Backyard Makeover Underway

Last fall when I posted about my Front Porch Pick-Me-Up, I mentioned that I've been wanting to update all of our outdoor living spaces. Our backyard, in particular, had been in need of something to make the space more inviting.

Shortly after our home was built we had a concrete patio poured and shortly after that, my husband built a fire pit where we could sit and enjoy warm summer nights. But that's pretty much all that had happened besides the addition of our old patio table and some plastic Adirondack chairs (which broke within a month, grrrr).

So, we finally decided to get at our project. After talks of pergolas and water fountains and sitting walls and counters, we finally selected our final plan and all the things we'd need to finish off the space.

Purchase list:

• new Adirondack chairs, WOOD
• landscape lighting
• planters and lots-o-flowers
• new grill
• water fountain
• new landscaping behind fire pit area
• stone and more stone

To do list:

• stain concrete 
• create a sitting wall to the left of our patio door (or to the right if looking from the pic below)
• build an "outdoor kitchen" or essentially build in our new grill on the opposite side

We were admittedly a bit nervous about the staining because our concrete guy actually refused to do it ... the results are apparently unreliable. Not surprisingly, even the advice of a trained professional who does this for a living could not persuade us to steer clear of this project. So ... we just buckled down and did it anyhow. 

To get started, we needed to sweep and power wash the concrete. I essentially did the sweeping and that was about the end of my roll in this project. Beyond that I was assigned to buy beer and keep our kids out of the way. 

Here are the "just washed, pre-staining" pictures. See, just a big ol' boring piece of concrete. Puh. No good.

And another shot of the concrete in the shade (because I'm really bad about taking pictures at more opportune times). You can't tell but it's a ho-hum gray. Concrete gray. Yick. Again, no good.

After that was dried, my husband started painting the outside boarder. He suggested doing two different  shades and I was on-board. I selected the colors and he got to work. For the "trim" he used a cheap foam brush and it seemed to work well. Well, I guess it required a second coat but it went pretty smoothly (or appeared to from where I was watching).

Once that was done, he started on the main concrete area which he applied with a sprayer and then used a broom to sweep it in. After the first layer, he applied the lighter boarder color in sweeping motions on top. He then used the broom to swirl that around and mix it in with a dark, chocolate brown. 

Finished ...

We really like how it turned out because it added a richness to the space and gave us a much more inviting foundation to build on. So far we're really happy with it. 

The next step is where it really got interesting. Let's, oh, I don't know, build a sitting wall! Geez. I wonder where we get the ideas to tackle this stuff on our own. Pure insanity. But we forge on. 

First step, concrete blocks.

Kinda cool, right? I was uber impressed with my hubby's mad block building skills.

We also looked through a number of stone samples that would be close to the stone used on the front of the house. This guy was the closest one. Ding, ding. We have a winner!

Next he laid out all the stone so he could see the different sizes he was working with. And that's some mortar that he mixed up in the background there. 

Here's how it looked as things got underway. 

And then, after some very long hours of putting up stone and grouting it (I'm told until his finger tips fell off) ... and even adding some lighting (OMG) ... it looked like this!! 

I am still in awe of the work he did on this. Literally. Mouth. Still. Open. or Smiling.

My next job was to add in some colorful plants and flowers that I placed in about a million different containers of all shapes, sizes and colors. I started with bright pops of turquoise and purple, and yellow to go with our yellow Adirondack chairs. And then I just said oh what the heck, why not pink too. 

These guys aren't flowering at just this moment so use your imagination.

Here's a shot from a little further back. Really coming together.

And one from the other side of the wall. 

What's left to do is the other side where we'll be building in the grill. Hopefully I'll have an update on that in a couple weeks. And hopefully by then the rest of our landscaping will be in around the fire pit. This is what the grill area looks like now. Not so nice but we're getting there ...

Meantime, the new chairs, flowers, landscape lights and fountain make it a great space to enjoy summer. I'm looking forward to many more days and nights out here with these crazy kids.

Ahhh, relaxing!

Princess Party

My daughter LOVES everything princesses right now so we planned a very special party for her this year.

At her first "friends" party, she got to invite four of her besties to a pampered princess party at a local spa. Each little girl was treated to a mani, pedi and up-do. Oh yes, yes, I did.

London selected five of her favorite Disney Princesses to round out our theme and I made gift boxes and coordinating tutus for each girl that referenced each one:

• Snow White
• Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
• Jasmine
• Cinderella
• Ariel

The gift boxes were filled with royal silver tissue and each received a wand, tiara, earrings, tattoos, a lipstick pen and a ring that coordinated with one Princess. I used Disney Princess cut outs and matching ribbon to make each unique.

After the favor boxes were ready, I used the same ribbon and two tones of tulle to make tutus for each girl. This one was for London who was Princess Jasmine for the day. If you ever want to learn how to make these tutus, YouTube has some great videos by some terrific people. It's really super simple.

And this is a similar version for Cinderella.

Here's the set.

I also ordered some cute custom water bottle labels and invites from Etsy (a shop called Creative Party Pixels), found some fun straws that were put in plastic champagne glasses at the spa and then there were some custom cookies and pink cake pops to round out the other snacks and goodies.

And then of course there was the magical day at the spa. The girls loved every minute of their pampering and looked adorable in their mini pink robes!

Pedi time ...

And the crowning moment. Literally!

Afterwards, the girls gathered up their things and put on all their accessories and tutus and floated around the spa using their wands to turn the moms into Princesses too. So cute and so much fun!!

Teacher Appreciation: End of year thank you!

We're nearing the end of our first official school year so a thank you gift was in order for Malachi's wonderful teacher.

I personally find it insanely hard to think of a good gift for teachers but have been racking my brain determined to come up with something sweet because she's been awesome. Despite all of his missing homework assignments, my failure to show up for parent teacher conferences on time and my overall lack of organization skills now that I'm a mother of three, she goes on smiling, taught my child how to read and write and doesn't even give me the stink eye when I forget to pack a lunch (at least that only happened twice). Oy.

Anyhow, I have to believe they get their fill of apple shaped things (admittedly they are incredibly tempting to buy) and you never really get to know them all that intimately. So ... I opted for an "enjoy your summer" theme and hope it fits the bill.

For the gift basket container I selected a giant margarita glass which I imagine could be considered tasteless for the teacher of a kindergarten class. If I were the teacher of 20 five and six year-olds, I 'd call that survival. Bottoms up.

It also included the following:

• recipe book filled with cute summer cupcake ideas (including watermelon versions on the cover)
• watermelon cupcake wrappers
• watermelon gum
• Subway gift card
• suntan lotion
• teacher themed stickers
• Milky Way mini candy bars

Malachi also wrote a note on a quick watermelon slice that I cut out of paper and we added "chalkboard" ribbon to top it off. 

Put it all together and it's ready for delivery to a very special teacher, Mrs. V. Thank you for all you do!

Chair Project Completed

So I finally finished this chair. Finally. Normally it doesn't take me very long to finish a project once I start. But I sort of developed a love/hate relationship with this chair and by that I mostly mean "hate."

I actually had the chair nearly completed (or so I thought) about three weeks ago and when I went for the grand finale, I realized it wasn't going to work. At all. Like had to unupholster my reupholster and that drove me close to insanity. Or I actually reached insanity and was too cookoo to notice. Both are distinct possibilities.

Anyhow, don't have a lot of "during" shots because truth be told, most days I thought I'd be better off just taking it to the curb. But, alas. It's now done. And it's far from perfect but it's decent and today, decent feels good.

Probably one of the best things this project has going for it is cost.  Due to some leftover nail head trim, the total project cost me $65. So for $65, this is pretty darn good chair and it sure does look better than it used to.

Okay, no more talking. Here are the pics.

As mentioned, I did still do the two tone fabric which I love. It really gives the chair a cool look.

And here's an up-close of the nail head trim. I used a kit which works great. Really easy to use and available at most fabric stores or online.

Here's a final before and after.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Better indeed!

Chair Update

Since my last post, my chair found a new owner and work has been underway to transform her into something beautiful.

The first step was to take off the original fabric and to do that, I start with the trim. I used a flat head screwdriver and a hammer to get under the first piece and from there I use a pliers to pull it off. As much as possible, I try to get the staples along with it.

I also take lots of pictures as I go because it's incredibly helpful when you need to put it back together. I  always work backwards from the way it was put together.

Once the bottom was off, I started with the top. Here I took even more pictures because this was the part I knew would be most difficult to figure out when it comes time to recover everything. 

Then I had to use a pliers to painstakingly pull out every one of these little buttons used to create the tufted look. Note to self ... count these before buying the chair next time. This one has 40 and over the course of the weekend, those 40 little buttons nearly drove me to the point of insanity. 

Once that was all off, the chair looked like this ... 

And the foam like this ...

When I had the last bit of fabric removed, I was down to the bones. And I must say, they do look great. 

I then roughly sanded the chair. And if I had looked closely at this picture before painting it, I would have noticed I did a very bad job. There were little circles all over the wood from the sander and those marks were only highlighted after it was painted. So that had to be done ALL OVER again. Not fun. 

Thankfully my husband actually resanded everything for me. Life saving. I just didn't have it in me.

Meantime, I headed off to the fabric store and came back with two different kinds. I took measurements before I went which allowed me to save a lot of money. That top fabric is $40/yard. A LOT. But because I knew I only needed 24"and was able to use a 60% off coupon, I got it for about $10. 

The second fabric is a micro suede which I think will wear nice since this is going to a house with kids. I'll add a fabric protector near the end but these fabrics tend to clean up pretty well. 

Both are in a soft grey which should help the chair to feel more contemporary. 

I saved the bottom piece of the orange chair and used that to roughly cut out the fabric for the cushion. And I used the foam back to gauge what I'd need for that. 

I then purchased these button covers to use for the tufting. And this is when I neared meltdown number 2. This was the only option I could find locally and they do not work great. The materials are flimsy and they don't go together well. I lost an entire pack to the garbage and lots of time and effort. 

What I did end up with after an hour and a half was about 15 of the 40 buttons I need. So I'm just taking this part slowly. I'll do a handful each day until I have everything I need. 

It also took me a bit to figure out the best way to sew them on but I have that part pretty well squared away. If I can just get the buttons themselves down, I'll be cooking with gas. 

Effort aside, I like how they're looking. 

I also like the way the wood is looking now that it's darkened up. I think the gray is going to look really great with this dark walnut color. 

Hopefully I'll have a fully assembled chair to show you by next weekend!

New Chair Project: Buyer Wanted

Even though I have a few projects that need to get done, I haven't been feeling terribly motivated to start them. But this past weekend I happened to be driving by a thrift shop that's not typically open on Sundays. When it was, I decided to pop in.

After a quick stroll past their furniture section, I spotted a chair and as I usually do with chairs, fell in love. Now the fabric is stained and worn and orange (enough said), but the lines are fabulous and I think it'll make an awesome side chair. I could see this by a fireplace, or in a master bedroom as a nice place to sit and kick off your shoes. It'd even complement a home office or with some funky colors, a teen's room too.

So of course, I bought it. My plan right now is to reupholster it and sell it to anyone that's interested. If there's anyone out there reading this that's is in the market for a new chair, do let me know. I'd then work with you on the fabric selection so it works for your home.

And if no one thinks this chair is as awesome as I do, then it will likely find a home on the landing of our second floor that's looking a little bare.

Here the little guy is. I think it totally has the potential to be a statement piece.

Now that he resides in my home awaiting his makeover, I'm thinking through all the possible ways I could take this thing. I do like the tufting so may repeat that ... assuming I can figure out how to do it. It's actually something I've wanted to take on.

The part I'm actually most excited about is fabric selection. At the moment, I'm positively loving the idea of using two different fabrics. These might be a little bright and eccentric but I love the overall vibe.

Products design by Philadelphia Furniture And Accessories Wild Chairy

or this one ...

Products design by Philadelphia Furniture And Accessories Wild Chairy

Even two simple neutrals look great. And the nail head trim? Definite possibility.

Contemporary Dining Room design by New York Interior Designer MuseInteriors

Of course the other decision is whether to leave the wood as is, refinish/stain it, or paint it a new color all together. Decisions, decisions. I just don't know where I (or a potential new owner) will land!