Outdoor Living Plan

Y’all have left the sweetest comments about the new outdoor living area.

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If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know this has been a long time coming.  When we first bought this house, we were planning for this to be a covered porch.  After getting a quote, we were about ready to shift gears.  Then I saw all kinds of magical outdoor living areas out under the stars and lights and thought maybe that would be okay.  My “To Cover or Not to Cover” post has received more feedback than nearly any other post.  Y’all commented.  Y’all messaged on facebook.  I even had a few voicemails from family on the issue.

In the end, as you can see from the picture, we decided to not to cover.

It initially was a budget decision.  We couldn’t justify the $5,000 price tag of a covered porch when the rest of the renovations came out more expensive than planned.  Beyond that, I just really fell in love with the magical, under the stars, outdoor living idea.  I’m sure there’s a covered porch somewhere in my future, but for now, I can’t get enough of this space.

The base of the patio is chipped granite kept in place by landscape timbers.

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We thought about doing pavers, but again this was the cheapest option.  And I actually really love it.  The rock is big enough that it doesn’t get tracked all over the yard or through the house.  And I like the more casual vibe it has.  I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me it has just the feel I wanted.

As you can see by how we’ve started setting it up, we want this area to function as both outdoor dining, outdoor sitting, and a place to enjoy fires.  I told you the other day I’d be back with my plan for adding some pretty and personality, so here goes.

I want the overall feel of this patio to be Magical Eclectic Bohemian with some Rustic thrown in.  Big shocker there, I know.  Here are a few images of the feel I’m loving.

I love the bohemian feel of this dining area.  Of course, the textiles would be something I would just bring out when we were going to use it, but getting this feel would be worth the extra effort!

Bohemian Eclectic

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And my biggest inspiration for this patio is this one from Kristin Rogers.

Kristin Rogers copy

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I love it because it really is like no other outdoor area I’ve seen.  It’s so eclectic and casual.  There’s nothing fancy about it.  It’s unexpected.  I just love it!

Now, here’s how I plan to achieve it.

The magic factor is pretty much taken care of with the bulb lights and fire.

For the outdoor dining area, I’m going to use the plank picnic table that we have there.  We built it at our last house, but never got around to staining it.  I’m going to stain it dark like this one.

Dark Stained Table

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I love the dark, rustic, and natural feel of it.  Plus, it looks great with any colors I pair with it.  For chairs, I had original gotten these white Tabouret chairs for our outdoor area.

Modern Dining Room

But I am loving them in our dining room!  I like their modern mix with our rustic table and I don’t want them just sitting out exposed.  Instead, I’m planning to find eight different chairs for that mis-matched, eclectic look.

Johner Bildbyra AB +46 8 644 83 30 info@johner.se sales@johner.se

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I love the feel of this and if I was just pulling them out for one evening, it would be perfect.  But I really want some that I can leave out and not worry about so that whenever we want to enjoy an outdoor meal, we’re ready!

My criteria for this is pretty simple.  I want painted wooden chairs in all different shapes and colors.  I’m looking for this type of feel:

mis-matched chairs

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I’ll poly them, but know that they’ll eventually weather sitting out, which makes them even better!  But because they’re going to be so exposed, I’m scouring thrift stores for the cheapest ones possible.  I’m thinking $5.00 or under.  Impossible?  I thought so, but the other day, I found a green one that I LOVED for $1.50!  With chairs that cheap, when one completely wears out from the elements in a few years, I’ll just replace it with a new, cheap, but awesome find!

In the sitting area, I’m planning to use the furniture that’s currently there.  We’re always on a budget, but I love that because it makes me really stretch my creativity.  So, I’m using what we have!

I’ll paint the love seat, spruce up the adirondacks a bit, and bring in a bunch of life with some little details like pillows and plants.

I’m planning to use the stumps you see there as end tables.  I might update or change one with some paint, but I love the rustic feel they add.  I love them in this outdoor area.

Stump End Tables

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I’m also going to take a cue from Kristin and spruce up the fence a bit with some fun pretties.  Funny story, I was telling my husband my plan to hang things on the fence and treat it like a wall (don’t worry, he hadn’t seen Kristin’s image yet and seen how awesome it can be).  He said, “You’re turning the patio I worked so hard on into a redneck stomping grounds.” Hahahahha, I quickly reassured him it would be awesome.

So, there’s the plan.

Dark stained table, mis-matched chairs, spruced up sitting area with stumps, some personality added to our fence, and some other fun little details I’ll find along the way.

I’m getting on this quickly so that we can enjoy it this fall!  Hoping to have it finished in the next few weeks, wahoo!  Stay tuned…

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9 Comments

Well, that one was a really lucky buy, Jenn. It was supposed to be part of a set and one of the arms was loose, but we can glue that in like five minutes. I asked if I could buy it by itself and the guy said, “Well, it’s broken.” It wasn’t broken, just loose. I said I wanted it anyway and he marked it $1.50. Yay! Now, I just need to find seven more deals like it…might take a while 🙂

Thanks, Julia!!! I love those white chairs too and we’ll probably drag them outside when we’re eating until I can round up 8 of them 🙂