I am not usually very productive in the summer, although I'm getting better. Last summer was full out CRAZY because our move happened so fast. I'm looking forward to a good mix of relaxation and productivity this summer!
Speaking of relaxation, I thought it was time I shared our favorite spot "in" the house lately. This one is actually outside, but it's a space we're spending a TON of time in. It's funny, because our backyard at the old house was just amazing. We added and added to it over the years to make it a beautiful oasis:
If you'd like to see everything we did in the old backyard, be sure to check out these posts! We worked on it for years!
I mentioned before that there's very little we miss about the old house, and that has surprised us. Our backyard was just so pretty and magical, and we do miss it a bit -- but we know our future yard will be just as beautiful someday.
What we don't miss is the upkeep. I didn't realize till we moved how much work it was to keep all of those outdoor spaces up. When we would entertain in the warm months we'd spend a good hour or more sweeping the deck, cleaning up cushions and pulling weeds from the paved patio. Obviously we'd do that plenty all year, but those are the times I really remember.
I told my husband from the start in our new house -- no more decks and no more paver patios in this backyard. I don't want the upkeep of wood anymore and no more weeds that sprout in the patio (ours was worse than some I'm sure because it was surrounded by trees). I want basic concrete! That's it! ;)
Anyway, I cannot even TELL YOU how much we are enjoying our new outdoor space. It's nothing super fancy, but we love it. We have a large covered porch and we had no idea how much we'd like this area:
It's around 200 square feet, which we've realized is a perfectly lovely size for what we need right now. (The trampoline looks like it's in the house but that's the reflection. 😂)
You know how I love symmetry! It won out here too, does that surprise you? :) I put our firepit in the middle and the four chairs on either side. It makes for an easy conversation area. There are two more chairs at the end of the patio that we can pull around the side as well.
We sold our outdoor table that we had out here. We learned pretty quickly that we prefer to lounge in comfy chairs. :)
We've had those chairs and the firepit for years -- both were from Menards. I need to spray paint the metal on the chairs sometime this year. I'll share all the sources at the end of the post if you're interested in anything!
I mentioned a few weeks ago how much we love having a sliding glass door. Actually, not so much the sliding door as the screen door. I've never had a screen door and it's been wonderful when the weather is nice. The cats are stationed there every minute it's open:
Annnnd I just realized you can see Colby sitting there. Ha!!
The only item I don't have a source for is the ceiling fan, but I'll do some checking. I love the little detail with the trim on the ceiling -- and that it's crisp white. I was going to paint it blue but so far we haven't had any bugs nesting up there! By the way, the fan helps tremendously with bugs when we sit out there. I had no idea it would help that much:
We had speakers added so we can play music. We just haven't figured out how to do it yet. 😂 We also had cable and an outlet run for a future TV one day. That will be awhile I'm sure.
We'll put the heater away soon since it's hot as Hades most of the time, but we do still use it at night occasionally. By mid-June it will be stored away I'm sure:
We also have a couple more chairs we keep at the end of the porch that we sit in when we take the dog out:
When our backyard grass grows in more we'll have him go in the back instead. Then I plan to move the chairs and install a wood swing. I cannot freaking wait! How cool will that be?
It occurred to me the other day that we've probably spent more time outside on this covered patio in eight months than we did the past two years at our old house on the deck or patio -- and we used those a lot! The shade is BLISS. Bliss I tell you!! We get a lovely breeze through here too so it makes it so comfortable even on a hot day.
It's not quite as pretty as the old backyard, but it's super functional (and we think pretty cool looking). We are enjoying this space so much and are so thankful for it:
Our backyard is much bigger than our old one and much flatter as well. We have big plans for it that I hope to share with you soon -- it will be awhile before we get started on any of that though. The biggest part will be the patio and we don't have details nailed down just yet. It's fun to dream about how it will look someday!
Do you have an outdoor area at your house -- covered or not? I always thought a screened porch would be lovely too. Do you prefer something out in the open like our old patio or something like this? Eventually we hope to have both but I really have fallen in love with the shade. ;)
Here's a list of the items on our porch if you're interested! Affiliate links included for your convenience:
Cushions: Lowe's but these are very similar and a better price
Rug: Target
Firepit and chairs: Menards (probably five or six years ago)
Butane heater: Amazon (no longer available but this one is similar)
Pillows: At Home and Home Depot
Thermometer: Target
Planters: Goodwill (see how I spray painted them here)
Door rug: IKEA
White side tables: World Market
from
http://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2018/05/a-look-at-our-first-outdoor-space-and.html
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