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See our blog for new projects, announcements, and all things TMS Architects & Interiors.Active, Bold Colors for Energized Outdoor Spaces
Since the beginning of time, colors have evoked certain emotions in human beings. We’re drawn to ideas and motifs that make us feel something, and colors are no different. Individual colors have distinct connotations — some color combinations can even be off-putting with their cold and uninviting nature. But, whether it’s a soothing space you’re going for or something a little livelier, choosing a coordinating palette of colors will help everything flow together visually.
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Efficiently Use Water as an Aesthetic for Ultimate Appeal
Flowing water isn’t just beautiful — it has many invaluable health benefits, too. Water features purify and humidify the surrounding air, create a calming and serene environment, and encourage us to feel cool and relaxed. Struggling with a bit too much urban noise pollution? No problem! Water features create an audio backdrop that can transport you to a different place and connect you back to nature. So, here are some of our favorite water features to help take your landscape from dry and lackluster to delightfully aqueous:
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Awesome Outdoor Media Rooms Excellent for Entertaining
What could be better than watching your favorite team win on a sublime summer night surrounded by all your friends? We can’t think of anything more enjoyable and convenient than experiencing this pastime from the comfort of your own stunning outdoor media room. With outdoor spaces, the sky is the limit — literally, any outdoor amenity you envision can be available right outside your door.
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Stylish Backyard Appeal with Outdoor Living Spaces
Your backyard should be more than extra lawn and garden to care for; it should be your private oasis from which to escape daily stress or spend quality time with family and friends. Today’s designers are creating backyard and outdoor living spaces that seem like actual extensions to your home. Use some of the following ideas to inspire your stylish backyard.
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Outdoor Fireplaces Add Charm, Elegance, & ROI to Any Yard
Outdoor fireplaces are a definite source of warmth and lend an air of coziness to any landscape that tends to draw people together wherever they are situated. While these reasons may be high on your list for having a fireplace on your wish list, there are also other added benefits such as higher resale value or increased equity in your home and defining your outdoor space.
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Hardy Ground Covers that Excel in Your Garden
Garden ground covers provide many benefits beyond being decorative. Moisture retention, erosion prevention, and weed control are just a few of the more important reasons to ensure you have sufficient cover. Rather than the typical mulch, gravel, or cedar bark that require replacement over time, why not use hardy ground covers that excel in your garden?
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Create a Thriving Organic Landscape with TMS
Strong chemical weed killers, pesticides and fertilizers were once considered the best way to have a picture-perfect landscape. Over time and with further research however, we have learned just how damaging that practice was to our environment. As strong proponents of organic growing, TMS Architects would like to help you with creating an organic landscape.
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Gardening for Fido: Garden Surprises for our Fur-ever Friends
Your dog or cat is likely more than just a pet but like an actual family member to you that you share your home and outdoor space with. Have you considered including any surprises for your fur-ever friend in your landscaping? Not only will it help stop boredom, it can protect the areas that are not conducive to gardening and pets.
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Reclaimed Materials: Fashionable and Environmentally Friendly
Preserving our environment, or “green living” has moved past the stage of being a fad and is now a priority by the majority of society. While many designers and architects focus on the energy systems and environmentally-friendly high insulation values of building, TMS Architects also incorporates reclaimed materials in home design whenever possible to support our commitment to sustainable architecture.
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Ideas to Bring to Life Your Dream Porch this Summer
A porch is an excellent way to extend your living space into the outdoors to create that dream space to entertain, or relax and just enjoy the fresh air. If you treat your porch just like any other room of your home and put together a design plan, you can bring your dream porch to life this summer. TMS Architects will get you started with some summer porch design ideas.
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Invite Birds & Nature in with Beautiful Flowers & Foliage
Some species of birds, bees, and butterflies are becoming less common due to environmental changes and a lack of sustenance. Gardening for nature can help your garden thrive and provide you with countless hours of enjoyment when you attract any or all of these species.
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Peaceful Garden Fountains Evoke Inner Peace & Enhance Surroundings
On a hot summer day when life’s stress is getting to you, there is not much that is as soothing as lying back in a comfortable chair with your eyes closed for a few moments while you listen to the bubbling and light splashing sounds a water feature creates. The sound of water evokes a sense of inner peace and a beautiful fountain greatly enhances your surroundings. Creating a garden fountain might well be one of the best things you can do your for yourself and your outdoor living space.
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Garden Pathways are Great for Sending Visitors on a Nature Walk
The time and effort you put into your garden and landscaping are worth the reward of having beautiful outdoor spaces. When you have a variety of areas or an expansive property, creating garden paths and walkways are great for sending visitors on a nature walk. If crafted properly, the paths and walkways cannot help but attract visitors’ attention and they will save your lawn from trails made due to foot traffic.
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Designing Gorgeous Rain Garden with Style & Functionality for Landscapes
Looking for something extra to add visual interest to your outdoor landscape? If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of rain gardens, you’ve been missing out on a quintessential, sustainable garden staple. The things that attract us to gorgeous rain gardens are their undeniable reduction in pollution, their contribution to water preservation, and they allow you to enjoy beautiful native plants.
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Shape the Landscape to a Working Rainscape
With so much recent knowledge about rainscaping, the flood of information can often be overwhelming. So, we’ve taken our favorite tips and compiled some of them to help you learn more about shaping your landscape into a functional, working rainscape.
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Practical Ideas for Planting Drought & Native Plants
For your new wildlife retreat or rain garden, you’ll want to seek out drought resistant and native plants. The reason is simple — they’re well adapted to your specific climate, soil type, and pests. Ultimately, these advantages allow such plants to sustain themselves on less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Without any help from humans, these plants will thrive, giving way to an eco-friendly landscape that still looks fantastic. Luckily, most native plants are also drought resistant and can handle poor soil conditions as well.
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Create a Resplendent Outdoor Garden Room with TMS
Having a great yard design is a blessing in itself, but maintaining incentives to spend even more time outdoors can be optimally rewarding. So, why not give yourself something to look forward to when you step outside? Our designers at TMS Architects can help bring structure and beauty to your landscape regardless of your lifestyle. While there are a huge array of possibilities for charming outdoor garden rooms, we’ve taken a few hints from classic garden designs to compile some of our favorite ideas.
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Ravishing Hardscapes that Welcome Greenery & Spring Blooms
Hardscapes aren’t limited by their sharp edges and abrupt angles. Think of them merely as the canvas upon which you can splash greenery and spring blooms to create charming garden looks. While some may have settled for mundane shrubbery and annuals jammed between the driveway and sidewalks, your exterior has the potential to be dynamic and cohesive. Keep the flow in your garden by considering these ideas for utilizing hardscaping to suit your landscape desires.
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A Home Grows To Greatness!
Many thanks to Selectwood, a wonderful building supply resource center in Portsmouth, NH, for featuring a TMS designed home in the Spring 2015 Builder’s Price Guide. The project, A Seaside Renovation, was a collaborative project between TMS Architects, CM Ragusa Builders and, of course, the homeowners!
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Delightful Metal & Wood Gazebos to Highlight Gardens
When you picture a gazebo, you might visualize the grandiose setup of the wedding you recently attended. You might picture whimsical flower arrangements, twinkling candles, and the spirit of romance in the air. However, gazebos can actually serve as wonderful landscape staples — places to picnic with your family, enjoy the breezes on a warm summer day, and cultivate your favorite flowers.
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