“A Little Slice of Paradise” Patio and Backyard Make Part One
This summer we decided to take on one major house project….the backyard. There were several things on our to-do list.
Backyard Make-Over To-Do List
- Get a Fence (especially to contain Jude who loves to run circles around the house and to prevent children from climbing in the huge culvert behind the house, notice big pile of grey rocks pictured in the distance below)
- extend patio slab
- buy comfortable conversational patio furniture
- find some sort of shading for the patio (large umbrella, gazebo etc)
- Re-finish old metal patio table and chairs
- add minimal landscaping and accent flowers
- enhance the kids area/kid’s garden
As you can see we do not have a huge yard. Directly beyond the 3 Crepe Myrtles there is a drainage culvert. It is grass but it drops pretty much straight down. You can see a better view from the picture below. We were more than ready to block this off with the fence but I was a little nervous that once everything was fenced in the yard would feel tiny.
The yard expands a little to the side but as per HOA guidelines we were only allowed to come six feet off the house. All in all the space you see right now is exactly what is fenced in now.
The first time I saw our patio I immediately thought “Why didn’t the builders bring the patio all the way across the house?” Well now that I know the price of concrete I understand. We were lucky and were able to find someone to do the slab for $1000 but everyone else quoted us $1500 or more. It was well worth it. In a small space every part needs to be well planned and thought out in order for it to be comfortable and functional.
This is my gorgeous hunter green patio set that I have had four about 13 years. It is the best and most comfortable set ever. The high back chairs are so cozy and they ROCK! No, literally ,they rock, like back and forth. The only thing this table has ever needed is a little paint and this is the first time it’s getting a makeover. I highly suggest these iron tables they last so long and you can paint them any color you want.
So there you have it, the before shots of our backyard. Get Ready… The transformation is really Incredible.
If you could change any one thing about your backyard what would it be? Have you made any updates to your backyard lately? Tell us about them in the comment section below.
My backyard to-do list/wishlist pretty much looks the same as yours! Build a fence is definitely on there. Our big problem though is the amount of overgrown shrubbery. I’m definitely looking forward to you documenting your progress, as I need all the inspiration I can get!
Oh overgrown shrubbery is insanely crazy to deal with. We ended up ripping all of our front landscaping out and starting from scratch because it had been neglected for so many years. The backyard hasn’t been all that bad to get finished, it’s just getting everything coordinated.