outdoor dining area and porch inspiration

If you tuned in last week, then we gave a little history {with some adventure on the side} for our back yard. 

We thought we’d share with you our over all plans today, and a little bit of our progress so far. When all the covid-19 stuff hit, it freed up some unexpected time in our schedule since working with clients beyond the necessary stuff isn’t really a thing right now.

So, we’ve actually enjoyed using some manual labor as our therapy, and pouring all our energy into things that are really gratifying. It’s been a great project as a family. And a good daily workout, if I’m honest.

If you check back on our post last week, you can note that we’ve definitely put all our energy inside. So with this project, it’s time to really enjoy the outside.  

Here’s an overhead view of our home, and how it looked when we took possession of the house. The entire yard in this shot is actually on an acre lot. People come over, and the fence is so small, they think that’s it.

This is a rough drawing where I added to it, to show what the final project will look like. Yes it looks odd overhead based on setbacks and property lines, but in real life, we promise it will look fab. 

Dining Area: See that little patio to the right of the pool? That’s what we’re working on now, and it goes with the brick story from last week. {More on that below.} This includes a little privacy wall since the existing fence is coming down, and covering the horrid pump area.

Fence: The main thing on our list, is expanding that fence to give our kids and dogs more room. We never quite understood why the old owner oddly ended the old fence mid house in the back yard… we’re pretty sure he didn’t save that much money. The thing is rotting out at this point, so we’ll be sharing more of that coming up, but we’re going for a simple 5 slat fence with a little bit of a simple, modern look to expand the  yard. This actually makes it more affordable, and we think it will look better with the style of our home.

Landscaping: We have a lot of that to do. But in the meantime, that leaves us with a privacy thing. Unfortunately, the additional tree in the very back was removed by our neighbor, so it took away even more privacy for us in the back yard. We definitely lack it on the back side of the house, so we’re filling it in with more landscaping. We actually had those back ones planted last week, and we’ll be doing more side yard location ones this next week. Grow babies, grow. 

{For anyone who’s curious… that master addition we’re always talking about will go in between the first big tree on the left and the first part of the patio – where the bradford pear tree once stood – yes, it had to go.}

Cabana:  What we have right now, is far from it. This little purple/grey shed is currently sinking into the ground, but it currently stores all of our chemicals, floats, goggles, and anything else you can possibly think of. 

And here’s a rough sketch of what we’d like to add. Basically for entertaining with storage on the back. A simple, open area that helps provide more privacy but also gives shade for those who want it. 

Eventually we have plans to upgrade the pool, etc. but that’s in the future. In the meantime, these are the little changes we’re focusing on.

We went to California a few years ago and I fell in love with a hotel restaurant with these vibes. {Get your inspiration on, here} Right now, my sketches are {very rough} clean, but I’d love this kind of moroccan getaway combined with the modern lines of simple privacy walls and fences.

Think eclectic per our inside style and yes, I am a closet gardener.

::Kids shake heads vehemently behind me… she kills everything::

But think lots of personality. Long story short, we’re doing this in stages. And for now, the purple shed will be painted white for our in-the-meantime phase because I may claw my eyeballs out if I have to look at it anymore.

We’re just hoping our in the meantime phase doesn’t last long. We ready.

 

But back to progress on that side patio! Because while we told the whole story last week, I’ll give a quick synopsis here:

This is our septic field. We can not have anything permanent here. Bricks are perfect because it’s a way to get around that. So we basically marked off what we wanted with some leftover spray paint, because we’re high tech like that. 

And do you see that horrible pump area? Everything has been restored and new, but THIS is what we’re covering.

If you go back to the overhead view, you can see how this, the side dining area, and the cabana will all work together. 

And in short, this was some of our progress last week…

Jamin rented an excavator, and had a little too much fun. 

We leveled out the ground, and spread the sand. 

And then the brick laying began. 

Simple wins in the name of pattern.

Also we’re not landscapers, so there’s that.

But after this is done, I should officially have disproportionate shoulders like The Rock.

We laid sod after that. 

We love this view so far! 

So then Jamin started on the pump and heater cover. 

I’ll be honest: usually we have an over all plan. 

This one is very much if you give a mouse a cookie, because we very much needed to get rid of that eyesore. So I had to regroup, and that’s what I started with above. YAY progress!

Jamin borrowed a torch from a friend last weekend, to take care of the rocks {?!} that are around our pool. He was like a little kid with a shiny new toy.

And I’ve downloaded an app that tells us about the trees in our yard. We’ve been relocating plants and moving them around so that they work  better… like the rose bushes that were currently in this area. We’re getting creative without leaving home.

Our neighbor is an arborist {amongst other expert things} and I found some honeysuckle plants to move around. He says weeds are weeds only if you want them to be, so I was excited to have a few since they attract hummingbirds and remind me of my childhood.

In the meantime I’ve also planted my annual zinnia garden and added wildflowers as well.

Here’s our brick area the other day after we were finished with the german smear.

It really does go for a simple old/reclaimed look, and overs up all our bad brick laying skills.

So here’s where we are right now. The painting begins today. 

And we start digging holes for the fence on Friday. 

Let us know if you have any questions and thanks for tuning in. We’re getting excited about this little backyard paradise – we have a lot of work in stages in front of us, but we’re thrilled to have something to do. 

Have an inspired day!