I should really title this post backyard scheming because we've finally got a plan for the backyard.
When we first moved in, I shared photos of the space. You may remember that it's a lot of space. Which is awesome. But overwhelming.
We hemmed and hawed and hemmed some more and have decided that instead of just being overwhelmed by the big hill area for the next four years and never actually executing anything (it's way out of our budget to make major changes) we're going to focus on the portion in front of the chainlink fence.
Our small patch of grass did not survive the hot summer, which is sad, but also probably better for the environment and our water bill. So when Paul's family was here, Paul and his dad ripped up the very brown, very dead, grass and we started to make plans for how to fill this space effectively.
The goal is to create an outdoor seating area that's an extension of the indoor living space. We are going to turn the space into something that looks deliberate instead of sad.
Behold a crappy computer rendering on top of an awful photo taken at high noon. Yep, we're putting in a deck. And we're getting rid of some plants behind the low cement wall and adding some more drought-tolerant ground cover. Then we're going to close in the space with some wooden horizontal planks. Possibly using a bunch of these or perhaps something like this. The hope is that it will make the backyard feel more like a space to enjoy but we'll still have a decent view of the hill. The hill is bird and animal heaven (so far we've seen one million varieties of small birds plus rabbits, lizards, hawks and …skunks).
It's quite likely, if you follow me on pinterest, you've seen about 100 photos of various backyards that are a mixture of cement, succulents, fire pits, palm trees and horizontal wood planks. I am quite sure I have collected every single image of it's kind online. About once I a day, I scroll through my "long-term home dreams" board and try not to drool while shouting at Paul to, "look at this one, babe!" Obviously, I'm excited that the long-term has arrived.
I am so excited that I thought I would list out our to-dos Young House Love style:
- remove dead grass
- cap sprinkler heads
- dig up weeds
- remove random tree
- power-wash cement and brick
- level decking area
- lay deck
- plant more succulent ground-cover
- remove dead plants behind chainlink fence
- add wood panels to chainlink
- build firepit
- obtain more seating
- string strands of globe lights from house to fence a la this.
I cannot even fathom having those items all crossed off, but, once that's all done we'll move on to other side of the backyard…we'd love to get rid of the cement fountain and add some large planter boxes.
2014 is for sure going to be the year that we eat meals outside and I keep my vegetable plants alive.
Ready, set, go.
enJOY it 
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