Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 305 Comments

Patio Updates And Backyard Landscaping

Don’t get too excited. It’s not so much aesthetic progress, as it is functional progress. We got our old spray painted metal and glass coffee table from our first house‘s living room…

Final Living Room After 2

… back from John’s parents (they used it when their house was on the market and then it accidentally got hidden away in storage). Then it dawned on us that although we didn’t have a spot for it inside, a ton of outdoor furniture is spray painted metal and glass (like the round table that the old owners left on our upper patio). So out to the patio it went.

Is it perfect for the space? Nope. Is it great for resting my pasty need-to-be-shaved mom legs? Yup.

White Legs

Sometimes you just gotta work with what you have (whether it’s a pale set of stems or an old $30 thrift store coffee table). At least until you upgrade (when it comes to furniture, not so much with legs). Here’s another table shot sans any pasty appendages:

Patio Table

And check out the happy surprise going on in the background. Yup, our hydrangeas got all booyah on us and bloomed. We wondered what color they’d be (and actually guessed they were white when we saw the buds) but they surprised us with happy blue flowers when they opened. I know we’ve said it before, but it’s SO much fun to experience the first spring/summer in a new home just to see what sprouts up to surprise you. It’s kind of like Oprah saying: “You get a hydrangea!”, “You get a hydrangea!”, “You get a hydrangea!”

Hydrangeas Close

And although the patio looked so charming with some not-outdoor-friendly furniture that we stuck outside for the big patio reveal (John thinks I’m weird but I just got such a kick out of trecking stuff out there for the afters – you know, to help with scale)…

Patio After 2 Corrected

… this is what it’s looking like these days:

Patio Whole

Yup, that’s a baby pool in the shape of a whale. It was a gift from a friend who had the very same one when she was a baby and Clara couldn’t love it more. And yes, being the protective momma bird that I am, I totally put a bunch of towels under it so it’s not too hard on those swim-diapered buns of hers.

Oddly enough, although the patio is faaaaar from being “done” when it comes to outdoor furniture and pillows and all the other things that we eventually want to work in, for now… it’s paradise. And it’s such a nice reminder that spaces don’t have to be styled within an inch of their life and filled with perfectly scaled and coordinated furnishings to do the trick. Sometimes a whale shaped baby pool plus an old coffee table = happiness.

Pool Vertical

Oh and before I go, check out how much our backyard continues to fill in since our first house tour. Here’s a shot of the left side of our backyard that John snapped a few months back:

Outside Two Brick Paths

And here it is now:

Left Side Leafy

Va-va-voom, right? And here’s the right side of the back yard a few months back:

Outside Backyard Wide 2

And now:

Right Side Leafy

Crazy lush, eh? Welcome to the jungle. Burger and Clara seem to love exploring. And check out what an old bush that we couldn’t identify turned out to be…

Roses Far

… roses!

Roses Close

At least I think that’s what they are. I’m plant illiterate so that’s my best guess. One thing’s for sure, there’s enough monkey grass to tickle my pale legs for hours.

Pale Legs Grass

Anyway, do you guys have any spaces like our patio (laughably unfurnished but blissfully functional)? Did you own the same whale pool that Clara plays in (apparently they’ve been around for decades)? Are your legs as delightfully chalky as mine? You can tell me. I promise I won’t gossip about it. Much.

Comments

  1. Lindsey says

    Knockout roses, methinks!

    We recently “finished” our basement remodel… a.k.a. did enough work on it to warrant putting in the flooring and at that point, what the heck, why not furniture too? So there’s no trim in a couple of places and the doors to the bedroom and two closets still need to be painted but it’s functional!

    Also, pasty legged women of the world, unite!

    Reply

  3. Jill says

    You can actually control the color your hydrangea blooms by adjusting the ph of the soil. I’m guessing your soil has a lower ph since they are blooming blue/purple. If you add lime to raise the ph it will bloom pink. I remember learning about it in college, but have never actually tried it, might be a fun experiment!

    Reply

  4. Diane says

    Hey youngsters!
    Loving the new house! It is so fun to live vicariously through you! Did you know you can actually change the color of your hydrangeas?? For blue to pink and back again… All by changing the pH of the soil a bit… It’s pretty cool! And might come in handy when planning decor for outdoor parties! Ha! Google it… :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah my mom read a murder mystery where one bush was blue and the rest were pink and that’s where they buried the gun (the murder weapon). I laughed hysterically that they worked botany in there.

      xo,
      s

    • JennyB says

      I have a glorious, dark purple hydrangea as well as white and lovely blue hydrangeas in my yard. We moved in this house last fall and like you, it’s been fun to see what pops up. But it makes me wonder what’s buried in my yard now??

  6. Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says

    Those hydrangeas and roses will make for good budget blooms! And I love the Oprah shout-out, but every time I hear her name I get her voice stuck in my head (This time it was “You get a hydrangeaaaaaaa”)!

    And my legs are still white. Possibly paler than yours. Do you think it’s a Jersey girl thing??

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, maybe it is! In a rebellion from self tanning and laying out at the Jersey Shore our legs show us just how white they can really get.

      xo,
      s

    • Cait @ Hernando House says

      I completely second the idea of the loveseat/comfy seating!

      And also, we’ve been on our house for almost two years, the porch furniture is slapped together and we’re just now breaking ground on a patio. This is what it looked like when we started.

  10. katharine says

    looks great!!! so many pretty blooming things. Random swim diaper note. The bumgenius can be “swim diapers” with out any inserts.

    Reply

  12. Meghan, UK says

    My legs are more chalky than yours (true English rose I am) and I suspect that is what leads our neighbours to hibernate when I’m sunning. It’s great to see the patio being used already :)

    Reply

  13. Kristin says

    I love this post. We live in Chesterfield too and just bought our house 7 weeks ago. All we have on the front porch is an old hand-me-down indoor cubby bench.

    But two nights ago during the full moon, we grabbed a throw blanket, went outside and lit a candle in our lantern. It was absoultely perfect.

    Sometimes all you need is an old piece of furniture and a hand to hold to have ‘paradise’. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  14. Adrienne says

    You could always remove the glass, take a piece of plywood the size of the opening, cover it in foam and a cute outdoor fabric and make it a bench! Coffee tables make awesome benches!

    PS – Can’t see any fur on those legs so you’re fine. ;)

    Reply

  15. Meghan T. says

    Ok, this has nothing to do with the patio but more of a general house remodeling question. My husband and I are getting ready to remodel our home and we realized that it falls into the “era” when asbestos was used. Did you all ever worry about running into that stuff during your past demolitions? If so, how did you test for it before disturbing any of the fibers. Thanks for any feedback!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes! We like to have our houses tested during the buying inspection. Sometimes if they find anything the seller won’t necessarily remediate, but it’s good to know. And in both cases our houses came up clear. Even if you already own your house you can have someone come out and test things for a nominal fee and then you’ll know what you’re dealing with. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  16. Georgia Rowe says

    I have garden envy. I live in an apartment with no garden!

    *sniff* :( – i often find myself gazing out the window looking into other peoples gardens wishing i could go out and sunbathe or read a book out there lol – infact one day i might just go and invite myself in and just read my book with a random family lol

    Reply

  17. JMB says

    We just moved into our new house 4 weeks ago and it has a great screened in back porch. Even with it’s current hodge podge mess of furniture (indoor, outdoor, you name it), we love being able to sit out there…a little slice of heaven on a beautiful evening :o) BTW…you moms aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy the thrill of pasty-in-need-of-a-shave-legs!!!

    Reply

  18. Brianna says

    I’ve been coveting that coffee table ever since I started following your blog! Ha, how creepy. So if ever you need to sell it in order to purchase an official outdoor coffee table you just let me know!

    Reply

    • carly says

      I have as well!! For like two years now I have been on a quest to find one similar. Pottery Barn has one for like $350 to $400. No freakin’ way. I sincerely have yet to find a reasonably ($200 MAX) priced version with all of the clean lines. Walmart has one similar, but the legs are a bit curved. Not doing it for me. So yes, your thrifted coffee table rocks!!

    • Melissa C. says

      I second the Jergens comment! I just started using it for my nearly-albino-in-need-of-a-shave mom legs and it doesn’t look fake at all. Also has a gradual transition that totally covers the inconsistencies in application.

  22. Carley says

    Looks great! Our patio/deck area is still a work in progress too. We need to replace a brick patio that wasn’t done correctly, but for now, it’s baby pool paradise as well! And water table paradise….sand table…you get it!

    Reply

  23. Leslie says

    Chalky legs? Check. You are not alone. Keep spending time at your whale of a pool, and they’ll get tan very soon. :)

    Reply

  24. Lindsey says

    Yay for pasty legs!! I’ve learned to embarce my natural paleness as I’ve gotten older, or more likely more busy! 2 kids’ll do that to a person, LOL!!

    I’m not plant expert either, but I’m pretty sure there is something you can add to the soil around your hydrangeas to make them turn either blue or pink. (Something to do with the pH of the soil) They are gorgeous blue, but thought I’d share just in case you’d ever like to turn them pink!

    Reply

  25. MissPinkKate says

    I’m worried about the glass table outdoors! That thing shatters (which glass tables do on occasion, particularly outdoors with rapid temperature changes), and it’s going to take you one million years to get all the glass off the ground.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Not to worry- the glass is very thick and tempered! Which means it’ll break in large chunks and not small slivers. We made sure of this before bringing it home because we were nervous we’d break it during transport. Haha. And since then it has been moved four times and even had things stacked on top of it in storage for a few months. It’s a hearty little table! And we plan to bring it inside over the winter so it won’t freeze or get snow stacked on it. Oh but a tip for anyone with slivers of glass everywhere: a shop vac. Just pick up the big ones you can see and leave that to do the rest. But be careful when emptying it of course.

      xo,
      s

    • Jen @ The Decor Scene says

      Speaking of shop vacs, we were cleaning up the patio after sawing some wood on the brick patio and the shop vac made everything so nice and clean. So when the patio is a super mess and you want to clean up quick, grab that shop vac and vaccum your patio. So clean afterwards. Great for parties. And no it doesn’t pull up all the sand in between the pavers. A broom just doesn’t get everything, but the shop vac does. If you have the brush attachment, it won’t pick up all the sand, but the dirt or mess you want to get rid of quickly. ;) Your neighbors might think your a little weird, but who cares. LOL!

  26. AT says

    Love the blue hydrangeas…they remind me of my grandma’s garden when I was a little girl. And blue flowers are so rare!

    I am also spending my first spring/summer in a new home and my patio has one lonely chair. I’ve been searching for the vintage metal gliders and chairs that I’d like to paint blue and white, but alas they are SO darn expensive.

    Reply

  27. Emily says

    Those are definitely roses. We have some that are nearly identical to yours. The yard, patio and yes, your mom legs, are all looking great!

    Reply

  28. Sarah says

    We have two huge hydrangeas in our yard and I actually changed the color of mine with used coffee grounds! I ended up getting a bush that is half blue and half pink! I love this time of year and love how everything blooms! :)

    Reply

  30. Johanna says

    Pale legs? Check.

    Do I love that last photo looking down at your feet trekking through your backyard jungle? Check. Makes me deam of more of an outdoor space as well …

    Reply

  34. Courtney says

    I too long for a lush outdoor space to veg out in. But alas, I live in an apartment with a small patio:(
    Fortunately for me the beach is about 10 miles away!!
    Hey, if you guys ever want a vacay at the beach in Alabama, holler my way!
    Love everything you guys do…The highlight of my day is my YHL stalking time!

    Reply

  35. Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says

    I love how your outdoor space is coming along. You could switch out the glass on the coffee table with stained and sealed wood (just a few 1″ x 6″ pieces of lumber), and then add a great little outdoor rug. I’ve seen some really cute outdoor rugs lately, and they’re not expensive at all.

    Okay, I’ll stop decorating your space for you. :) I’m sure you have a fantastic plan in the works. Can’t wait to see what you do!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah I think it’s the only way to go to get into those cracks. Just use the good stuff (not the $2 cheap stuff) and apply very very thin coats. Five thin coats beat two thick and drippy ones every time!

      xo
      s

    • Katie says

      I sprayed a wicker desk recently, and Sherry is right: the spray is the only way to get into the crevices. One helpful thing to use is an aerosol spray trigger (find it @ the hardware store near the spray paint). It saved my fingers, because, like Sherry said, I needed to do 4 or 5 nice, thin, even coats. But it turned out well!

    • AT says

      Random tip…buy spray paint that has been formulated for graffiti artists. It’s still inexpensive but is made to cover well, hold up to the elements, and comes in tons of cool colors. Here is a link to the best site for buying: http://www.artprimo.com (bonus, it makes you feel kind of awesome)

  37. Noel says

    I am so glad I’m not the only unshaven legged girl out there embracing their inner pasty! Love your patio and the baby pool is adorable… I hope this means we’ll see some adorable Clara photos using it!

    Reply

  38. Brigid says

    Um…is it bad that when shorts-weather comes around my theme song (or at least chatch phrase) turns into ‘blinded by the light’? Seriously, my legs are that white!

    Reply

  39. Kim says

    Our fabulous new screened porch has an outdoor fireplace that is not tiled, and the gas is not hooked up (but it’s 100 degrees out anyway). We have a yet to be refurbished bamboo sette (trash find), a microwave box that we are using for a coffee table, and 2 camp chairs. It’s the greatest porch ever!

    Reply

  40. Jen @ The Decor Scene says

    Damn that is a lot of monkey grass! Do you guys plan on taking them out?

    We had our patio done last year and we still aren’t finished decorating it. Well my hubby thinks I’m crazy for wanting to decorate it, but it will make it our little paradise. We can BBQ, we can sit, we can eat at the dining table, so we are good for now. Hopefully we will get to the other painting and curtain projects this year, but we will see. :)

    And I’m admitting that I have chalky white legs just like you. My mother in law always asks me why I don’t get some sun. HELLO….I burn silly. It’s all good though. Our legs who they are right? lol!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Someday we’d like to cut down on the plethora of monkeys in our grass. But it’s such a big job that we can’t say that out lout yet. Just a whisper.

      xo,
      s

    • Jen @ The Decor Scene says

      Blue is rare in the flower/garden world. Towards the end of summer in August is when you are supposed to cut the heads off of them just so you know. You will see that they are dying off. BUT what beautiful colors our turns at that time of year. It has this green/pink color going on. I hope yours does the same, I think you will enjoy the color.

      Just make sure that you water the hydrangeas….especially on really hot days. They will look like they are die, but they just need water. They are thristy little sucks, but gorgeous in the garden. If you have a sprinkler system you are good to go, but if not, then water them good in the AM if you can, deep root watering and they will be fine on really hot days. Plus yours have some shade, so they should be pretty good in the warm weather. Good Luck with them.

      Shhhhh, it’s just a whisper right now. You guys will get to it one area at a time I’m sure. Shhhhhh!!! ;)

    • RC says

      I think it depends on the soil. Here in North Central Florida blue hydrangeas are very common – pretty much the only kind of hydrangea you get unless you do some serious soil amending.

    • threadbndr says

      hydrangeas were bred from water plants, so they need a TON of water – maybe a drip irrigation system?

  41. Megan says

    We will be moving to COlumbia Missouri in July and just bought a lovely little house there (our first!)

    The back deck is going to perfect. I know it. I don’t have any furniture for it yet, but it is little and just outside the living room, through french doors.

    I plan on slathering my pasty-self with SPF 60 and reading my heart out.

    Reply

  42. Adriane@fortheloveofpainting says

    I love your backyard, although as I was trimming bushes at our house lastnight, I thought to myself…”good thing I don’t have tons of foliage!” Trimming has to be a lot of work for you…it’s worth it in the end though!

    Reply

  44. Melissa Stinson says

    Hydrangeas are SO my favorite flowers right now- we just planted several in our own yard!

    Did you guys know that you can actually change their color? They’ll range from pink to purple depending on the acidity of the soil, so you can add stuff like lime (or even rusty old nails) to change their color.

    Reply

  45. Corinne says

    I love the whale pool! I’m sure Clara enjoys it much more than she lets on.

    My back deck/yard is also just functional, not really pretty. There’s a small bistro set I bought for my last apartment, one (out of two) Adirondack chairs, a 6-foot wide kiddie pool for the 8-pound dog, and TONS of weeds. When I bought the house, everything was dried up from the summer heat and the yard looked like a normal mid-August yard. Then the weeds grew. I’m not kidding at all when I saw that I have 4-foot high weeds in the back corner. No amount of Round-Up seems to be stopping them! I’ve been finding out from neighbors that the previous owners were great with yard work until last year, when they started traveling a lot to visit family and had a second kiddo. There used to be a garden along the back of the garage too, which explains why it’s all weeds now! Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me in that back yard.

    Reply

  46. Katie says

    I love this post :) With or without the perfect staging, your patio really does look like a paradise!

    Sincerely,

    Patioless in Austin

    Reply

  47. Nora says

    Ugh, I’m dreading going to the Jersey shore in a few weeks. I am going to be dayglo white compared to the orange Snookis running around.

    I love hydrangeas so much. I can’t wait to plant one!

    Reply

  48. Juliette says

    Awesome. Our balcony is far from finished and the seeds we planted are looking more like weeds than anything pretty, but it’s totally where we go to eat dinner every night!

    I have a friend with blue hydrangeas with the most intensely deep and vibrant blue. She put rusty nails/metal bits in the ground by the roots and the extra acidity is what makes the blooms a deeper color. (if you want to experiment that is!)

    Reply

  49. Rachel says

    We have a massive concrete patio that we haven’t quite figured out how to fill out yet. Last summer we bought more patio furniture and now its at least more functional. I love sitting out there with a cool drink and read a book or play with the dog.

    I have been thinking about planting hydrangeas and roses in the backyard lately. Are they high maintenance. We’re a Darwin family – survival of the fittest – at least when it comes to the yard.

    And my legs are WAY more pasty than yours!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Well, our roses and hydrangeas came out without any help from us (no fertilizer or watering) so maybe once they’re established they’re easy? The hurdle I think is planting them and getting them to “take” – then it should be smooth sailing from there. Maybe try visiting a local garden center for suggestions about what might work with your lighting (full sun, part shade, etc) and in your area that’s nice and low maintenance? Good luck!

      xo,
      s

    • Rachel says

      I bought two hydrangea plants this spring that are suited for the Southeastern zones. They’re called Kaleidiscope Hydrangeas (because they change colors throughout the blooming season). Anyway, this particular variety likes part sun, part shade and lots of water. I have two black thumbs, but mine are still alive! I consider it a small miracle. So long story short, they seem pretty low maintenance to me.

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *