Our Yard Refresh
Helloooo people! Back on the blog today with a very special little reveal…. our own yard!!!! If you’ve been following along on IG, you’ll know we had a major yard overhaul at the end of last year. I’ll need to do a before & after at some point (the before is scary, I won’t spook you on a Monday), but for now just wanted to highlight the beautiful job that Garrett & Stirling of Henry Earthworx did, and a few very special pieces to this new outdoor space.
A little background: we live on a corner which can naturally feel like a little fishbowl, and the house originally was MAJORITY a giant garden. I’m talking 14+ planter boxes, which was really cool- but far beyond what we could manage caring for long term. We also wanted to maximize additional living space outside, since HELLO, we live in sunny San Diego and love spending outside with the fur babies. There was no separation between ‘front yard’ and ‘back yard’ being on a corner, so the goal was to create some separate zones for a bit of privacy, and to keep a super safe/ secure fenced in zone for the doggies to hang all day. Because our dogs living their best life is what we live for, obviously?!
Starting with the new ‘back yard’ aka my new favorite place. This used to be ALL GARDEN BOXES! Again very cool, but was so much wasted hang-out space. The whole yard was taken down to dirt, and re-built to this freakin’ dreamboat of a situation. We worked around an existing tree to create the planter bed in that back corner, built out a 12’x12’ deck area made of a custom-stained Garapa to create this firepit-seating area. Insert our favorite outdoor chairs ever ever ever from Neighbor Outdoor. Pictured here is The Chair in the ‘Leaf’ - and although the weather isn’t so extreme here, we still got their covers and I’m SO happy we did. Highly recommend keeping outdoor furniture covered no matter where you are or what climate you’re in to increase the lifetime of your outdoor pieces, and keep them lookin’ as good as new. Anyways, back to these chairs- outdoor furniture can be tough, and I’ve found there are very few brands in between extremely cheap, and extremely expensive. Neighbor Outdoor’s pricepoint combined with quality is few and far between in my opinion for the quality you get, and the look! If you know me you know I’m a big fan of green, so this was a no-brainer for me to bring in a subtle pop of color into the yard, and I love how the color plays off the plants surrounding that space! The firepit pictured is from the lovely Lumacast, local to San Diego and the most beautiful fire features you ever did see. Shown is the ‘Bola’ in a 36” diam. size, in the White concrete. We also got the aluminum top powder-coated to match the concrete, and is SUCH game changer in allowing you to use that feature as a little coffee table when it’s off (which is majority of the time!) I love the thicker edge around the firepit so you can actually kick you’re feet up or set a drink down when the fire’s on.
The Chair in the ‘Leaf’ Sunbrella from Neighbor Outdoor
Last but not least, a little peek of the new front yard!! You’ll see that black full-height fence off to the left of the new veggie garden zone- this used to be completely open! So adding this full-height fence down the half of the yard created that separation from the firepit zone, grass area, and outdoor dining area in a more private ‘backyard’ setting - and this new garden is part of the front yard. We added a lower-height fence around the garden to help keep critters out, and lots of lush plants, florals, and one beautiful fruitless olive tree. A major shout-out to Henry Earthworx for absolutely killing it, forever pinching myself when I get home and cranking my neck when driving away to stare at our special new yard.
XX- Katie