Houzzers Say: 16 Outdoor Must-Haves

carolanbo Your must haves for outdoor living are not very GREEN. All tht electricity to light up your outside! REALLY?

mcd53 Once a year is fine to celebrate and be a little special around home.

Lee Ann Smyth rain barrels and water storage systems are green and outdoor lights don't have to be on all the time. i think it's a great list!

winstondog LED lighting for the outside & it's only on for a few hours each evening

netbain I'm not sure how essential some of these really are ... for me, it would be a storage shed (one that doesn't look hideous) for all the outdoor tools

jayewo Have fun looking at all these "must haves"and then write a check to a food pantry or habitat for humanity for people who are hungry and need shelter.

linken I agree with jayewo. MUST Haves?

Nicole Thomson Yah... the title of the article shouldn't have said "must haves"... pretty hilarious.

mrsmullery How about "Must Haves for Your Dream Home Since You've Already Written a Big Check to Feed the Starving Children and Have Tons of Money Left Over to Enjoy Any Way You Want - Since You Earned It"? Happy now? Come on people. Be happy.

CAROLE MEYER These are all great ideas and anyone planning a new home should put these things on the list! When we built our new home I was so optimistic thinking I would "hand water" the large pots on our terrace....OH bad idea. We ended up with about 50 pots to water and had to add the drip system later. So much better to think ahead!

simbangelina Criticism is the thief of Joy.....

storklady AMEN simbangelina. I've seen more rude and uncalled for comments on today's houzz posts than i've ever seen before.

pdirlam This is a wonderful list of things to consider. My "must have" is a private outdoor space. We love the front porch for a meet and greet sort of place and we love our back courtyard and deck as an outdoor room that is enclosed from the world.

megbetz If the lights outside are powered by the solar panels, what's the problem, other than ensuring your lights are "night sky friendly?" Storlkady and simbangelina, I find that "green" seems to be a signal to call out the judgemental Puritanical purging Cultural Revolutionists, who are much better at taking all the fun out of life than actually leading a vanguard of positive change...remember, "If I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution!"

Jason Shepard Hopefully the showers and drip irrigation system(s) make use of the rainwater that has been caught. Hopefully, the backyard lighting and all those outdoor outlets run off the solar panels and not energy from the grid. Each of these options are definitely not green in and of themselves, but they can be made to be so. Make sure if you use the outdoor outlets idea, that you buy the outlet covers that are lockable so that you don't end up with someone siphoning your electricity...

I must say, however, that the "Landscape Lighting" picture is a picture of disgusting, overwhelming excess and environmental impact. I hope Houzz isn't advocating for that kind of destructive engineering.

Becky Harris I am so happy Houzz users shared the things they love having/dream of having in their own homes, and I'm certainly not here to judge them. Perhaps "must" was not the best word choice, but to be clear, this list is for fun.

Nat I would add a nice place to sit in the garden as a "nice to have"

mdm247 I think its a good list. Those who feel the need to criticize because of a lack of "green" need to relax. Your self-righteous indignation is a bore.

Studio NOO Design Yes, an outside shower, absolutely ! I chose this one overlooking the lake, do you like it ? ... and since everybody is worried: yes, rain water !

centrd While good intentions may be at the heart of some of these criticisms, not being well informed is counter to the cause. Landscape lighting is very low voltage using so little electricity that the lines don't even need to be buried. One's coffee maker, however, needs a heavy duty cord to prevent accidental electrocution, and unless unplugged, is draining power all day long. Solar options in landscape lighting are growing exponentially as well. There's no superficial way to know who's using an excessive amount of power, only an electric bill can tell you that. The best possible course of action is to always look at improving yourself and setting a good example. People are much more open to good examples than harsh criticism.

bhomola I love Studio NOO Design's shower - how perfect for the location! Great list for ideas and dreams:)

MelissaL @mrsmullery...and if we could all have such posative sunny welcoming dispositions such as you. Be careful what you say as you dont know others situations. My husband is a VOLUNTEER fighfighter and risks his life all the time to help others. You don't know what people do or give and you have no right to critique people for building a home. For all you know they may be building a home for children they are adopting.

Karen Heidrich I actually enjoy the negative comments because they bring me back to reality.

rachelbyman wow you guys can be negative. obviously the "must have" is a list clearly for fun, kinda like when you see something you like or love and you think "ohhh i have to have that" when clearly its more than likely a dream in your head. or like the people magazines have a section of "must have" items cause celebrities have them.. ITS FOR FUN. why would you be looking in houzz anyways if your so worried about 3rd world countries. go read something that has to do with that instead.. you can like things and have a "wish list" or a "someday" list and still care about people who are starving. although no i do not think about starving people all day. sorry. i care but im trying to pick myself and family up first and find CHEAP fun ways to DIY at my house.

lalumdane WOW - what a bunch of self righteous crap!
Where did it say this was exclusively about going green? oh wait it doesn't. The synopsis says it is about suggestions received for her custom home - a little forethought and insight on many areas - from FRIENDLY houzz users. She was gracious enough to take the time to put it together with pictures so that anyone who might be interested could peruse and think about what may or may not work for them. What an ungrateful group of bandwagoners! Next time look at the intent of a submission before throwing your inappropriate and abusive comments into the mix.

I personally would like to say thank you for touching on such a broad range of interesting ideas.

bepsf I'm impressed with the number of practical and sustainable features that are pointed out here! What is also interesting is a recent article I read about home features that are falling out of favor - Including Outdoor Kitchens:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kiss-these-10-once-popular-home-features-goodbye.html

Cre8tive Interior Designs If you are like me, and forget to water those pretty potted plants, run an irrigation pipe under the slab or deck for a drip system for watering planted pots.

Morgan Daniels wow, so many cranky tempered 'do it my way or you are evil' houzz guests. Yikes, feels like articles on yahoo here today. I think you did a wonderful article and gave many good ideas. People - they are just ideas meant to inspire people and share some beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if we don't have nice things to say - lets remain silent. Who knew practicalities we taught children in preschool and kindergarden would be so apt as adults. This is a wonderful site and deserves to stay that way.

Peggy Aronson Nice list. Here's another idea (our builder's): a utility sink in the garage with a faucet fitting that attaches to a standard garden hose. This way we have hot water to the driveway if we need it for clean up or melting ice, etc. It's a nice little luxury.

Terri Huck Loved all the ideas! Wish I could afford a large generator. The storms in July knocked our power out for 6 days in 95 degree heat!! I would absolutely use low voltage lighting in MY yard...I'm not a big fan of solar. Loved the idea of outlets on each side of the house as well....can you tell I'm not a greenie
Hahaha. Peace. :-)