Outdoor Living Room
Our backyard patio dreams are almost complete!
I told Corban this year that for Mother’s Day I wanted to go on a family walk/hike, I wanted to celebrate with our mom’s earlier in the weekend, and I really wanted to start building some outdoor couches I had picked out plans for. We had been going back and forth on what to put down on our cleared gravel patio talking about more garden beds with a few built in seats, a long planter against the entire back of the area, and then finally deciding on the couches.
We leveled this area a few years ago and then it just sat basically empty while we tried to figure out what to do with it. We originally were going to put big pavers under the gravel and then decided against that because they were expensive and seemed unnecessary. Then we removed our old retaining wall and leveled and cleared the area where the kids’ trampoline sits when they replaced their trampoline earlier this year. We had to move the new trampoline into this area for a few weeks, that was the catalyst for this project coming to fruition. We decided that we wanted this whole area, kids swing and fort, this seating area, and the trampoline to all be one level. So we cut the grass and raked the dirt, dug out one of the last remaining huge stumps and then cedar wood chipped the area. We still have to put the retaining wall blocks on the rest of that section but it tapers down anyways so it’s not a structural issue.
We went to Home Depot and picked up the lumber and got building. We used Ana White’s plans, which were amazing because usually we just wing it and it’s so complicated! We made one couch exactly to the plans and then brought it back to the backyard and realized it looked tiny where we were thinking of putting it. So the next one we modified the plans to make them a cushion bigger and it was perfect! Then Corban made a coffee table and we ordered the IKEA cushions. After the cushions came and we used it for a few days we added a 2x6 supporting back horizontal piece on both of them to help the cushions stay up because they kept trying to slide out backwards behind us. I bought a sample can of stain that my little assistant helped me test of the coffee table. Right before we left on our Oregon trip I stained the tops of the couches, still have yet to stain the underside or apply a second coat!
I bought a couple of citronella plans to help with the mosquitos, planted a bunch of extra chives and oregano in the dirt behind the couches and still need to bark the area. The only remaining issue is the box elder bugs which love this area. The kids have made it their personal mission to help squirt the soap and water mixture to kill them so hopefully that will be remediated soon.
Corban and I sit out here most afternoons and evenings for dinner. It’s seriously our favorite place to look out into our amazing greenbelt view, watch the birds, and have some privacy. We finally have a spot to relax and enjoy our yard that we seriously have never had before. We’ve been yearning for a spot to sit, that’s comfortable enough to relax in, and big enough to have people over and enjoy it. Thanks Corban for this amazing Mother’s Day present, it was seriously my best Mother’s Day ever!
