Buying Advice

What are the best outdoor living products on the market? For the second time, About.com Pool and Patio is participating is the annual About.com Readers' Choice Awards. Beginning on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, we will be will be accepting nominations in the following categories:

With traditional low-voltage landscaping lights, solar lighting, LEDs? Accent lights, security, pathway or deck lights? Nominate the specific product, design or model, along with the name of the company or manufacturer.

In 2012, the Best Book, Landscape Design and Outdoor Living was a new category for the Pool and Patio awards. Votes have been counted and a winner has been announced. Congratulations to author Marty Wingate and for winning Best Book for 'Landscaping for Privacy."

The 2012 About.com Reader's Choice Awards honors the year's top hot tubs and spas, as nominated and chosen by our readers. This year's Best Pool and Patio awards seeks to honor the Best Outdoor Patio Furniture, Best Pool Cleaner/Vacuum, Best Pool Test Kit, Best Hot Tub/Spa, and Best Decking.

Great books provide inspiration and instructions for outdoor projects. A new category for the 2012 About.com's Readers' Choice Awards is Best Book: Outdoor Living and Design. Books can include topics ranging from landscape design to DIY playhouses, and deck designs to patio container gardens. The book nominated must have been published in 2010...

The Best Book, Landscape Design and Outdoor Living category is new to the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards. The five finalists include books about succulent container gardening, designing for privacy, outdoor structures and outdoor DIY projects.

Ready to vote for the company that designs and manufactures what you consider to be the Best Outdoor Lighting? The About.com Reader's Choice Awards 2012 Best Pool and Patio category honors the year's top pool and patio products, brands and manufacturers, as nominated and chosen by our readers. This is the second year that the Pool and Patio...

Maintaining a pool or spa is something that you can definitely do-it-yourself, provided you have the right tools for the job. Cleaning your pool does not have to be a back-breaking chore if it's done regularly, on schedule -- before algae builds up. During swim season -- usually summer -- maintenance may take about 3-5 hours per week. If it...

The five finalists have been chosen in the Favorite Outdoor Toy category for the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards. To help you choose, About.com Pool and Patio has researched each nominee so our readers / voters can become better acquainted with each product and finalist.

How can you tell the differences among outdoor patio furniture manufacturers? About.com has compiled a handy go-to list of garden furniture brands, companies and manufacturers. Explore each company's website to learn more about the products and where you can buy them.

The About.com Reader's Choice Awards 2011 Best Pool and Patio category honors the year's top pool and patio products, brands and manufacturers, as nominated and chosen by our readers. This is the first year that the Pool and Patio category has joined the Readers' Choice Awards, making it About.com's biggest awards event ever!

Don't get caught empty-handed before a party. Wine is nice, but how about something that will last longer, is thoughtful, outdoorsy and will be loved by its recipient? Check out our gift ideas for the home and garden.

Playhouses and tree houses are an integral part of a child's outdoor play area. If you don't quite have the DIY thing down to the point that you think you can tackle small-scale home-building, consider one of the many playhouse kits available. We've found some of the best.

It's not too late to buy or send a Mother's Day gift! Mother Earth sets the stage for that female-outdoors connection. So, it's only appropriate that many Mother's Day gifts revolve around nature and mom's outdoor environment. Mom might get a spiritual, nurturing or renewal fix from gardening, her patio, relaxing outside or enjoying gatherings...

It's like sprinkles or icing on a cake: colorful, vibrant or carefully chosen outdoor cushions and pillows can add oomph to your outdoor deck and pizzazz to your patio furniture. Outdoor pillows and cushions vary in price, depending on the fabric, brand or designer. Garden-variety pillows in solid colors from discount stores are usually more...

Think outside the house for those on your gift list for any occasion. If you have a yard, you know about the joys and fun spent relaxing and playing outdoors, in the pool, on the deck or play areas. Consult our gift suggestions that include everyone on your list: women, men, hot tub and spa lovers and children. Enjoy your shopping excursion!

Where did those metal lawn chairs, gliders and other steel outdoor furniture get their start? Did they just appear in front of a motel on Route 66 one day in the 1950s? A Texas company produces powder-coated metal lawn furniture that's built to last.

Think about it. An outdoor dining set is like the anchor or hub of an outdoor room. You've got your burgers, marinade and some sort of grill. You can't just hand someone a meat patty and expect them to wander aimlessly throughout your yard. Enter the outdoor dining set. It lures you and your guests outdoors and keeps you there. Check out this...

The heat may be luring you outside, but with no place to sit except a couple of rump-sprung beach chairs or a low retaining wall, you'll soon find yourself heading back inside to enjoy the recycled air conditioning. Maybe it's time to get serious about buying some attractive outdoor seating for your patio, deck, porch, lawn, balcony or whatever...

Father's Day is a day to spend outdoors. Maybe it's that manly hunter-gatherer-stereotype, but the idea of Dad at the barbecue with an apron, matching chef's hat and shiny grilling tools seems to epitomize the whole scene. Your intrepid searchers have again combed the web for some extraordinary gifts for an extraordinary guy.

What's the best gift to give your pool and patio lover? Think about the setting: a bubbling hot tub, moonlight on the patio, a romantic walk along a lighted pathway, colorful lanterns floating in a pool, the warmth of a big thirsty towel waiting for you as you step out of the spa. Sound good? These gift ideas were carefully researched, with...

While considering gift ideas for children, keep in mind that the current generation of kids spends less time outdoors than any other generation in history. While a computer game or screen may be on your favorite child's list, why not introduce them to the pure, low-tech world of outdoor toys and activities?

Maybe it's time for some new outdoor furniture, but your budget won't bend. Like other potential purchases, you can work more closely toward your goal if you have an open mind and do some creative searching. Stores that specialize in patio furniture year 'round often carry high-end, deep-seating brands, but are less likely to hold incredible...

What's better, charcoal or gas grills? Derrick Riches, About.com Guide to Barbecues and Grilling, explores the pros and cons of both types of outdoor cooking equipment.

Years before the recession hit, bargain hunters were combing flea markets and estate sales looking for outdoor furnishings. Many weren't doing so out of necessity -- they simply liked the look and individuality of vintage patio chairs, tables, loungers and outdoor accessories. There's an endless supply out there, if you know how to spot the...

Late summer may be the best time of the year to get a great deal on an above-ground swimming pool. Besides potentially saving hundreds of dollars, you'll still get to enjoy your pool, especially if you live in an area that experiences Indian summers or soaring temperatures in the early fall. Above-ground pools can be as simple or elaborate as...

How often should you clean a swimming pool filter? While each filter is different, experts suggest taking a reading when the filter is clean. It's time to clean the pool filter when the pressure rises about 10 psi.

If an inground swimming pool isn't in your future for whatever reason, maybe an above-ground pool is the solution. Above-ground swimming pools range from economical models to more luxurious (and expensive) styles. Many can be enjoyed year 'round, and some use saltwater systems popular with inground models. Above-ground pools also have solar heating systems and covers. A good way to give your pool…

Where are you going to put that icy cold beverage or plate of bbq? Not on the ground! Don't despair: we've hunted down the top patio tables for 2011.

Before there were inflatable holiday decorations, lawns and porches were decorated with plastic lighted figurines: Before there were inflatable holiday decorations, lawns and porches were decorated with plastic lighted figurines: Santas, snowmen, reindeer, elves, candles and just about any other Christmas character you can imagine. These wonders...

Why do you want a swimming pool or spa? The real question probably is why wouldn't you want a private swimming pool or spa? You may have a clear-cut reason, like your children are on a swim team and need to practice daily. Maybe you want one "just because." Take some time to seriously consider how a swimming pool or spa would benefit your home and your life.

Combine your home-bound Summer activities of backyard parties with your own outdoor home theater. Although there are very extravagant ways to set up an outdoor home theater, you can actually put together a makeshift outdoor home theater that will make you the hero of the 'hood.

The Christmas season brings out the decorator in most of us, and is the one time of year that home dwellers and whole neighborhoods show their holiday spirit with lights and often-extravagant yard displays. While those lighted plastic blow-mold figurines dotted lawns and porches of Midcentury, Post-World War II homes, giant airblown inflatable...

What is it about Christmas lights that brings out the decorator and celebrator in so many of us? For some, it reminds them of their childhoods, when they would look at lit-up neighborhoods from the backseat of their parents' cars and try to recapture some of that early sense of wonder and awe. Others simply "like lights" and are fueled by the...

With a little research and resourcefulness, it is possible to liven-up your landscape without spending a lot. Enjoy this photo gallery and ideas for improving your outdoor living space for under $10, courtesy of About.com's Budget Decorating.

Kids love to play outdoors, and kids love to play on stuff outdoors.It's simple and a given: kids love to play outdoors, and kids love to play on stuff outdoors. They delight in playhouses and play equipment that's tailored for their smaller sizes, and love having a space outdoors they can claim as their own. As with any gift, you can go...

Warm-water exercise is one of the best ways for people with arthritis to increase their strength, relieve joint pain and relax sore muscles. Take a look at these five recommendations, including pool ramps and lifts for easier access in and out of in-ground and above-ground swimming pools

Hanukkah is not about glitz and megawatt yard displays. Still, many households that are Jewish, interfaith, or those who want to honor all the winter holidays like to decorate outdoors. We've assembled decorations that will add some beauty, fun or spirit to your Hanukkah festivities. Shalom!