience. And the point
being not for those of you who are looking for
(13:48):
ultimate luxury, but those of you who are looking for
a beautiful way of getting outside. What's it going to
take you to get outside? What's it going to take
you to get out on to the patio to spend
some more time outside. Well, one of those preconditions is
I don't want to get messy. I don't want to
get dirty. I want to be able to walk in
(14:08):
and out of the house without dragging in you know,
mud and clay and stuff on my feet. The least
expensive way to go to do that here is pea gravel,
and pea gravel is beautiful, it's what zen gardens are
made out of. And pea gravel is in expensive and
(14:31):
so so flexible, And talk about the ultimate DIY. If
you build the borders and get a rake and a shovel,
you can do your own garden pathways and patio areas
all by yourself, and you can get it done. And
it's a beautiful thing. And by the way, it is
not just an economic or it's not just a product
(14:56):
for people who don't have a lot of money. I
design pea gravel pathways into multi million dollar landscape jobs
because it's such a beautiful material. It also happens to
be incredibly inexpensive at the same time, and those are
projects in which cost is not even a part of
(15:17):
the consideration. We simply do it because it's gorgeous and
it's wonderful and it's zen and it's natural and it works.
And so I say to you, the second condition, other
than a comfortable place to sit, is going to be
a comfortable surface to walk on. Consider it. And if
you need to put some stepping stones in it in
(15:38):
order to make it easier to walk on, for somebody
who's older or somebody who's not quite as stable on
their feet. Then there you go. You can mix pee
gravel with decking, you can mix it with hard scape,
you can mix it with concrete, you can mix it
with stepping stones. It's just a beautiful approach to it,
(15:59):
all right. So where do we go from here? Now? Well,
what's it going to take to get you outside? A
comfortable place to sit and enjoy yourself, A comfortable surface,
a clean surface so you can move in and outside freely.
We got those two covered. How about now? Temperature, Yeah,
the environment itself. We need to stay dry, we need
(16:22):
to stay warm, and sometimes we need to stay cool.
All of those we will address right on the other
side of.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Live streaming in HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You
are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper. That's me.
I design custom homes, and I am here on the
weekend to help you understand how to take your home
to the next level. And I understand that we're in
(16:57):
a time right now where a lot of budgets are
very tight. Inflation has not left a lot of room
funds are tight, but so is the house as far
as elbow room, and we're looking for a little bit
more space without having to engage in the full on
remodel or room edition or all of that kind of thing.
And so just an approach this weekend for those of
(17:19):
you who happen to benefit from this kind of thinking
that there are two off overlooked spaces where we can
get the biggest bang for the smallest buck. One of
them is looking to the garage and which is already
an interior room structure. That's about three quarters of the
way there. We just need to take it over the top.
(17:39):
That's what yesterday's program, or the previous episode of our
podcast was all about, So go back and check that out.
On the podcast today, we're talking about outdoors, spending more
time outdoors. Now. This is true anywhere you live in
the country, truly, anywhere you live obviously right now, certain
(18:00):
seasons not outdoor living for everybody, obviously. But the fact
of the matter is spring is right around the corner here.
The thaws are beginning everywhere soon enough, and before you
know it, we're going to be in that time where
being outdoors is going to be an option for everybody,
(18:20):
and how do we do that as inexpensively as possible. Well,
we have to answer this question, what's it going to
take to get us outside. We've talked about comfortable seating,
We've talked about hardscape areas that are inexpensive, like utilizing
materials like pea gravel instead of concrete and paving and
specialized stone and decking materials and everything that goes into that.
(18:43):
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with those things. But if
we're talking budget mindedness, then pathways, even patio areas in
pea gravel is inexpensive as a beautiful and safe and
clean area can get your home. And yes, the question
came up, what about decomposed granite, Dean, I've heard that
(19:06):
that can also be inexpensive. It can be decomposed, granted,
has its own set of challenges though, just know that,
and it's a little bit more involved. And so the
reason it didn't make the very very first item on
my list is that decomposed granite is almost i mean
practically speaking, in most cases installed by contractors who know
(19:30):
exactly what to do with it. Because it has to
be laid down just right. It has to be compacted
just right for it to last, and it also degrades
faster than just pea gravel. Pea gravel is literally you know,
you dump it out, you rake it out, and pretty
much you're done. And that's why it falls at the
(19:50):
very very top of that list. All right, But there
are other considerations, as I mentioned before the break, when
it comes to spending time outside, what's it going to
take to get you outside? Well, I need to comfeeding,
not only in my seat and in my walking space,
but also I need to be warm enough, I need
to be cool enough, and I need to stay dry. Okay,
(20:10):
so where do we go there, Well, we could talk
about patio covers, we could talk about shade structures. When
it comes to shade, by the way, I'm all in
favor of a nice, big, old, beautiful tree. I've got
an ash tree, which here in southern California, by the way,
(20:33):
is one of our native trees that grows unbelievably fast.
So you can buy an inexpensive, smaller ash tree and
in just a handful of seasons have a big, beautiful
shade tree in your yard. I've got an ash tree
sitting sort of right smack dab in the middle of
my yard that now provides shade for our outdoor dining
(20:55):
deck because we love eating outside whenever we can. And
how is it that it provides shade, Well, you know,
it's big, and we built the deck in the right
place relative to the tree, which brings up this one thing.
The most invaluable tool for outside living planning that a
(21:16):
lot of you have just not really thought about is
a compass. A compass which you can just dial up
on your phone, by the way, these days, that's the
one I use every time we go to a console,
and every console we go on, inevitably people will see
me take my phone out and I let them know
I'm paying attention to you. I'm not taking a call.
(21:36):
I'm pulling up the compass because I always want to
see for myself exactly how a house is situated on
a property. That's one of the troubles with tracked housing,
by the way, is that the you know, the four
or so model floor plan models that went into your
housing tract that you're living in one of them. Your
(21:57):
house has been you know, rep heated multiple times throughout
the neighborhood. Sometimes it's facing north, sometimes it's facing east
west south. I mean, who knows it's the end of
a cul de sac or it's sandwiched in between other
houses kind of soldiered along the orientation of the house.
I was just having this conversation with a young architectural
(22:17):
student this week. The orientation of a tract home is
one of its biggest deficiencies. Now, maybe your house lucked
out and your house got positioned just perfectly in regards
to where the sun rises and sets and how it
travels through the sky during the day. But the point
is every other house that's oriented differently handles it differently,
(22:40):
and yet the windows and door locations aren't moving because
they weren't designed with any consideration about whether it's going
to maximize its view or take in the sunlight the
right way. That's just one of the things about tracked housing.
So the point is when we go to customize a house,
(23:00):
a tract home, and we're starting to make changes to it,
I always want to know where is the sun midday,
where is it in the morning, where will it be
in the evening in regards to this room, or for
today's discussion, in regards to this yard, this outdoor space.
So knowing that my house is oriented the way that
(23:21):
it is, and knowing that the space I had on
the north side of my ash tree was the perfect
place to build our little dining deck and put our
outside dining table. Why because I live in the Northern
Hemisphere and the sun is always always traveling across the
(23:43):
southern sky. Even at the peak of summer, when it
almost seems like the sun is directly overhead, it's not.
It's just a few degrees still to the south. So
the point is the north side of your home, the
north side of a big, beautiful feature tree, always shady,
(24:04):
always in the shade for the most part of the day.
And as it is true, the only time our dining
deck gets direct sunlight is in the early morning hours,
when number one, we're not out there, and number two,
when even during the summer, that direct sunlight is not
burning hot sun. By the time that the sun gets
(24:27):
to it's kind of a well, right about now in
the eleven ish hour, the dining deck is already in
the shade and it will stay in the shade well
into the late afternoon, which is the perfect time for
it to be in the shade and to be completely cool.
So when you are planning coolness for your outdoor experience.
(24:49):
You know what it Get the compass out on your phone,
the Compass app, and start taking into account where the
sun travels across the sky. It it amazes me that
I still regularly run into homeowners where I say, well,
you know, the sun is always traveling on that side
of the house and this side of the house is
(25:09):
always in the shade, and they think, well, I guess
that's true. I never really thought of that before. It's
incredibly important information when you're planning how to take advantage
of light and or shade when it comes to your home.
So understand what that is. And a lot of you
already know very very well what that is. But that's
going to affect how we and where we position shade structures. Okay,
(25:34):
the most problematic of which are when it comes to
the house at least, is when you know your backyard,
the backside of your house is facing due south, because
you get blasted with that direct southern sunlight all day
long when the sun is out and shining in the
sunshiny parts of the year. As a result, the shade
(25:58):
that even a patio cover or creates is going to
be offset from that cover location quite a few feet
and so you need to get out and do a
little shade testing. You need to hold a broom up
in the air to about the level of where you
imagine that shade structure is going to be and see
(26:18):
where its shadow is falling on the patio, because way
over there, that's where the shade's going to be, not
where you're standing where you build the shade structure. So
all of this to say, all of this to say,
the least expensive and the most effective way to bring
shade regularly into an outdoor space is with an umbrella,
(26:45):
an umberella. Okay, yes, why because they can move, two
because they are the least expensive forms of shade, and
three because we live, whether you know it or not,
in the golden age of patio umbrellas. And there is
(27:06):
an umbrella, a shape, a size, and a configuration that
will work best for you. Let's talk about that. Right
on the other side.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Here we are wrapping up another three hours together. Can
you believe it? I can? I can. It's always a
great time to be with you. But we're not done.
Yet I've got a lot more to share with you here,
so hang tight with me. Okay, Right before the break,
I had broken open the subject of shade and the
(27:46):
least expensive way, the least expensive way to stylishly but
effectively get outside, get yourself out into the yard is
with no not a new patio cover, awning, not a
California room, not a new roofed shade area, nothing wrong
(28:07):
with those. But by the way, you know everything I
was just saying before the break about southern sun orienting it,
understanding your orientation of your yard to the compass, understanding
where the sun rises, where it sets, what's in the
shade already, what's not. All of these things only are
(28:30):
compounded by the fact that the sun moves across the sky.
And you're like, yeah, I Dan, we are aware of that.
I know you're aware of it. But strangely enough, not
a lot of people give that thought when they're thinking
about investing in that big, rigid patio cover structure, because
(28:50):
we only imagine, oh, I build a patio cover, then
I'm gonna get shade underneath it. Well, not exactly, maybe
at some point point during the day you pretty much
get shade underneath it. First of all, if it's facing south,
then the offset of the shade is going to be
you know, a couple three feet in the summertime, and
(29:13):
maybe several feet or maybe no shade at all when
the sun is at its lowest point across the sky
in the winter, okay, because the angle of the sun changes,
and as it gets lower in the southern sky, then
that shade is going to be thrown much closer to
the house and not actually where you want to be sitting.
(29:34):
It's something to think about, and the fact that that
rectangle of shade keeps moving. In the morning, when the
sun is just rising, it may be twenty feet over
there to the left, and in the evening when the
sun is setting, it may be twenty feet over there
to the right. And only during two or three hours
of the height of the sun during the day is
(29:58):
the shade actually where you want it to be. And
that might be okay, But just understand that these more expensive,
luxuriant structures sometimes have inherent weaknesses their inability to adapt
to the movement of the sun. Hence the ultra luxurious
(30:19):
movable closable kind of shutter styled patio covers that companies
like Structure make Right where you can open and close
and adjust the shade level. Up there. Now we're getting really,
really luxurious. But the point is even those have limitations
when it comes to the movement of the sun across
(30:40):
the sky. Far easier and considerably less expensive to have
a lovely umbrella next to you that can be simply
tilted and adjusted, opened and closed. And that's a choice
that Teena and I have made for our home. We
love sunshine, we love open air living, and when it's
(31:03):
not too hot outside, I don't want anything in the way.
I also want to be able to go out and
sit on my deck when the rain is pouring and
still feel comfortable and in doing so. In order to
do so, we have a couple of cantilever style umbrellas
(31:24):
that are that are sitting on our deck. Cantilever style
umbrella simply means that instead of the umbrella being concentric
to the pole right in the middle of a round
kind of shaped umbrella, that the pole is offset, you know,
it's off to one side, so that the whole area
that the umbrella is shading is free and open, free
(31:47):
and open to move furniture around or to have chairs
sitting under and there's no pole. You're not like a
pole in between you and the person sitting across from
you that you're trying to talk to. A market umbrella
is a very very simple umbrella that works like a
typical umbrella, where the pole is in the center. Also,
by the way, a market umbrella can sit next to
you if it's a personal umbrella, no problem whatsoever. And
(32:10):
market umbrellas you can pick them up at a big
box store for about forty five or fifty dollars. We're
not talking about a lot of money when it comes
to creating some shade in the backyard, okay, But for
larger groups and for bigger entertaining or just a bigger
amount of protection, cantilevered umbrellas with an offset post are brilliant.
(32:34):
Now they come with really big bases on them, really
heavy bases. That may be something that you don't like
because it's not easy to move around. But if you
plot out the location of where you want your umbrellas
and you want to fix them in place, they can
also be And that's what we've done to our deck.
I don't have the big bases on the bottom of
my umbrellas, because I actually designed my deck with the
(32:56):
wood superstructure right where it needs to be, so that
I bolted these umbrellas directly into the deck, and they
are just coming up right out of the deck, and
right now they're folded away because it's a beautiful day.
I don't need an umbrella to keep me cool, and
I don't need it getting in the way of the
sky for me. But these two market umbrellas happen to
(33:18):
be eight foot by thirteen foot rectangles. That's the other
thing about I'm sorry I called it a market umbrella.
These two cantilevered umbrellas. That's the other thing about cantilevered umbrellas.
They can be roundish in their cannabies, but they also
these days, because we live in the golden age of umbrellas,
(33:40):
they can be rectangular. Mine are two rectangles, and they
sit on opposite sides of our deck with the fire
pit right in the middle. And so when I open
up these two two eight foot by thirteen foot umbrellas,
I get a sick sixteen by thirteen foot area because
(34:03):
I've set them up so that they just touch in
the center and they shade out the entire zone as
if I had a big, expensive patio cover up above us,
but I don't, and they also recede and go away.
Now how much did these cost? I think I picked
these up for about eleven hundred dollars a piece. That's
(34:26):
not cheap when you think you can get a market
umbrella for forty bucks, but twenty two hundred dollars to
completely flexibly cover an entire area around my fire pit
on my deck compared to building a patio cover. Try
building a patio cover for twenty two hundred dollars. It's
(34:48):
not going to happen. So the point is, shade is
not that hard to come by these days. There are
creative ways to do it and saving a lot of money.
And I again I would argue, this is not just
a cost saving thing for people who you know are
budgetarily challenged. We do these kinds of umbrellas all the
(35:10):
time on a state level homes because it's just the
right solution for some of these places on an estate.
It's just the right idea. Okay, So don't be adverse
to it. Think about again, what's it going to take
to get you outside? And then on that's the cool
side of things. If you need to bump the cool up.
(35:31):
Think of a personal mister system that you can hook
up to a hose or mounting a misting system. You
know it will drop the temperature under those mists by
twenty degrees instantaneously, inexpensive to buy, easy to install. Or
there are freestanding little misters that you can run down
(35:51):
and pick up very very shortly at the big box
and the hardware stores that just to hook up to
a garden hose and give you your personal experience. When
it comes to heat, of course, fire pits. They come
in every shape and size and expense portable ones, propane
driven ones. You can hook one permanently into your gas line. Again,
(36:12):
far less expensive than you would think on the low end,
and of course they can cost gabillions on the high end.
But you don't need that, just a little flame and that,
And if that's not even in your realm, then a
portable infrared heat dish heater that doesn't attempt to heat
(36:33):
the air around you outside, but you just point it
at you and you plug it in, run a little
extension cord to it, and you point it in your
direction and it heats up you and that's all. At
the end of the day. That we're really looking for, right,
is that level of comfort. Infrared heats you under your skin,
(36:53):
it doesn't heat the air around you, and it keeps
you snugly and warm. And of course, when I say
snugly and warm, the all to omit. The easiest way
to stay warm outside is to have a comfy coat,
a comfy pair of warm shoes, and a blanket. And
you know, at the end of the day, that's all
(37:15):
we really need to be able to get outside, to
get some elbowroom, to get out of the house, to
have more space, to take advantage of all the space
that's around you without breaking the bank. Now, there's a
final component to this which we're not talking about today,
and that is how to create an outdoor landscape environment
(37:37):
worthy of you wanting to be out there and enjoy
it with birds and bees, flowers and trees and everything
that is potentially amazing about your yard. That, my friend,
is another show, and that show good news is coming
very very soon. But until then, I am going to
(37:59):
leave you with this very very simple thought today, all
of these things are aggregates. Just like in life, one
tiny thing builds upon another, one tiny thing makes a
little difference, and then we build from there and from
there and from there houses, homes, estates. It does not matter.
(38:22):
They are all built from the smallest of components, one
after the next, after the next, after the next, And
so is a beautiful life. And so what I wish
for you today is that you take a moment, whether
you the temperature is zero degrees outside right now, or
whether it is sixty five like it is in my
(38:42):
yard at the moment, but take a moment, step outside
and consider, when everything is optimal out here, how can
I better take advantage of this space, and how for
the rest of today can I take advantage of the
life that I've been given and build myself a more
beautiful life. All right, everybody, that's it for me today.
(39:04):
We will see you right back here next weekend. Until then,
get out there, build yourself a beautiful life, and we'll
talk to you soon. This has been Home with Dean Sharp,
the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on KFI
AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to eight
(39:25):
Pacific time, and every Sunday morning from nine to noon
Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Home with Dean Sharp News
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