Outdoor living areas can have it made in the shade through the use of canopies or awnings. Outdoor areas can be up to 15 degrees cooler when protected from the direct rays of the sun, says Ross Lederer, spokesman for Craft-Bilt Manufacturing Company, based outside of Philadelphia, and maker of patio covers and enclosures.

"Covering a patio or deck with an awning or canopy can have a cocooning feel," he says. "Even though a patio or deck may not, technically, be a room outside your home, it can feel like one when it's covered."

Some may choose to cover an existing patio by building a permanent sunroom, which is a free-standing structure that often has glass walls and is attached to a home with a separate roofline. But for those who don't take a shine to extra building expenses, semi-permanent awnings, shade sails and canopies can be a way to throw some shade on construction costs.

A desire for shaded living areas outside a residence may have been around since there have been rock outcroppings over cave dwellings, but today's patio and pool coverings are both sleek and smart. "Today's patio cover options aren't your grandparents' canvas coverings," Lederer says. "Many times, patio coverings have retractable options with motorized screens that use fade-resistant fabrics."

During the mid-20th-century suburban boom, people began retreating from the front porch to the backyard. Entertaining on the patio and into the backyard became part of a lifestyle that is still popular today.

The patio is a concrete or paved area that is usually located in a home's backyard. While wooden decks tend to feel more like an extension of a house, a patio integrates more with the landscape, because it is built directly on the ground. Custom-built patios have evolved from mere concrete slabs into sophisticated outdoor rooms with retractable overhead options that allow a homeowner to choose when outdoor areas should have a shady or sunny disposition.

Awnings

These shade structures have a framework -- covered with a specially designed outdoor fabric -- that attaches to the home and extends over a doorway, deck or patio.

While older, wall-mounted-only awnings can have a limited shading scope, manufacturers such as Craft-Bilt have devised hybrid awnings that have a room-sized framework, which includes front legs to stabilize the structure over a patio or deck.

"The top of the awning can be retractable, which will preserve the life of the fabric," Lederer says. "The shade is set on a roller tube, which unrolls at the touch of a button. When you're ready to go inside, the awning easily rolls back up into its housing, which is mounted on the house."

Canopies

For stand-alone structures that seek shade, fabric canopies are a sunny selection. Pergolas are popular outdoor structures with columns that support an often open-roof grid of beams and are an ideal canopy companion.

"A canopy mounted under a pergola saves people from looking like a checkerboard, should they fall asleep with the sun shining through the upper latticework," Lederer says. "Canopies can also be installed to retract or have a Roman shade design that mounts under a structure."

Canopies can be fitted with built-in side curtains, which can add an element of privacy, as well as protection from the sun. A canopied structure can also offer more height clearance than a conventional awning.

Shade Sails

Based on ancient ways of using ship sails to shade outdoor areas or sailors in encampments, today's shade sails are a contemporary red-hot way of providing sun protection. Using modern tensile fabrics, shade sails are stretched between several anchor points to create cool covers, says Matthew Dickerson, owner of decade-old Tenshon, based in Mesa, Arizona.

"The idea of using shade sails as a way to cover outdoor areas at home really began taking off when people started to see these in public areas," Dickerson says. "Not only do people recognize that it is cooler under a sail shaded area, they also enjoy its aesthetic."

Instead of having to erect a large structure to shade a pool or patio, Dickerson says shade can be geometrically achieved by using strategically placed poles or anchor points onto which the edge of each shade sail is fastened. When pulled taut, these membranes become hyperbolic arcs soaring above areas that cast shadows and comfort below.

With the installation of a pool or patio cover, it is essential to not only compute the space to be shaded, but to also take into account the time of year and time of day the area will be used most often, Dickerson says.

"The sun is always moving across the sky -- not only from sunrise to sunset -- but also across the horizon with the seasons," he says. "When erecting an outdoor cover, you have to take into account how shadows will change throughout the day, and also throughout the year, for the best results in terms of coverage."

No matter which type of patio or pool cover is used -- awning, canopy or shade sail -- each should be a shadowy segue from the inside to the outside of a house. But, before installation can begin, Lederer says homeowners need to do their homework and check local building codes within their municipality or homeowner's association guidelines, or both.

"Even though these covers aren't technically building a room onto a house, these structures still have to endure strong winds and snow loads in colder climates," he says. "Aluminum or wood frameworks can also be manufactured to be installed on the back of a home in a first phase of what might ultimately become an enclosed porch or sunroom."

Cover Up

For design inspiration in patio covers, go to: CraftBilt.com.

To view an entire video library of shade sail installations, go to: Tenshon.com.

Modern Bohemian home decor has a look that is more hip and less hippie. While the 21st century's "Boho-chic" movement ascribes to a more-is-more philosophy by layering color, textures and textiles, it also borrows clean lines from the minimalistic movement, says Tamarra Younis, founder of Union of Art, a design firm with offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

"Today's Bohemian design in the home looks different than it did in the 1970s," Younis says. "There's very much of a midcentury modern influence, with a glamorous worldly mix of items from well-traveled individuals."

The term "Bohemian" was popularized in the 19th century and used to describe the nontraditional lifestyles of artists, writers and musicians in European cities. The Bohemian lifestyle, as it relates to decor, is about creating a layered, flowing energy in a home that is colorful and highly personal, Younis says.

"The Boho-chic design aesthetic also describes my own personal sense of style," she says. "With an English mother and Moroccan father, Boho-chic comes naturally to me and, at its core, is a marriage of styles, much like my parents' union."

While there can be a fine line between being cluttered and creating a classic Bohemian design, the key is to make sure the space is relaxing and inviting. "The Bohemian look is on the opposite end of the spectrum from a monochromatic, minimalistic design," Younis says. "Clear away nonessential items and choose something you can't live without in the space. Often, that will be the focal point, and design can easily flow from there."

Meaningful artwork, an heirloom piece of furniture or a colorful rug can serve as a Boho-chic base that anchors a room and serves as its design foundation. The basis of Boho-chic design is to invest in pieces -- chairs, lamps and pillows -- that can look at home anywhere within the house.

Open Space

The Boho-chic concept is about being open -- not only in terms of the physical space -- but also in terms of how the space is used.

"The energy just flows more freely in a home without walls," Younis says. "In a Bohemian home, it's not about defining a living room, a dining room, a family room. These communal rooms are meant to be open to use in whatever way best suits the need at the moment."

Colorful pillows aren't just made for sofas, they might also double as comfortable cushions on the floor. Chairs should easily move in order to create inviting and intimate spaces for conversation or collaboration.

Color and light

In a departure from the harvest gold and avocado green popularized in the 1970s Bohemian incarnation, the chic 21st-century version is not only simple, it's more sophisticated.

"Walls should be painted white, cream or gray," Younis says. "Neutral walls don't compete with the interesting layers of color and texture in a space."

A bright tip that illuminates a Boho-chic style home is to invest in task lighting. Younis says colorful lamps or hanging light fixtures will shed light on good design. Gold-colored accents are not only warm, but are also priceless in terms of creating a rich design palette.

Furnishings and artwork

The Boho-chic layering effect is built from the ground up through the use of graphically dynamic or richly textured rugs. "A rug can set the stage for what's happening in a space and can unify a color theme," Younis says. "A rug also provides comfort underfoot, which is essential in a Bohemian home."

While walls are painted in neutral tones, Younis invests in pillows and linens that have atomic oranges, cool blues and verdant greens. "There is a relaxed elegance and refinement in the details, such as trim fringing, tassels and macrame," Younis says. "These finishes connote both refinement and accessibility."

Back to Nature

The Bohemian looks to nature for design inspiration. The modern Boho-chic style incorporates natural elements layering wood, metal and stone. Bright and airy interiors invite natural light into a space through windows, skylights and doors.

Creating an environment that encourages outdoor living while also bringing the outside to the inside of a home is the epitome of the Bohemian way of life. Rooms literally come alive with green plants in macrame hangers or little succulent gardens in planters.

Well-traveled

Because this style is highly personal, there is no absolute Bohemian blueprint for design. A family heirloom, a worn Turkish rug and a one-of-a-kind, original artwork can live together in a Boho-chic home, and each piece has a story to tell, Younis says.

"A Boho-chic home embraces the unexpected and, at its core, is a reflection of those who may lead an unconventional life," she says. "Using intention and surrounding yourself with items you love -- whether it be from your travels, your family or a secondhand shop -- is the Bohemian way of transforming a house into a home."

Boho-chic Style

For design inspiration, visit Union-of-Art.net.

Architectural details rise to the next level in a home's staircase. Whether sweeping or simple, the stairway not only serves an important function in a multilevel home, it should also have great form, says Jimmy Coltharp, a vice president with L.J. Smith Stair Systems, a 133-year-old company based in Bowerston, Ohio, that designs and manufactures staircases.

"As lot sizes get smaller in new home developments, builders are constructing houses upward," Coltharp says. "The staircase is a natural focal point in the home. Visually, it takes your eye upward and can create a grand entrance as you walk into a home."

The design of a home's staircase depends on the style of its construction and the materials used. In a new home, the staircase should be an integral part of its design, not an afterthought that merely connects the floors of a house.

"A home's staircase is the most intricate and fanciest piece of furniture built into a house," Coltharp says. "There's a lot of geometry that goes into building a proper stairway, and both builders and designers must meet strict building codes."

Stairs must not only be safe and easy to climb, they should also be aesthetically inviting. A staircase's general design fits into three categories:

-- A straight stringer. A straight-flight staircase is the simplest form that connects two floors without any twists and turns.

-- A curved stairway. The shape of this staircase is in the arc of a circle. For a grand effect, steps at the bottom of this staircase might also be larger and flared at the edges.

-- A spiral stairway. This system has steps that are supported by and rotate around a center pole, and is manufactured as a singular piece when assembled. When made of metal, a spiral staircase is weather-resistant and can be used to step down from a deck or private room onto a patio or pool area.

Straight and curved staircases are comprised of horizontal steps (or treads), vertical risers (the rear face of each step) and stringers (the structures that hold the treads and risers in place on each side of the stairway.)

The handrail system also steps up the luxe look of today's staircase. Also called a banister, a handrail system can be comprised of newels (larger vertical posts most commonly seen at the beginning and end of a handrail system); balusters (smaller, more numerous vertical posts, supporting the handrail between newels); and, of course, the handrail itself.

In new home construction, carpenters or woodworkers often build many stringers to specifications on-site, Coltharp says. Then, factory-manufactured staircase components are built to specifications, shipped to the building site and installed.

"The staircase is a serious piece of engineering," Coltharp says. "There are building codes that dictate tight tolerances to reduce the risk of injury."

While there is an International Residential Code for staircase specifications, there might also be local building codes that must be followed. Building codes dictate everything from riser height and tread width, to handrail graspability and width between balusters, which is often a gap that is no wider than 4 inches.

For those wanting to update or restore a tired existing staircase, Coltharp says a custom-made look can be as easy as swapping out wooden balusters for wrought iron ones, replacing carpeted treads with stained hardwoods or fashioning a new, custom-made handrail.

"We are often asked to replicate a broken baluster or newel post in older homes with grand staircases," Coltharp says. "This is done in our factory on a copy lathe, much in the same way one has a new key made from an existing one."

While the median price for a staircase in a starter home is around $2,500, prices can escalate to tens of thousands of dollars when treads are made of exotic hardwoods or stone, Coltharp says. Vertical balusters might also seem out of step, as horizontal cables are strung tightly between newel posts in many modern staircases. L.J. Smith Stair Systems has also developed ready-to-install metal panels with horizontal lines, which makes assembling the handrail system even easier.

Seasoned staircase contractors walk the line between designing a technically correct, built-to-code stairway and one that is also a welcoming focal point of the home. "Homeowners often hang pictures on the wall by a staircase as a personal gallery of sorts," Coltharp says. "A staircase that makes a statement is just inviting and can make a house feel like home."

In Step

To help design your home's staircase, go to LJSmith.com, and click the "Stair Designer" tab.