Small Space Summer Sport: Bocce

Sports are great! They are good for exercise, some get you outside and they usually involve friends. If you live in a small space the down side is the stuff — the sports “equipment” that in a space to use ratio is seldom worth having. I know we all say we are going to ride our bike every day, but more often than not it ends up in the storage unit.

The trick is finding sports gear that can be used often and takes up little space. Bocce, for example, is a great sport that requires very little equipment to play. You do need a bocce set. A Bocce set usually includes eight large balls of two or sometimes more colors and a small ball called the pallino.

Bocce can be played almost everywhere. Any grassy area will do, but other surfaces including dirt and beaches will also work. If you live in a city, there is a good chance that your local park will have bocce courts, especially if your city has a “little Italy”. Bocce can be played with two, four or eight people. You may have noticed that most sets come with balls of two different colors. The balls usually have varying designs, so they can be assigned to multiple players. The rules are easy — you can read them here. There are also a multitude of bocce sets available, a reasonable quality set can be purchased for $69.00 to $120.00 dollars.

A bocce set is a great thing to have. It takes up very little room — about the size of a bowling ball bag, and can make for some relaxing summer time friendly competition.

Small Space Birdhouse: The Roost

I like birds. I mean to say I like most birds. I’m not down with Alfred Hitchcock’s birds or my annoying neighbor that feeds every pigeon in the city, but for the most part birds are fine in my book.

When I was a child, my grandfather had a Purple Martin birdhouse. Each year when the birdhouse went back up, I thought the birds that returned were the same birds. I actually thought their name, as in family, name was the Martins.

Well, in the cit where I live now, there is no room for a Martin birdhouse and I doubt the martins would like my neighborhood. I think they were more country birds. There are a great many birds in the city and a small birdhouse is an easy way to help provide a safe nesting area.

The Roost by Hepper is a perfect city birdhouse. Its sleek aluminum design makes it stand out from ordinary birdhouses. The roost is durable, non heat-conductive and stylish. There are several vibrant colors and anodized aluminum is extremely durable. These small birdhouses are well thought out with vents and drains to make your tenants comfortable.

Birdhouses are a nice addition to any outdoor area and you could make friends with a bird family for life.

Even More Small Space Grillin’: Baja BBQ Firepack

So by now my love of all things grilled has been well established. I just enjoying grilling — at the cottage it is a integral part of my summer.

I have also covered the fact that I prefer the flavor of charcoal vs. gas grilling. I am aware of the arguments over the environmental impact of charcoal vs. gas, but I am still a charcoal man.

Having said that, if there is a way to lessen the environmental impact of using charcoal, I’m game. That’s where Lazzari comes in with their Baja bbq Firepack. A great deal of VOCs are released by the lighter fluid commonly used to start charcoal grills. The Baja bbq Firepack eliminates the use of lighter fluid. The pack is a 100% recycled biodegradable paper pack that holds 2 pounds of natural lump charcoal. The package is formed with an integrated chimney that stokes up perfect hot coals without the use of additional chemicals.

You simply light the bottom of the pack, slap it in your grill, and let the package burn away starting the coals.

I’m all about grilling, and simple greener grilling is definitely the way to go.

Small Space Pop Up Furniture: Sandy Lam’s Spaceless Update

On May 8, 2008 I had posted about Sandy Lam’s Spaceless balcony furniture.

Sandy added a comment directing readers to her new site with more detailed info about Spacless. I just wanted to take a moment to say check it out. There is a great deal more information and videos, like the one above.

It’s a great idea and worth a second look. Thanks Sandy.

Small Space Pop Up Furniture: Sandy Lam’s Spaceless

Small Space living presents many challenges — not the least of which is, well, space. There just never seems to be enough. Even outdoors, my “back yard” is hardly the size of a small car.

Sandy Lam has developed some pretty intuitive solutions for increasing the useable space on balconies. Spaceslees is a system of furniture that pops up from the decking of outdoor balconies. It does not actually pop, you do need to lift it, but the pieces fold into the decking beneath their up-right position.

Currently, there are two pieces in the Spaceless collection — a table and a bench. The pieces fold flat when not in use allowing the space to be used for other purposes. When there is a need for additional furniture, you simply lift them out of their in-deck storage.

Small Space Grillin’

I love to grill. I have mentioned before that I grill constantly at our cottage in the summer. I do not have a grill at home mostly because of the space limitations on my very small patio area.

Magma Products has some amazing small space grill solutions. These grills are designed as marine products for grilling on boats. If you have ever spent time on a yacht or a ship that involves extended stays, you know that space is extremely limited. As a result of the limited space, efficiency is of vital importance.

The Catalina Grill by Magma Products is a small, versatile grill with a large 315 square inch grilling area. The grill is very well designed and made entirely of mirror-polished stainless steel. It has several intuitive features like a flare-up reducing inner safety shell that funnels grease into a front accessible tray. For an all-stainless grill, the price at $440 is quite reasonable

The best features of these grills are the variety of mounting options. They can be mounted directly to the railing on a boat or on a small balcony.

It is now possible to have that big grill cooking in very small space with these grills by Magma Products.

Marais AC Chair

As spring approaches, I can’t help but think of sitting out on the patio listening to the sounds of the city.

I am thinking this year of upgrading our outdoor furniture; I’d like to adopt a French outdoor-café theme.

I have been eying Marais AC Chairs for some time. I love the chairs and the stools. There is something intriguing about these chairs. They somehow are able to simultaneously stir up feelings of an elegant classic French café and the rugged aesthetic of industrial furniture.

The chairs were designed in 1934 to be originally used on ships. They are crafted of sheet steel in varnished gunmetal grey. They are also available in powder-coated colors.

Marais AC Chairs are available this season from Pottery Barn with optional cushions.

They chairs are stackable, up to eight high, which makes them perfect for small spaces.

Small Space Indoor Garden: AeroGarden

While visiting the Home and Garden Show on Saturday I stopped by the Harvest Moon Indoor Gardening Inc. booth. The first thing I noticed was the abundance lush green plants, a nice feat for March.

They were showing a wide assortment of horticultural lighting and hydroponics set-ups. The one thing that really stood out to me was the AeroGarden, see the photo at top.

I had previously seen the AeroGarden on the web, but never growing right in front of me. I was assured that they were indeed 23 days old, like the sign said. I was impressed by the construction, quality and over all ease of use of the unit.

If you are not familiar with the AeroGarden, it is a small-sized all-in-one hydroponic growing system. Perfect for growing herbs, vegetables or flowers right in your home. The unit has all the green thumbs you’ll need built in. It supports the plants and suspends the roots in the base where they receive the proper mixture of oxygen, water and nutrients. The upper portion of the AeroGarden contains the growing light, which easily rises as the plants spring to life. The unit can be set for the particular type plant you are growing. This little garden wonder even tells you when you need to add additional water or nutrient tablets.

If your looking for lush green in you small space, the AeroGarden may be just what you need. I currently grow herbs on a windowsill in my kitchen. With this unit I could move my cooking garden away from the natural light and brighten up another corner of my home.