BLOG, DIY, HOW-TO, HOME PROJECTS, INSPO, OUTDOOR OASIS
WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3| WEEK 4
Week 4 means we are halfway through this Spring 2020 One Room Challenge and time is flying! A big thanks to Linda, of Calling It Home, for having and organizing this amazing event and to Better Homes & Gardens our fabulous sponsor!
If you are just tuning into this One Room Challenge it’s a one of a kind challenge that brings home creatives together to cheer each other on as we work to complete a room project from start to finish and share our progress each week. This Spring 2020 Challenge is 8 weeks instead of 6 weeks since the current COVID pandemic has slowed things down to say the least. I am so grateful this event is still running and to be a part of it for the very first time!
Now onto the progress report! This week has been super productive. I have finished the majority of the furniture and decor selections for the patio, started digging into the fencing and childproofing research a bit more and thanks to the help of my AMAZING family we have a back yard you can actually see now! (More on the backyard progress in a minute). In the above concept board, you can see there are 3 main sections that I am furnishing and decorating in an eclectic, bohemian, and modern style. I have repurposed some items I had and found many items through some awesome Memorial Day sales. I am pumped to have a concrete plan now after sorting through what had to be close to 100 outdoor rugs! It was worth it though, now I love my plan and it’s it should all be arriving in a couple of weeks- finger crossed! The plan now is a little different from before since I wanted to add more color, pattern, and textures to make it more vibrant and inviting than the original concept but I have many of the same elements as before it’s just way more personalized and eclectic than the original rough concept (below).
As for the actual work we have been doing this week it started last Friday when Brian’s, my husband’s, Dad came over to drop off his awesome power washer and help B take all the yard waste we already had from garden clean up to the dump. Well, they went to the dump after loading the truck for about 20 mins and they came back with a full truck in the rain and had to unload it. It turns out the dump is only open in Montgomery County for trash and recycling but not yard waste because of COVID staffing restrictions. So that was not so fun for him but we had the power washer at least and planned to use it later in the week- or so we hoped.
Saturday was awesome! My crew: 2 sisters, brother-in-law, brother, nephew, Mom and Dad, came over Saturday. We had a Memorial Day weekend cookout and the guys all pitched in and did yard work. As you can see below we started with a ton of Azalea bushes outlining the patio which are gorgeous when they are in bloom for a week or 2, but they were a bit annoying when it came to chasing Vera in the back yard or having an open space for her to play in. We have always planned to relocate the bushes and we finally had the manpower to get going since it’s hard to make progress on something of this magnitude solo or while chasing a toddler. Check out the amazing progress below! We are soooooo pumped to be growing grass LOL. I never thought I would be so excited about grass… EVER! The guys also took down a tree and moved a 400lb rock to the front yard next to the mailbox (last pic below) with the help of our neighbor’s trolly. My brother had some fun trying to move it on his own and so I thought I would try too. I got it to wiggle but I couldn’t flip it as he did, which was impressive! I’m happy I tried and I am also happy no one threw out their backs moving the massive boulder! The guys’ muscles and efforts were very much appreciated and having more backyard is going to be wonderful! It already feels so much bigger!
After having a productive Saturday with the family’s help, Sunday we hacked at and flattened the gardens some more and planted grass. The plan was also to powerwash that day… but the powerwasher had other plans. It wouldn’t start. We ordered oil and picked it up from Home Depot the next day only for the powerwasher to spit it back out. Apparently, we need a special kind of oil. The fun never ends with DIY! Always learning something new or solving new problems but it will all be worth it in the end– I think I can, I think I can.
The childproofing and fencing is going to be way more involved than I originally planned and requires a bigger budget so I don’t know if it will be complete in time for the ORC reveal but what I can show you my initial plan… there will be LOTS of tweaking. This concept shows what we are looking to do- we have stairs on both sides of the patio so when I am outside with Vera I am on top of her. She is constantly running to the front yard or looking at me then sprinting toward the road just to test me, so a fence and gate would mean hugeeee peace of mind! I like the idea of using glass, metal, and composite materials since we live in a contemporary home with plans to paint the brick navy and replace the current 63-year-old painted navy siding with horizontal cedar plank in the future. What makes this project complicated is the stairs and the fact that we need to find fence materials that will last and also look great with current exterior and future plans!
DECISIONS
DECISIONS
Finalize Layout WILL CHANGEFinalize Furniture Orders- IN PROGRESSPergola or Screens or Sail Shade or MIXDecide on Solar String Lights with Posts or Solar Feature Lights or BothMetal or Wood Posts– not happening
Decide on Firepit versus FireTableDecide on Gravel or Pavers not happeningSwing or Egg ChairPatio Paint Color
Accent Wall or Live Wall or Fireplace wallFind Bar and Stools– not happeningFind Fun Lemon | Tropical Prints | Animal prints| for cushions MIX
Fencing & Childproofing Options
*Note- the bold is what I am leaning toward
TO DO LIST
ORDERS2 Striped UmbrellasStriped RugS (1 or 2)- ENDED UP ORDERING 4 TO CHOOSE FROM4 Chevron ScreensOrder PowerWasher attachment BACKORDEROrder and /pick Up Patio Paint | Brushes | Tape PAINT BACKORDER3 Lotus LightsDining Table and 6 stacking chairs
Woven Poufs 2-4 source OR DIY
Vera Adirondack ChairSeating AreaString LightsMeditation Accessories – basket
NEW SWING
THE WORK
Power Wash Patio- POWER WASHER IS STILL DOWN
Paint Patio- pick up paint from Home Depot (It arrived early!)Relocate Azalea Bushes- In ProgressFlatten and Frameout Firepit Area– THIS WEEKEND no longer happeningInstall Lighting Posts | Screens | Sail not happeningStone and/or gravel work– THIS WEEKEND not happening
DIY Cement Head Planter
DIY woven Pouf
DIY Pillows- RECOVER THE PILLOWS WE HAVEDIY Accent Wall/Art for Brick Wall Behind BarDIY Planters & Pots
Fencing | Railing | Childproofing– RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
Create Whimsical tree swing area
Up next week- Hopefully we will find out what is wrong with the power washer and get the patio painted before the summer weather makes it trickier! Wish me luck! I am hoping I won’t have to rent a power washer but I may just have to since the one we are borrowing from Brian’s Dad doesn’t seem to want to cooperate! Also, I plan to add some whimsy to the backyard with a quick little lighting project.
See you this time next week and don’t forget to check out the other participants on The One Room Challenge! For more play-by-play details on the patio progress follw me on INSTAGRAM– I also share my other favorite ORC projects on there and have a highlight dedicated to my ORC. If you need more inspo you can drop by PINTEREST — I have linked a lot of my Patio Inspo here for you!
Happy halfway mark to all my fellow ORCers! We’ve got this!
— Kelly
It’s been so fun following along on this space !
Thanks so much Jenna! Your ORC has been a blast to follow as well! Thanks for dropping by!