We’ve been planning on upgrading our outdoor patio since last summer, but then life got in the way and then it was winter and suddenly here we are and it’s about that time to be living outdoors again. We’ve been working with Leigh Love, a local landscape designer and I’ve loved all the ideas she’s come up with. Eventually we’d like to incorporate some kind of a structure – a pergola maybe? But in the meantime, we’re more than doubling our patio space and reconfiguring a part of the yard that ends up being a muddy mess.

OUTDOOR LIVING INSPIRATION

THE PLAN

We’re getting rid of those pokey holly bushes underneath the kitchen window and none of us are sad to see it go. It’s so darn sharp! The random knockout roses are also going away as they’re taking up space in the middle of the yard, rendering that part of the yard useless (again – pokey!!).

We’re having poured-in-place concrete pavers put into the space and it’s going to dramatically increase our patio space. We’ll have room for a dining space and a lounge space. We also are planning on having a fence built again – we lost the existing one between the garage and the yard last year in a storm (RIP, fence).

Mainly I need to contain this guy:

The biggest hurdle to overcome is budget. The cost of having the concrete poured has run the gamut from $2k to $6k. And an initial bid for a custom pergola (because of course I didn’t want a goofy one – haha) was over $12K. Ugh.  Why is everything pretty so expensive?! So at this point, we’re nixing the pergola and going with just the concrete (the lower end). And we’ll do mexican beach pebbles in between the pavers.

Sergio The Amazing Concrete Guy (no, not his actual title haha) is set to begin work later next week and he says it’ll be a 2 day job. Soooo … I guess we’re doing it! Stay tuned …