It's All About the Patio

Friends, where do I begin with this long overdue makeover of the patio. Let’s start at the beginning shall we. We purchased this home many many years ago, and it was exactly what we needed as our boys were growing up. The patio space was not ideal, but it was a decent. The backyard space, however, is quite large and it met our needs.

The patio was just a standard size patio that you could either do a living space or a dining area, but you definitely didn’t have enough space to do both. We often talked about extending the patio, but never got around to it. Well this year especially after the Pandemic, I was determined to make over our patio so that we could have an outdoor area that we could simply lounge after a long day and we could entertain our family and friends.

The patio before.

I had all types of inspo that I had been collecting throughout the years. I knew exactly what I wanted when it was time to get started.

In order to have a living space and a dining space, we would have to get the patio extended. This would double the size of the patio which is what we needed. First, we located a local person to do the extension which happened in October of 2020. We didn’t touch the patio until this summer when we were ready to bring this space to it’s full potential.

The patio extension was complete on October 13, 2020.

Besides extending the patio, I knew I wanted to build a pergola. See a pergola just makes the space feel anchored and pulled together. It also provided a little shade from the sunrays. By extending the patio, I knew the pergola would have to be a pretty large size to accommodate the larger patio space. Originally, I wanted to try and tackle the pergola build myself, but that was just going to take too much time that I don’t have. In came our trusted handy man to knock this project off my list. He came and measure the area, told me what lumbar to get, and scheduled with me when he would be available to start the work.

I wanted it to be substantial and span the entire length of the patio, however, I had to account for the windows. I didn’t want a big post to obstruct the view from inside, so we altered the length a bit, plus our back door swings out. We needed to make sure the door didn’t hit the post when we opened it. After he built the pergola, he painted it in my favorite Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. The pergola turned out better than I expected.

The pergola in all his glory.

After the pergola build, it was time to start placing the two areas. I wanted the patio to feel cohesive so, I bought two 8 x 10 Target Mod Desert Outdoor Rugs. First up was the living area where I knew I would spend the majority of the time. Since I would be out here a lot, I wanted to have somewhere comfortable to sit and lounge, so I purchased the West Elm Playa Outdoor sectional. I also wanted to make sure I had a place to put down drinks, but I also wanted to use the space all year long not just in the summer. I chose to purchase a matte black Pipestone Gas Firepit because it gave me just the right amount of function that I needed. The other pieces that were chosen brought this space to life and truly became an outdoor living space. I brought in two black and natural wood chairs, a wooden bench, a bar cart, and all the hanging lanterns.

This view is exactly where I was going when I envisioned this space.

The CB2 hanging planters were the icing on the cake for my living room space. It was the perfect accessory to continue the feel and vibe of this outdoor space.

This white side table continued the color story and added space for my guests to lounge and have a beverage or two. The yarn on the chairs added the texture that was needed.

There is no space complete without plant life. I went to a ton of grocery stores, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and our local nursery to get the perfect plant arrangement to bring more natural and living beings to outside.

I love how this space came together, and now I am ready to entertain out here.

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Thank you all for following along and please stay tuned for more.