Patio and Backyard Design Part 1

    

Hello Spring! So glad you have finally arrived! I've been slacking a bit over here at Upside of Chaos due to warm weather and the start of tee ball season for my oldest little. Do I have stuff to build....yes. Do I have stuff to organize....always. Did I write a to do list and show you all how long it is on Instagram the other day....you bet I did. (By the way that this has more than doubled in size.)

But it's been hard to say no when friends say lets get the kids together and play at the zoo or park or why don't we come over and we'll drink some beer and grill out. Which bring me to our patio and backyard. We have a great space. I'm not going to lie it was the biggest reason we bought this house. 

But it still needs a little work. As you can see the in photo the flower beds are looking a little rough. I have always wanted a beautiful garden section So this year I have vowed to get it started. 

   

Then there is the massive hardscape patio. Last summer I shared my No Sew Outdoor Curtains which really helped the space. But the one thing we've been missing for the last four years is a nice table to eat on. Usually we would pull up chairs to our tiny patio table and hunch over it to eat our food. So I moved the couches and chairs out into the open area around our fire pit. 

The plan now is to build a patio table and benches for under the covered portion of the patio. We love to eat out there every chance we get and we also entertain guest outside every chance we get. 

One of the small projects I have planned is to get this fire pit back into shape. It's rusty from spending 4 summers outside in the rain.

The first thing to get done is finish planting our vegetable garden. A quick run to Home Depot with one sleepy kid and one very eager to help kid and this is what we were able to grab in one of the fastest trips on record for us.

I was able to get the vegetable garden finished pretty quickly while the sleepy one napped and other ran crazy. This year we have our 4 tomato plants, 4 pepper plants, 2 rows of red romaine lettuce, 1 row of spinach, 1 row of kale, 2 rows of red onions, and two rows of carrots. Last year I started to keep our herbs in in pots due to lack of space in our garden. (Plus I think they look great as patio decor.)

With a few of the herbs planted in pots I placed the shrubs in between our existing bushes. The plan is to return to Home Depot today and grab some more plants. I like to save money and buy them a little smaller and let them grow into the space. Yes I know it'll take time for them to really look good. But with the money that I save I can get more planted now and I'll have enough of my budget left over to build a table and benches and add some decor. I have two plans in mind both built by the girls at Shanty 2 Chic. Which do you like better? Outdoor Table and Benches for $125 or this Farmhouse Table for $65?

I'll be sharing with you updates as we finish projects!