I have to apologize about not writing very much these last few weeks. Between the holidays and trying to clean out and organize in the New Year, I have gotten a little behind! I haven’t written a Friday Favorites post in awhile, so thought I would start with that today. You may be thinking “Outdoor living? Well, that’s not very seasonally appropriate!” And frankly, you would be right! However, we are contemplating re-doing our backyard and since I would need to get estimates and be ready to go in early spring for it to be ready for this summer, it’s actually the perfect time for me to be looking around at outdoor living spaces.
We already have a pool that would need to be resurfaced, and we would also do new hardscaping and landscaping. We also need to keep the cost down and not go too crazy (paying for college you know!) So, I’m being realistic and trying to look for finishes and materials that won’t be exorbitant, but still give us the look we want. We do spend a lot of time in our outdoor living area since we live in California, so it would be so nice to update it!
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| I love this! We already have a white wood patio cover that would stay, so this is certainly achievable. |
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| I noticed this has been pinned about a million times! Hard to see what’s around the pool, but I like the vines growing up the pergola. |
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| REALLY want to add an outdoor fireplace! It would have to be one like this, though, unattached to the house. |
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| One of my very favorite courtyards – ever!! (Brick again!) |
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| This has always been a favorite! I like the floors (limestone?) and the built-in wall fountain. |
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| This is realistically something we could do. |
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This is so lovely! And it’s brick:)
Pretty landscaping here!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Friday! Sheila xo |
kim at northerncalstyle. says
Beautiful. I think we have the same taste Sheila. I am crazy for brick, ivy, pergolas, wicker and all that traditional stuff. I too am in the process of slowly redoing the yard…and hoping by summer it is a reality. Thanks for the inspiration! Kim
Calypso In The Country says
Some beautiful inspiration photos! Our back deck/yard is pretty neglected but I can't convince my husband after that huge renovation last summer!
Shelley
Sheila says
We are so lucky that way Karen! At least if I'm going to spend a significant amount, we will get to enjoy it for many months out of the year. I'm only just beginning to think about it, so we will see if it really happens!
Thanks for stopping by!
Sheila
xo
Sheila says
Thanks Angelina! Hopefully we will be able to do it this year… keeping my fingers crossed!
Best,
Sheila
Karen says
Sheila,
I love the little brick courtyard with the black fountain. So inviting. There are so many great examples of outdoor living here and Southern California is just the place to be able to take advantage of it.
It will be fun to see what you do to your back yard.
Karen
Angelina PeoniesandOrangeBlossoms says
I love all of the pictures you posted for your outdoor inspiration. I love the brick too, I always thought it I liked it because my grandpa was a bricklayer! Good luck with the new project