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Stage 1- The OG House
As a refresher, let’s take a look at the back of the house when we first bought it. The back portion of the house had one floor, and a small utility room that was added onto the back.
While we never really lived in the house when it was like this, the backyard was a favorite spot. The yard was a good size and it had numerous trees. Many of our neighbors commented that we were lucky to live where we had “deep lots“. It still makes me laugh and I am still trying to figure out what that exactly means?
The “Up”grade
As I mentioned in our second post, during the first renovation, we added a second floor onto the back portion of the house to make a master suite and add an additional bathroom. While adding more onto the house was in our mind, it was a bit more than we were willing to do all at once. So, we had the house prepped for an addition with a special beam installed in the back wall and left it to our imaginations as to how that would work out.
Here is the view from the outside once we moved into the house. The back porch was now a bit of an eye-sore, but it was serving the purpose.
We did enjoy the yard quite a bit. The shade was lovely, and we managed to get rid of the unruly plants growing around the yard. We added a fire pit and spent a good amount of our time out here.
It was great while it lasted, but it was time to move on.
Stage 2
Our second renovation began with the demolition of that utility room. I even got a chance to operate that digger to start things off. We can talk about the piles of dirt and my ultimatum to get rid of it later.
We added on a space that included more room for a new kitchen, a great room, a mudroom, and an expanded basement. Nothing says no storage like an old house so we figured we needed all the space we could get, especially without a garage.
But, Where’s the Door?
Here’s a shot of the back once we added on the addition. There was just a window at that point. We weren’t sure when the deck would go in, so we didn’t put the door in right away. With a bit of foresight again, we did frame out the door inside the wall so it would be fairly easy to put in the door when the time was right.
A Lesson in color choices
Also to note..the color was supposed to be more black. When we put on the paint sample, that’s was I thought I was getting. But nope. When we got it all painted, it was dark brown. I really don’t like it, for the record. I am hoping we can change it ASAP.
After just a year or so of having to walk in and out of the mudroom door, we pulled the trigger on starting the deck.
Phase 3.0
We began with a small deck off the back. I had a vision of multiple levels that lead to the yard, and to begin we were starting off with an upper area that would be easy access to the outdoors.
Here are some pictures of that while it was in progress.
I was so eager to get out there and use it that I purchased our patio dining set right away. I put it on the deck even before we had a railing installed. After one of the dogs jumped off the deck to bark at the neighbor’s dog, we eliminated our use until we had the railing safely in place.
Stage 3.1
Unsure of how we wanted to use the space at the bottom of the stairs, we installed a pea gravel patio. I had this whole Pottery Barn/rustic outdoor idea in my head that I thought would work with the pea gravel. It also helped transition to the Covid era inflatable pool we installed. We spent most of the summer out here because, at the time, there was nowhere else to go.
I am so glad we bought this little pool. It was only about 3 1/2 feet deep but it had a filter system so it was a legit pool. It was just what we needed for that summer. Sometimes, I really miss it!
The pictures above show the pea gravel with our patio set on it. There was more room in the space for the chairs to move in and out, but we learned quickly that chairs on pea gravel don’t move very easily. We were happy with the upper portion that had some Ikea lounge chairs. With the summer flowers in full bloom, I loved the colorful relaxing vibe. But, in case you haven’t noticed, I change my mind often.
Stage 3.2
We finally arrive at what we have today. Last spring we added on to the deck making it 2 levels of decking. I did not mention it before, but we used Trex composite decking. It has held up extremely well and has resisted staining from our killer walnut tree (now removed). We use our Ryobie power washer attachment on it and it cleans to a sparkling new finish every time.
Here is the back view of the house from last summer. The upper portion was our dining area, and the lower portion had our Targeet outdoor furniture that the Porch Swing replaced. This was such a great spot and with the large umbrellas, we could be out there for hours. In the pea gravel section that remained from the pool, we moved our Solo there to make this the firepit area.
After our spring outdoor cleaning, we have a blank slate ready for some plants and flowers. However, I did rearrange the layout AGAIN. I love how the upper portion is an extension of the indoors and this leaves a bit more space for the chairs with our patio dining set. The stairs serve as a extra seating when we have people over and the whole space works together great.
The To-Do List
As I sit outside and think of what is next I can tell you this is what we have in store:
- extend the upper deck
- enlarge pea gravel area for more seating
- add a gazebo with an outdoor fireplace
- NEW COLOR
Until we get those projects rolling enjoy these views of our outdoor space. Products are linked in the captions:
Be sure to check out our social media and follow us for more on these spaces and more! New projects are added daily! Also, check out the Shop our Favorites on the blog to find the links to all of the items we used in these spaces.
Thanks for stopping by!
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