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Bring It In
by Sonya Weiss
Bring the Outdoors Inside
In an Extreme Makeover Home Edition book, I read about a family with a daughter who was allergic to the sun (Polymorphous Light Eruption) or PMLE for short.
While I donąt have kids with PMLE, there is a genetic condition in our family called dysautonomia, which is a dysregulation of the Autonomic Nervous System.
This condition causes all sorts of not so fun health issues, one of those issues being an intolerance for heat.
You can imagine how creative we have to get living along the East Coast when the temperatures outside soar into the upper nineties or crest into the hundreds.
When it's too hot to be outside, whether or not it's for health reasons, why not bring the outdoors in?
 Inside your garage, you can create an outdoor haven inside complete with patio furniture.
Start by prepping the concrete floor. Clean it, fill any cracks. Then lay indoor/outdoor carpeting. If you havenąt seen the newest colors in the indoor/outdoor carpeting selection, check them out at your local home improvement store. Big difference from the stuff we all knew way back then.
In one corner, install an indoor water garden. For more how-to information on creating an indoor water garden, check out http://www.water2garden.org/indoor-water-garden/
Divide the middle of the indoor/outdoor carpeting by creating a walkway lined with flowers and small potted shrubs. The good thing about indoor flowers is the absence of bees!
In another corner of the garage you can create the beach area. Put indoor play sand in a large kiddie pool for the younger ones.
Finally, place your patio furniture in another corner. Kick back and enjoy your new outdoors.
Happy Decorating!
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