I apologize. I got a bit distracted. Here is the final installment (well, nothing is final in home renovations – we all know that) in my Evolution of a Backyard series.
This is where I left off in my last post:
Sod laid, patio empty, and lots of plans were waiting to be put into action.
And this is where we are right now.
We’ve created two little seating areas. One is for dining, and the other is for sitting, lounging, eating, dropping crumbs everywhere, and frequent gatherings of moms, babies and chaos.
It’s such a cozy little set, and with the shade (because I’m half-vampire and cannot stand midday sun), it’s a great place to have tea and chat.
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This little fountain was my Mother’s Day present from the girls. It makes such a nice gurgling sound. It’s also helpful for potty training (make the kids have to pee!).
To sort out the now two-and-a-half foot drop down to the patio, we built a deck.
Actually, WE didn’t build a deck. We hired a very nice man who had a giant lifted pick-up truck that was loaded to the brim with tools and lumber. Mr. Suburble and I had talked about building the deck ourselves for about fifteen minutes. Then we remembered how much lumber costs. And how little we knew about building a deck.
I figure, it’s okay to go to the pros every once in a while. And it’s very awesome to watch a whole structure pop up from start to finish in one day.
I will be staining the deck this season. I’m going to ask you, my colour-savvy readers: should I go for a natural or coloured stain?
And I know that the World’s Ugliest Door lives here too. It’s on my To-Paint list. Don’t worry!
While we were finishing the “infrastructure” of the backyard, we debated over fencing. The original fence was a hodge-podge of cedar fencing (and some hastily done patch-work by myself and some scraps of wood). We were all set to put up another cedar fence when the idea of chain-link came up.
I admit, I was nervous to put up chain link. It’s not typically associated with stylish backyard fencing.
But I love it. Because we back onto green space, the chain link allows the colours (and the sounds of the creek below) to become a part of the backyard. It also makes the yard seem much bigger. We planted photinia along the border of the yard and created a “less-work” garden by putting down lava rock.
‘Scuse the marks in the grass. Brightly-coloured plastic playing apparati live here. Plus, sod is a bit fussy… even in year two. We still have patchy little marks in the grass that didn’t ever recover from the Great Rains of 2012. I’m sure that with a little coaxing and some fertilizer, we can achieve that golf course look.
Or maybe “the rough” of the course. That’s a more achievable goal.
Our yard is much bigger than it was before, but on paper, it’s MUCH bigger. The trouble is, most of it is not exactly what you’d call “useable”.
You may call it infested with invasive ivy. But I call it home.
Thank you for touring our backyard!
If you haven’t already, please check out the two other installments of The Evolution of a Backyard:
The Evolution of a Backyard: The Grunt Work
24 comments
Melissa
I love it, Tara!!! Absolutely beautiful! Too bad I don’t live closer I’d be coming over to enjoy your space all the time. 🙂
Tara
I’d love to have you! I get the feeling that you’d always be bringing over delicious nibblies for us to share! It’s too bad that I’m so far away!
Amy of while wearing heels
What a lovely and lush yard you have. I love the brick pavers and the shade elements (I’m part vampire too).
Tara
Thank you, Amy! Lush is definitely the word for our backyard – there is greenery everywhere (and invading in places where it shouldn’t). The shade is one of my most favourite parts of the backyard. It keeps everything so nice and cool!
Danni@SiloHillFarm
How gorgeous Tara! Love the patio furniture and all the greenery! Shade is something I have a problem finding here on the farm with all the open fields! Looks so inviting!
Tara
Oh, thank you, Danni! It’s been a lot of fun watching the yard (finally) come together! I do think I might consider trading my shade for the view of acres of fields and a creek in my backyard, though! 😉
Kenz @ Interiors by Kenz
Your backyard is glorious. I am so envious. Maybe in 30 years we’ll have a backyard that doesn’t blow chunks. One can dream 🙂
Tara
Thank you, sweet Kenzie! Honestly… it was a dirt pile for years. And I didn’t know what to do with it (or myself) when I was out there. We’ve only just gotten the hang of it… and I still have an unstained deck and an ugly back door, and some weird patches in my sod. I’m learning that the backyard is the reno that never stops needing renos. (And have you noticed that quite often, people who have beautiful backyards often have regular ho-hum houses, and then if you have a beautiful interior, the yard is either kept up by a gardener or is low-maintenance shrubbery?).
I’m so deep today. 😉
Julie
Beautiful green yard. It is very hot where I live in Louisiana and everything is suffering for water right now. As for the deck – we had a large one built last summer and procrastinated about staining it. This spring when we decided to do it, there was mildew everywhere and it was yukky. We had to clean and scrub before we could stain. We used Behr Semi-Transparent Redwood. It’s beautiful, but every leaf, piece of grass, muddy paw print, etc shows really bad versus how it looked on the natural wood. If I had it to do over I would go with either natural or a lighter stain.
Tara
Julie – Thank you so much for this comment. I’ve been humming and hah-ing about what colour to stain our little deck and it’s been a tough decision between a more natural stain and a coloured stain. I definitely don’t want something that is going to show marks – the kids are constantly making marks and footprints, etc, wherever they go.
We also had a solid-colour stained deck (the one we ripped down) and while I liked the colour of it for the first year, it wore off in a really horrible way (with the original colour showing).
I think you’ve convinced me to stay on the lighter colour spectrum. Now I just have to get the motivation to stain it! 🙂
Krista @thehappyhousie
What an awesome space! And that ain’t no traditional chain link. That is some stylin’ black link that somehow manages to disappear into the background. Hmmm…. deck stain. That’s a tough one. We did a lighter grey opaque stain in our first house and liked the coverage it gave…maybe choose a colour that blends between your siding and your stone? Good luck, tough choice!
Tara
I know – the deck stain one is a tough one, isn’t it? Trouble is, the colour of our house – which I don’t love – is pinkish. And the colour of the stone is greys and reds. I love the look of solid colour stain, but I don’t think I’m up for the upkeep. I’m liking your idea of a grey stain… I’ll take a look at those. And I’d better get on it… we only have another month of relatively rain-free living! 🙂
Kirsten @ One Tough Mother
This is so pretty Tara! I’m jealous! We have SO much work to do in our backyard – it’s completely unusable right now, which royally sucks because it’s huge and has tons of potential, but there’s so much to be done it just all seems so overwhelming right now.
Great job – love the yard, the fountain, the gnomes, all of it 🙂
Tara
Thank you so much, Kirsten! Our backyard has been years in the making. There was a whole year that we had to host barbecues and parties in our front yard – yes, it was THAT awesome – because our backyard was totally unusable. It also didn’t have a fence.
How luck for your guys that your backyard is huge! I’m sure that when you’re feeling ready to tackle it, it will all come together. For us, it was the patio that really got the ball moving. It seemed to bring everything together. 🙂 You should post pictures of your space – I’m sure that it’s not as bad as you say!
Alex @ northstory
As someone who lives in a subdivision and planted a tree just to get some shade and a speck of privacy, I totally envy your lush green private yard!
Tara
Oh thank you so much, Alex. We’re lucky that our street backs onto a ravine. it does offer so much privacy; I’m far too accustomed to it. 🙂
Melissa
Wow! I love it! I wish my backyard looked like that but with our HOA I know the furniture wouldn’t be allowed because it can be seen over our fences, but a girl can dream and your backyard is a dream!
Tara
No furniture because it can be seen through fences!!? Oh no – how do you have dinner al fresco? Are you allowed to have a patio table and chairs?
That aside, it’s nice to have a little patch of green of your very own. Can you garden in your lot?
Bethany
I am so in love with your backyard!
Tara
Oh, thank you so much, Bethany! It’s the project that didn’t ever want to end. Finally – we’re feeling good about it!
Kolleen
Chain link is brilliant for this purpose. My sister used it in a similar fashion as her place backs up to a walnut orchard. Her’s isbrown. I talked my landlord into doing the same thing. We back up into some large properties, some with horses. We went with brown and the visual space is amazing. I live in town so its amazing to sit inside and see horses running!! I recommend it highly and if you need privacy in some areas you can add privacy slats in many colors.
Tara
I was so thrilled with my chain link – though I was nervous at first. I’m so glad to hear that others have discovered it too! (Maybe it will be a trend!)
Lincoln Sheeran
Hey…. Tara I know i am so late to say you thank you for this lovely post . There are really so much good ideas to decorate patio or backyard of your home . Patio has the ability to increase the value of your home. Among the patio solutions that you can get is a patio shade canopy. This equipment primarily works for you as protection from the sun but they have been developed throughout the years to contribute to your overall home design.
Ryan J.
What a beautiful backyard you have.
I hope you find enough time to relax and make the most out of it.