Creekstone Outdoor Living: 2018 Pinnacle Award Winner

Creekstone Outdoor Living is pleased to announce that they have been honored as a 2018 Pinnacle Award Winner by Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living Magazine! Sam Hickey, the owner of Creekstone Outdoor Living, teamed up with Regal Pools to create an outdoor living masterpiece that won top honors for Ultimate Outdoor Entertaining Space. Creekstone Outdoors: 2018 Pinnacle Award Winner, Outdoor Entertaining Design, Outdoor Kitchen

Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living Magazine 

Each year, the magazine Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living hosts the Pinnacle Awards honoring the most prestigious pool builders and outdoor landscape designers. Esteemed judges seek out outdoor projects that represent the year’s best designs. Creekstone Outdoor Living’s outdoor entertainment design wowed the judges and ended up being highlighted on the cover of the Fall/Winter 2018 issue. Copies of this issue are still available through the Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living website.

Ultimate Outdoor Entertaining Space

Creekstone Outdoor Living enjoyed creating the ultimate outdoor entertaining space with the help of Regal Pools. Their three-layered pool design caters to all ages and swimming preferences, and the 1,500 square foot covered outdoor living area is perfect for relaxing after a nice swim or eating a delicious meal cooked in the outdoor kitchen.

Creekstone Outdoor Design

This amazing project was created using all exposed Douglas fir beams, 12×12 solid columns with custom fabricated trusses and automated lighting to light up the night while you entertain friends and family. This same design also won the prestigious GHBA Prism Award (Greater Houston Builders Association) for best Outdoor Living Space.

Contact us to learn how you can get a beautiful, custom-designed outdoor living space for your own Houston-area home.

5 Improvements That Will Make Your Home Feel Huge

Do you feel claustrophobic in your home? Are you unable to move to a larger home or are you just looking for ideas to create more space? If your home is on the small side, it doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it feel a lot larger than it really is. Does your home feel small? Pick 1 of these 5 renovations for a huge home feel. Share on X

Make Your Home Feel Huge

There are several ways to add space to your home without breaking the bank. Follow these five tips to help create more space and make your home feel bigger and better.

  1. All About Light
  2. Marvelous Mirrors
  3. Color Contrast
  4. Clean the Clutter
  5. Seamless Transition

1) All About Light

Light can make all the difference when it comes to making a room feel larger. A dark and closed off space will feel tiny, but by letting natural light in, you can instantly make your space feel larger. Clean and open your windows to let in the beautiful sun, allowing the eyes to travel beyond the boundaries of your home to the outdoors.

2) Marvelous Mirrors

Mirrors are the perfect way to enlarge your space by not only brightens the room but also create an illusion of more space and a bigger room. Try swapping out some wall art for mirrors to keep your space bright and light.

3) Color Contrast

The colors you use on your floors and walls can make all the difference in making your small space feel larger. Opt for lighter colored paint for the walls, but avoid stark, bright white. Choose light, bright colors to make a room feel airy and open. For flooring, choose a darker color to contrast and make your walls seem taller, giving your entire room the illusion of more space.

4) Clean the Clutter

Clutter can instantly make a room feel meager. Go through your things and get rid of anything that isn’t being used. If you haven’t used it in the past year, you most likely won’t need it, so throw it away or donate it to someone who will use it! Start with one room and make your way through the whole house.

5) Seamless Transition

A home with a seamless transition between the indoor and outdoor living area is the hottest trend, and it helps make your space feel much larger than it really is. By bringing indoor functions outside (with a covered patio or pergola, for example) your outdoor space feels like an extension of your home. Connecting your outdoor space with the inside gives you more places to do work, entertain, or just relax after a long day, and can add significant size to your living space.

Home Improvements to Maximize Space

Your small space doesn’t have to cramp your style. By following the above renovation tips, you can make your home look and feel a lot larger than it really is.

Contact us to learn more about what home renovations can help your home feel huge, or view our gallery for outdoor inspiration.

7 Beautiful Flowering Shrubs to Add Color and Aroma to Your Outdoor Oasis

There is nothing better than the smell of colorful flowers delighting your senses! Whether your yard is large and spacious or cozy and small, it is always the perfect size for colorful and fragrant shrubs!  You can enjoy colorful and fragrant flowering shrubs year round. Share on X

Flowering Shrubs for Fragrance & Color

 You can easily plant flowering shrubs in the ground or in decorative planters to add aroma, ambiance, and fragrance to your yard. Here are seven beautiful flowering shrubs you need to add to your yard to help create the perfect outdoor oasis.

1) Amazing Azaleas

Azaleas grow effortlessly here in Texas and add a burst of color and scent to your outdoor space. There are several colors to choose from, along with fragrances ranging from sweet and fruity, to a dark and sultry spice.

2) Heavenly Honeysuckle

Remember when you were a kid and would pull apart honeysuckle to lick? Honeysuckle is a wonderfully fragrant plant and makes a perfect addition to your backyard space. Their sweet and fragrant nectar is a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies and comes in colors from white, yellow, pink, and red.

3) Striking Star Jasmine

Star jasmine is an evergreen vine that blossoms fragrant white blossoms every spring. Perfect to grow along a pergola or arbor. Star jasmine is hearty and will last for years to come. There are also other, equally wonderful jasmine plants with other color blossoms, like Carolina jasmine and their bright yellow blooms.

4) Gorgeous Gardenia

The gardenia is a prized flowering shrub that is native from China, Japan, and Africa, and it grows perfectly in the humid Texas heat. Their gorgeous and highly fragrant white flowers are long-blooming, while their dark-green foliage will last the whole year through.

5) Lovely Lilacs

Lilacs are known for their heady scents and exuberant blooms of purple, mauve, white, or yellow. These lovely shrubs originally come from France and are renowned for their large sweet-scented blossoms. They prefer well-drained soil and will flower for three weeks during the late spring.

6) Magical Mexican Orange Blossom

Commonly called the Mexican Orange Blossom, the Aztec Pearl is an evergreen shrub with glossy, dark-green leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom in the late spring. These decorative shrubs work perfect to add color throughout your outdoor kitchen or pool area, and their scent is sure to bring the butterflies.

7) Vivacious Viburnum

The viburnum is so versatile and comes in close to 200 species, ranging in both evergreen and deciduous forms. They come in a variety of heights, as well as number of different colors. Some viburnum flower in mid-winter and all offer gorgeous fall foliage, too.

Fragrance & Color with Flowering Shrubs

Whether you choose to plant some smaller flowering shrubs in decorative planters or choose vines to accent your arbor, you can enjoy their pop of color and sweet perfume all year round. Choose plants that are hearty growers for your zone, and be sure to choose various flowering times to overlap blooms.

To learn more about which flowering shrubs will add color and fragrance to your outdoor oasis, Contact Us.

Fire Pit Houston

Relaxing Backyard Ideas For a Tranquil Space

Whether you have a small backyard or a spacious sprawling one, your backyard is meant to be a retreat from the hustle and bustle of every day. It is easy to make your backyard the perfect place to unwind, relax and enjoy some peace and quiet. Choosing the right outdoor elements can provide ambiance and privacy to transform your backyard into a tranquil oasis. Share on X

Relaxing Backyard Ideas

Start spending more time relaxing in your own private paradise with these six proven ways of creating a peaceful backyard:

1) Comfortable Seating

Getting comfortable seating is the first step in creating a relaxing backyard space. Couches, loungers, and oversized chairs set up under your covered patio or deck gives you a place to let you stretch out, relax and enjoy the fresh air. The more comfortable the seating, the more likely you are to spend time relaxing in your outdoor room.  

2) Add a Spark for Tranquility

Fire always adds a relaxing ambiance to anyone’s yard. Having an outdoor fireplace or fire pit is sure to add warmth to your yard, making it a perfect place to sit and get comfy with your loved ones.

3) Just Add Water

A water feature in your yard instantly adds enjoyment to your outdoor living space. The sound of water has been found to have a soothing and calming effect on people. Consider adding a waterfall, bubblers, koi pond, or water fountain to your backyard to help shield your yard from the sounds of cars driving by or those noisy neighbors.

4) A landscape for an Escape

The right backyard landscaping will help set a mood in your backyard and help transport you to a relaxing oasis. Choose plants natural to your area that will thrive and grow with ease. Make sure to have a mix of trees, shrubs, and flowers that are adapted to your climate.

5) Secret Spaces

An integral part of creating a relaxing backyard is to have areas of privacy. A path to a secluded part of the yard with carefully placed plants or an arbor can prove the perfect place to relax with a book or a glass of wine on the weekends.

6) Mood Lighting

Outdoor lighting can set the mood and keep you relaxing in your backyard through the night hours. Lighting can be added through candles, floating pool globes, landscape lighting, or overhead lighting in your pergola or arbor.

Setting the Mood

With the above relaxing backyard ideas, you don’t have to travel far to find the perfect place to relax–just go outside. Create your own sanctuary by adding a few features like water, fire, and comfortable seating, to create the perfect place to sit, relax, and unwind.
To learn more ideas for creating a relaxing backyard, Contact Us.

Covered Patio Designs For An Impressive Backyard

Your backyard is a large part of your home and it should be enjoyed just as much as your indoor space. Enhance your backyard living space with style and functionality with a custom covered patio design. A covered patio provides shade, beauty, and function to your backyard design. Share on X

Covered Patio Designs

There are so many options for creating a backyard with a covered patio. Whether you use your patio for entertaining, relaxing, or cooking dinner, you can create the ideal ambiance with these top tips for getting your covered patio design to help create an impressive backyard.

All About Style

When it comes to creating a stylish and impressive backyard with a covered patio, it’s all about style! Consider the following various styles and choose one depending on your covered patio needs and the character you are hoping to achieve in your outdoor living space.

  • Tuscan–with warm colors, natural stones, and bold flowers and vines.
  • Old World–Cast iron, stones, and rustic furniture create the perfect Old World look.
  • Zen–Create the perfect place of solace and relaxation with simple lines and designs, and elements of earth, fire, and water.
  • Modern–Use bright colors, bold prints, and simple lines to create a modern covered patio space.

Covered Patio with Fireplace

A covered patio with an outdoor fireplace is a quick way to make your backyard more impressive. Adding a fireplace to your covered patio area is the perfect way to make your patio feel more private and inviting, and creates the perfect place to sit, relax, and converse with friends and loved ones.

The Perfect Pergola

If you are looking to keep your patio more open and airy, a pergola is a perfect option. A pergola will offer the shade and privacy you are looking for, and also add charm and character to your backyard. A pergola costs less than a patio cover and there are many different styles, colors, and materials to choose from.

Covered Patio with Kitchen

If you love entertaining or grilling outside, a covered patio with an outdoor kitchen will certainly make for an impressive backyard! A covered patio with an outdoor kitchen is certain to become the center point of your outside space. A customized outdoor kitchen allows you to make a one-of-a-kind place for entertaining and spending quality time with your family and friends.

A Sunny Room for Sitting

Go a step further and make your patio into a sunroom! A sunroom is typically fully enclosed, protecting you from the elements, but allowing natural sunlight into your home. A sunroom is functional and can be used as a family living room, reading lounge, an extra dining area, or even a sunny office space.

Create an Impressive Backyard with Covered Patio Designs

A well-designed patio cover can turn your outdoor living space into an impressive space that will be the envy of all your friends. Not only does a covered patio design help provide more living space, it lets you use your outside space during any type of weather, and it also boosts home value, too!

To learn more about how to create an impressive backyard with covered patio designs, Contact Us.