ROCK: I started off this week with a trip with Magic Tom the Landscaper to the enormous outdoor building materials showroom that is Semco. We looked at natural stone for the rock walls that will line our sunken fire pit patio. We decided on some that will blend with both the existing flagstone and limestone on the house.
It will be something like this, with a large cap across the edge for a seat wall:
The seat wall will actually a 16-18″ drop from the lawn, with wide steps down.
The lawn naturally slopes about 18″ from the middle of the yard to the back, so we will be displacing the soil to level the grassy part, while creating a separate “sunken” gravel pit area.
And it looks like we will start after the first week of July, so we will just miss the deadline. But no matter! It will still be incredible, and now I have more time to pick plantings and the fun stuff.
I have also been working on rehabbing the amazing bamboo/rattan chairs. I am waiting for some rain, because I need to take advantage of my good weather days to complete the outdoor items. But I have two of them sanded and oiled, and what a difference it already makes!
I also have new chair cushions arriving soon, which were a little tricky to find, considering how late it is in the season. Sourcing anything right now is hard, but I was able to find what I needed and it will work. And if it doesn’t, I’m not afraid of making my own cushion covers!
and ROLL: Lastly, I finalized a door color, have applied two fresh coats, and the back door is looking pret-ty charming right about now. There was a bit of project-creep, in that I also had to scrape the porch over hang trim and find that paint match, sand and repaint it … but again, worth it. The door that I tried to ignore is now going to be such a darling focal point (and functional! wow!) and lend the perfect touch to this European backyard patio.
Once again, I’d like to thank Spring 2021 One Room Challenge organizers and Media Partner, Better Homes and Gardens! One Room Challenge! It’s been so fun following along so far.
Make sure to see what the featured designers are up to and check in with the other ORC guest participants.
Christina Carleton 