How to Have a Great Summer Party in Your Tulsa Outdoor Living Space

Tulsa residents will have fun firing up the grill in their outdoor kitchen this summer and entertaining friends and relatives as they celebrate goodtimes. But planning a party can get stressful, so we’ve got some great tips to getting your Tulsa outdoor living space all ready for the event.

Here are some tips from Real Simple on outdoor entertaining:


Outdoor lighting is a must. A little ambient lighting is enough to keep your guests safe out the dark. Globe string lights that are elegant and give off a warm glow, the article reported, are great for outdoor dinner parties as well as hurricane lanterns and tealights along with string lights.  The landscape lighting experts at Oklahoma Landscape can also install the right accent and pathway lighting to complement your home and landscape during anytime of the year.

Make sure there are enough seats. If you anticipate running low on seating, you might think about using some of your indoor furniture or even renting folding chairs. Another option the magazine mentioned could be to spread out quilts on the ground for picnic-style seating, if it’s a very casual party.

Repel flying pests. If you don’t have a mosquito misting system already in place, you might try adding some fans to your outdoor living space. “Mosquitos are weak flyers, so even if a fan is set on low, it can create enough airflow to keep them away,” Laura Harrington, an associate professor of entomology at Cornell University told Real Simple. This works best in small areas like a deck, she said. Also she recommended emptying anything with standing water in it, and giving guests bug wipes that contain repellent picaridin in place of DEET, which could damage clothing.

Keep the kids entertained. Many Tulsa homeowners have a custom swimming pool area where kids can have fun during the party. But some other kid diversions, Real Simple suggested were blowing bubbles, a Slip ‘n Slide or sprinkler, and even some inexpensive disposable cameras to let them capture the event, “say cheese”.

Make the music memorable, not just loud. Don’t make guests have to cover their ears with blaring music. “If you’re using a boom box or an iPod dock, place it above ear level so it’s not blasting directly at guests’ heads,” Michael Antonia, owner of the Flashdance, a Los Angles production company said. “And turn it toward the side of the house – you can make it a little louder and the sound will spread out better.” For the best music setup, the article noted that using four or more speakers, spread out and set at a lower volume work best.

Remember these outdoor entertaining tips to have a fun and be safe! For more ideas on designing and building the perfect outdoor living space, contact the Tulsa landscape contractors at Oklahoma Landscape.

Patio and Deck Design/Build in Tulsa - The Benefits

Would you like to enjoy more of your backyard and landscape? Patios and decks make the perfect addition for your Tulsa home. Whether relaxing or entertaining, these outdoor living areas give you a convenient way to ‘find yourself outside’ without having to walk through the grass or mud, thus protecting your home flooring.

These hardscapes are can become the basis for greater outdoor environment embellishments and can add exceptional value and curb appeal to your home and landscape. What are some design ideas and benefits to building a patio or deck for your outdoor environment?

Nowadays, patios offer a great deal of variety in design. They can be made using an assortment of different materials such as stone, concrete, pavers, tile, or brick. Concrete can be stamped or colored to add style and dimension to your outdoor space. Porcelain or ceramic tile can add a unique flair to your outdoor living area by even giving it a Tuscan or Mediterranean feel, depending on the style. Bricks can provide warmth to your patio and also come in a variety of colors. A nice aspect of using bricks is that they can be placed in such a way as to create a variety of patterns and designs providing added character and charm.
Patios provide a nice way of aesthetically dividing an outdoor living space. They are the foundation for your outdoor kitchen, fireplace, or swimming pool, which unfailingly becomes the focal point of your entire outdoor environment. Outdoor structures can conveniently be added to a patio area to provide shade and protection from the elements. Adding character, style, and practical appeal to your space, patios offer an array of benefits.

While patios are built directly on the ground, decks are ideal for landscapes on a hill or with an unleveled ground area because they are built with a support system to help them “float” above ground. Decks are thus a great addition to increase the visual scope of a surrounding area. These hardscapes can even be added to an upper level of the house. Decks can be built using a variety of different material like wood, composite, aluminum, vinyl, and plastic. Most decks include a railing for protection and in a multi-level outdoor environment, homeowners can incorporate some of the hardscapes from the patio with the upper level deck to seamlessly integrate designs.

So in choosing whether you want to build a patio or a deck, Tulsa homeowners have some diverse options. Depending on their budget, aesthetics, landscape, and outdoor living needs, homeowners can have a perfect place for entertaining by building patios, decks – or by including both – in their landscape design. Oklahoma Landscape can help you design/build the right patio or deck for your Tulsa home ensuring you enjoy more of your landscape.