Mike and Trey Farley introduce the Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast from Farley Pool Designs, explaining their goal of helping homeowners avoid “dream-to-nightmare” outdoor projects by sharing industry knowledge, trends, and insider tips. In this episode, they outline step one of a homeowner’s journey: define the dream and establish a realistic budget using photos to clarify style and features, align priorities with a partner, and identify must-haves versus compromises due to space or cost. They discuss how backyard projects can be major investments that may return value at resale, and how media and social platforms inspire new ideas. Mike describes a “shopping list” budgeting method that factors in site conditions like soil, access, grades, utilities, and HOAs to price features individually. They preview future step-by-step episodes covering site analysis, patios/structures, outdoor kitchens, aesthetic features, and pools.

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Mike and Trey Farley host the Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast and interview Ontario-based deck designer Robert Hodichak (“Deck Da Vinci”), who designs complex outdoor structures and co-runs 33 North Design with contractor John Lee while also designing for Decks & Docks. Robert explains how remote design is enabled by photos, tools like Hover, SketchUp, and Lumion, and stresses that homeowners should prioritize proper space planning, flow, and understanding use cases (gatherings, dining, kitchens, hot tubs) before aesthetics. He recommends NADRA as a resource for finding qualified deck builders and highlights common mistakes from unqualified contractors, including code and waterproofing failures. The conversation covers material choices (wood vs composites vs PVC), heat and expansion concerns, steel/aluminum framing longevity, under-deck drainage for usable dry space, railing options (aluminum vs glass), lighting for ambiance, stairs and landings, and trends around wellness features like saunas, cold plunges, and spas.

Discover more:

https://www.instagram.com/33_northdesign/

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Mike and Trey Farley host the Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast and interview Winter Moore of Winter Green Synthetic Grass, a company he started in 2014 with a borrowed $10,000 that has grown to about 60 employees providing full-service artificial grass for residential and commercial uses. Winter explains why turf appealed to him, how it performs in real dog-heavy backyards, and key pros and cons: low watering and reduced maintenance (but not maintenance-free), aesthetic appeal, heat, pet urine odor, and higher upfront cost with ROI over time. He emphasizes base preparation and drainage (crushed concrete, drain rock, French drains, irrigation rinse cycles) to prevent settling and odors, discusses product quality/testing (ASTM, lead-free), and covers applications including playgrounds with fall ratings/padding systems, sports surfaces, poolside transitions, pavers with turf strips, putting greens from recreational to tour-style chip-accepting builds, and HOA/permeability considerations.

Contacts and Connections:

https://www.wintergreengrass.com/ or 469-537-4747

https://www.farleypooldesigns.com/ https://www.instagram.com/farleydesigns/ https://www.instagram.com/luxuryoutdoorlivingpodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/poolzila/