Heartlands Building Company

In order to answer that, the question to ask yourself is: Which activities would you and your family like to do in your new space? If the answer is that you would like a space to relax or entertain in the fresh air out of direct sunlight then you may want a covered patio, deck or screen room. An outdoor room is the perfect transition from your indoor space to swimming pools, spas, gardens and other outdoor activities. The addition of ceiling fans and insulation in the roof will help make it bearable on all but the hottest days. Adding a fireplace or gas or electric heaters will extend its use into early spring and late fall. Making it a screened room will give you insect protection. Using retractable screens will give you space options if you invite a lot of guests or prefer the space open to other activities in your yard. If the answer is that you need more year-round family living space or like to entertain mainly around the holidays, you may want a sunroom. If you have se

The Heartlands website is full of photographic examples of the beautiful work we do. The photos are beautiful because the projects are beautifully designed and built. I take most of the photos, but the best ones you’ll see on our site and on our showroom walls, were taken by Gordon Kummer. Gordon enjoyed a successful career as an engineer, but upon retirement, took up photography as a hobby. Since then, he’s honed his technical and creative skills all over St. Louis and many other areas of the country. Here is Gordon taking photos of one of our latest projects,  a fantastic outdoor room. To see those photos and others he has taken, just visit the photo gallery on our website: www.heartlandshome.com.

The days of outdoor furnishings consisting of folding chairs with nylon woven strips or wrought iron tables and chairs are over. The increase in popularity of outdoor living has spurred on the development of many new features and accessories rated for the outdoors. Let’s start with built-in features. Gas grills and fireplaces that are vented and connected to your home’s gas line are extremely popular with our customers right now. There are so many models intended for outdoor rooms and so many choices of material to surround them. While natural stone is quite expensive, you can get a realistic look with cultured stone (man made concrete stones that can be tinted to simulate a wide variety of masonry and stones). Traditional brick is still a good choice, but cement board finished any way you choose might offer the most options. Of course for some, nothing beats the appeal of a wood burning fireplace or fire pit, and the available surround materials are the same. If you choose to go w

http://www.stlouishomesmag.com/article/cozying-outside The October 2012 Issue of St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles Magazine features an article about the outdoor room of the Heartlands built home of owner Larry Brost.