I started this post well over a month ago and then saved the post for a rainy day. Well, Let me tell ya what – it is raining and suppose to rain all day, through the night and into tomorrow. Can you say, weekend wash out?

So, back to our renovation.

Nathan and I moved into our home roughly eight years ago. Slowly we have renovated nearly 85% of the house. Some projects have been big as each bathroom received an overhaul, and we completely transformed half of the basement which was at one-time concrete cinder block exposed walls and concrete floors. Some projects have been minor in the grand scheme of things but made a bigger impact on us like new flooring and painting throughout, outdoor light fixture swaps, exterior painting of our home and back deck and then came the landscaping.

By profession, Nathan’s family owns their own landscape contracting company and like the saying goes, “A plumber has the worst plumbing and an electrician, the worse lighting,” yes, it is true even a landscaper can have the worst landscaping. Usually, it comes down to ‘What do I want to do in my spare time?’ and I can assure you that someone who oversees major landscape projects day in and day out, really doesn’t want to spend time working in their own lawn.

But, Nathan is true to his profession and what may not technically bother a homeowner tends to annoy Nathan. Our backyard was one major annoyance.

When we bought the home this outdoor space was just lawn, against two large doors with no windows that led to the said concrete space I mentioned above. The space was originally used for storage, but quickly after we moved in the entire space was transformed to a ‘man cave’ which soon became a second living room since I refused to allow my hubby to have his own personal space, it is called a home and I like to pest him like that. Nowadays, with our daughter in the mix, it really has become our family room.

We knocked out the old steel-like doors and replaced with doubled windowed doors that allowed some natural light to creep in. The problem then became that lawn, that we could now actually see as we sat on the couch in our new space.

For years Nathan said, I am going to make this a patio but for some time it set. And, then miraculously one Memorial Day Weekend, a dump truck and bulldozer arrived and earth started to be moved. My husband proudly proclaimed, “There will be a patio by the end of the weekend.” A pop-up BBQ and most likely a few friends texting him to float the nearby river impeded on those plans and two years later the outline of a patio still sat there taunting him and now me.

So, he bit the bullet and built out our backyard space, or should I say the gravel exterior wore on us worse than a green lawn.

Another before.
And an after.

Before. Pretty huh?

After.

The space actually is great for entertaining off of our family room, as the doors can both open up and it flows from an indoor/outdoor space nicely. The corner of the patio features a built-in fire pit which has become the meeting space for S’Mores central. Nathan also wanted the patio to flow right into the yard, so there would be no steps and fewer spills for Logan. The wall was built around the patio as a sitting wall for guests, so not to clutter the actual patio space. Yes, we like to sit in the chairs and drink wine. Some nights, while the fire rages and Logan is asleep inside we sit there for minutes in silent and then one of us will look at the other and say, “City people pay big money for this kind of small town, country peace.” And, it is true. It is a little slice of relaxation heaven – about fours in the making, but hey, who is counting?

Furniture: Target
Throw Pillows: TJMaxx
Throw Blanket:  TJMaxx
Tray: TJ Maxx
Wine Glasses: Crate & Barrel
Planters: Lowes
Fire Pit: Lowes
Outdoor Fixture: Lowes

Below are some inspiration pics!