Backyard Makeover/Refresh- before photos and the plan
Updated: May 24, 2021
Well now that the kitchen is finished I assumed I would jump head first into our living room makeover, but now that spring is starting to...well, spring around here I've been giving the backyard the side eye.
This little outdoor living area is leaving a lot to be desired... and on the other side a lot of our plants were dead due to the bizarre ice storm we had back in February. Last week my mom spent a lot of time planting all new ferns and flowers around our Koi pond and waterfall.
The area right behind the pond is still a bit sad looking, but there are lots of little new fern sprigs and I can tell it's going to fill in, hopefully soon. Last year was the first time I had even done anything to the backyard- before that it looked like this, and where those flowers are now had just been a gravel pit with a very sad looking sign that was rotting (although in this photo you can tell where those ferns behind the pond typically go crazy).
Last year was also when I bought this outdoor furniture set.
It's nothing special, but it was a full set for a great price and I just wanted something out here so we weren't sitting on nothing, like we were when we moved in.
The furniture has been an improvement, but I never sealed it, so it needs a pressure washing (and sealing) badly.
I also am considering adding a few new furniture pieces out here, this sofa is so tiny and I would love to have something a bit loungier out here. Here's what I'm thinking:
- I absolutely love this outdoor rug, the color and design are beautiful, I think that will help tone down all the red brick out there (which I dream of someday painting white, did you see me chatting about that in insta-stories?!) as well as help define the seating area a bit more.
- I do plan on keeping the two chairs from the set we purchased last year (at least for another year), just cleaning and sealing them, I plan to use this water based polycrylic to seal them.
- I love this new sofa I found on Amazon, it's almost 2' wider than the one we have and looks so comfortable!
- I'm going to see if I can hunt down some new pillows for the sofa too, something pretty and duh... blue.
- The coffee table we already have is working just fine, but...this one sure is pretty.
- Kris has been wanting to add string lights back here ever since we moved in and we are finally going to make it happen! He has plans to add several strands overhead out here, he wants to add five strands, but I think we only need three. We'll see who wins out on that one, he very rarely has an opinion, so I should probably listen to him!
- During the summer I am a pretty active gardener, this will be the third year we have planted a full garden and regularly eat the food we grow- it's one of my favorite things! Last year we had tons of tomatoes, jalapenos, habaneros, a few bell peppers, and a rogue strawberry here and there. This year we plan to do more tomatoes and jalapenos, it looks like our strawberries are already on their way back in, and also give watermelons and cantaloupes a try. So this gardening work station would be so nice to have handy and let's be honest, it's adorable!
- And then if I'm going to have a gardening work table of course I need to make sure my gardening accessories are actually cute. This watering can and these tools are so special.
I would also love to add a dining table and umbrella out here, but I have yet to find the right pieces... so we'll see if that comes together or is another year away. I know we would absolutely use it, so far this year we've already eaten one meal outside and last year we ate out here countless times, we just use the coffee table and our laps to hold everything. It would be nice to have an actual table! Let me know what you think of the plans, are you doing anything to your backyard this year? I'm hoping we will be entertaining back here a lot more than we were last year!
The backyard is finished and you can read all the posts that got us to the finish line below!
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