The major remodel/construction project for our family this summer has been trying to establish some type of outdoor living space for our family. 

At our previous house we had a huge three-tiered deck that had a hot tub a couple of tables and lots of Adirondack chairs that allowed us to entertain outdoors just as well (if not better) than inside.  Our new home came with the standard “faux” deck associated with new construction homes with basements. 

It is about a 4 x 10 area that only allows for a small, portable tailgating grill. 

My hubby power washed and stained it and put new rails on it to give it some new life.

There was no fence, and three young trees – two of which needed to be braced because there were leaning to the side. 

Something that would not work for our family.  My babydoll started asking if we could take chairs outside to eat dinner as soon as the weather became consistently warm.  Even if she had to sit them in the grass and we hold our plates in our laps. 

The first order of business was to get a fence.  We have a corner lot that is also where the bus stop is.  We had little kids running through the yard driving my poor pup crazy (she was tied up).  We had not had a fence before and didn’t want to feel that we were locking ourselves away from civilization so we decided to on the wrought iron fence.  We did some research and learned that aluminum would be the better option (about half the cost and less maintenance).  We ordered out fence at the end of March and finally had the initial install began at the beginning of May.  We had it completed at the beginning of June (long story about gates that I don’t want to think about let alone explain).  Isn’t it a beaut?

 

Now to get us a place to put a table and chairs…

Stan had enough of wood deck maintenance from our previous deck, so was all for a concrete or paver patio this time around.  We had several contractors that specialized in the different mediums to give us a quote.  We loved the look of pavers but the cost was twice what it would be to have concrete done AND we didn’t like the thought of grass and weeds appearing years down the road, so we nixed that idea.  We were going with concrete.  Now the dilemma was should we go with stamped,

stenciled,

aggregate,

or brushed.

We decided to go with none of them…. The company that we decided to go with has a process that they call “Travertine” and we loved the look of it.  The only problem with this choice was the company is really busy (actually all of the companies are busy this time of year).  Just to give you an idea of how busy they are we made our decision at the beginning of May…they finally got started the week of July 4th.  We required a pretty large space (I think I’ve mentioned that we entertain quite a bit right) and we had to make it two tiers because there was a vent for the basement that couldn’t be covered. 

and for a better look at our mini grill that Stan just had to put on the patio

here’s a closer look at the texture and pattern (my pooch seems to always find a way into my shots. )

The grass has been ruined thanks to the construction and the heat, but it wasn’t lush like I’m used to and we plan to deep seed this fall in hope of a great lawn next year.  At first I was against the tiers, but I really LOVE my patio.  Now I have to get to the decorating.  We’re thinking a gazebo to cover the dining area, a couple of chaises to go on the top tier in a bright color, some huge pots to fill with plants, and definitely am outdoor kitchen for my husbands bar-b-que and smoking section.  Our outdoor kitchen will also need to include a deep fryer because I can’t stand the smell of fried food that lingers when you fry it in the house to I deep fry everything outside on my deck. 

I thought I would include a few shots of my pooch and babydoll because I couldn’t resist.

It was a great joy to find out that one of our trees is a pear tree (my babydolls favorite fruit)!  Look at the pears coming in.

 

I know that pears are more of a fall fruit, but does anyone know when they should be ready for consumption?

Do you have any outdoor decorating plans or ideas?  Please share, I’m always looking for inspiration.