I know, I know we said that our bedroom and bathroom are next--but the weather is warm and we want to take advantage. And to those who are emailing me about the kitchen tile--that's coming, too. It's on backorder so we're moving ahead until it arrives and we install it in record time because we're so anxious. Onward. The patio. It's sad and we're pathetic for leaving it in this condition for so long.
I don't want to tell you, but I will--this is our third summer in our house and we have done next to no work on the exterior. Well, we did purchase and paint a new front door and got rid of the dog kennel but this summer--this summer is it! I've checked out some books and scoured the internet to educate myself on plants (I know nothing about plants) and landscaping and I think we have a direction for our completely bare third of an acre.
Goodness, this post is about the patio! I have been collecting all sorts of ideas here and although we haven't pinpointed exactly what we're doing down to the last garden stool, here's what we do know:
1. For furniture, I'd love to find something second hand and loungey instead of dining furniture.
2. We're staining the patio. This weekend. Woot.
3. We're building a pergola...as soon as we can bribe some of our friends with muscles to help us. This will really help add some architectural interest to our relatively plain back of the house.
4. We're switching out our tiny light fixture for something larger and maybe colorful?
5. We're adding lots of plants and cafe lights. Of course.
6. We're hoping to get it done before mid-June when we host our first outdoor movie party.
Exciting, right?! And like a recent commenter said, the great thing about a terrible before is it makes the after look even better. So yeah, I think through all of that procrastination, we have set ourselves up for a win.
PS. Pork barbacoa for Cinco de Mayo (and every other day) on Chris's blog!
PPS. Seriously inspiring patio/rooftop makeover. I'm drooling.
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Just curious about your outdoor movie party plans... We keep debating on purchasing a projector for that very reason.
Awesome! Can't wait to see what you have done!
Great ideas - I think a pergola will really cozy up the patio. Also, we have both an outdoor sectional and a dining table and we pretty much only use the lounge seating - it is soooo much more comfortable so good choice on that! Best of luck staining this weekend!
Can't wait to see what you do! Our patio is barely deep enough for a table and chairs so we've been talking about working on it. Only problem is it's concrete now and we want stone, which would be thousands of dollars. Boo.
We thought about that route, too, Ashley! But opted to stain it, instead. And we might have a border or pavers or brick. We'll see!
Can't wait to see your ideas and process. I'm in the midst of trying to educate myself on what kinds of trees (I really want a topiary) will grow under a shaded front porch. So confusing!