Our Backyard Space: Before and After

 Better Homes & Gardens 4-Piece Sofa Set;  Better Homes & Gardens 3-Piece Rocking Set;  2Xist jogger and sweatshirt (c/o);  similar lantern here and here;  Blue plastic wine glasses

Remember this post wayyyyy back in April of 2018 where I shared a bunch of before and after photos of our home remodel?  Well around that time we had just finished a pretty big overhaul of the backyard, and I intended to share it sometime last summer, just as soon as I found new patio furniture.  Fast forward to now, and we’ve JUST created an outdoor space that we love in the backyard.

Although we don’t have many “before” photos of the backyard, if you scroll below, you can get a little feel for what we were working with.  It was overgrown (to say the least), had concrete poured in some strange “figure 8” pattern, and had dirt instead of grass.  It definitely wasn’t a place that we wanted to hang out or relax, but now, we are loving this space thanks to a few key changes.

Podocarpus Trees – Definitely one of the best things that we did in the backyard was lining all of the block walls with Podocarpus Trees.  We had them planted pretty close together, and after a couple of seasons, they had grown SO well.  They’re regularly trimmed as a living wall, and it provides so much privacy, noise protection, additional shade, and overall peace in the space.

Jacuzzi – This, by far, is one of our favorite features of our entire home remodel.  We use the jacuzzi ALL of the time, and we designed it pretty big so that it doubles as a small pool in the summertime.  (It even fits a full-sized float or two.)  We went with a natural stone exterior, a soothing waterfall feature, and two functioning coolers on the sides that are so handy for outdoor parties.  When we aren’t in the jacuzzi, we most likely have the waterfall feature on with the French doors in the kitchen open so that we can hear the sound of water throughout the house.

Fruit Trees – In addition to the Podocarpus Trees, we also planted avocado, Valencia orange, and Meyer lemon trees.  They don’t produce a ton of fruit yet, but it’s always nice when we can just grab an orange or lemon or avocado from the backyard.

Actual Grass – Here’s a shocker – planting grass was a significant change to the dirt patches we had before.  To the left side of the jacuzzi, there’s a strip of grass where the dogs can run and chase birds to their hearts’ desire.  And yes, we unfortunately have burn patches in the grass ALL the time because, well, dogs.

Built-In BBQ – The built-in BBQ and bar area has been so nice to have for grilling out or even just for putting out food and drinks during parties.  We made the bar pretty big, so there’s a ton of counter space for entertaining.  Originally I wanted to put barstools around it, but for now it’s kind of become a standing room bar.  We’ll see, the jury is still out on that one.

New Patio Furniture – Last but certainly not least, our new patio furniture is what helped tie the entire space together.  I don’t know if you guys have looked into outdoor furniture lately, but it can be crazy expensive, so I was so excited to find these two sets that I love at Walmart.  On any given weekend you can find me lounging on this couch or hanging in one of the rocking chairs – every piece is SO comfortable, and the quality really can’t be beat.  (Clearly, it’s pup-approved too.)

xoxo