Are you doing tons of projects at home these days? With the emergence of spring here in Seattle (finally) and our shelter in place order, we’ve been trying to make the most of our home — all without really going to the hardware store! The area we’re focusing our attention on the most is the backyard. Why does it always feel like we’re updating that space?? I think because the winters here are pretty hard on the patio… all that rain. I shortened the list recently, but here’s my backyard design to do list for the next few months!
Before we dig into the to do list for the backyard design plans, be sure to watch this video so you know what it currently looks like! It’s not especially pretty… but hopefully by the time summer gets here, it will be perfect for us to grill, have fires in the fire pit, and maybe I can even work from outside!
And click here to see the before photos of our backyard!
My Backyard Design Plans & To Do List
New Lighting
Ever since we did One Room Challenge 2 years ago, I haven’t been totally happy with the scale of the sconces on our deck. They just feel too small. I have new ones already, so we’ll be installing those soon. Also, I have a LOT of cafe lights to string up that are leftover from our wedding. They will definitely help with the ambiance during summer evenings.
I would also like to put in more subtle landscape lighting, like smaller lights in the garden bed around the compost bin. Or solar powered LED lanterns hanging from our giant sequoia!
Chicken Yard
I’ve been jealous of Kate’s chicken yard for so long. After seeing it in person last summer, I knew it was time for us to step up our game. Now that I’m not wedding planning anymore, I have finally had a chance to brainstorm what our version of this could be!
To start, we are getting a new chicken coop and I am SO excited. In case you’ve missed my Instagram posts, we got new chicks recently (more on them coming soon!!!!) and we’ll need more space for everyone to live. So we’re moving them to another part of the yard and building a yard dedicated to the hens. It’s going to be close to the spot where we hang out the most, so I’ll still get to commune with my backyard chickens all summer long. Plus, we will reclaim a LOT of usable yard space. It’s a win-win situation for pretty much everyone.
A Larger Dining Table
I absolutely love our current outdoor furniture, but it’s just too small. It seats 4, but we really need seating for 6. Plus we have the room for it! Once the quarantine ends, I look forward to having people over to grill and have cocktails. It would also be nice to have a wooden table because I’ve been wanting something made of wood that I can take photos on for the blog.
A New Shed
And lastly… we desperately need a new shed! I am dreaming big and planning to DIY a shed that contains storage for more of our outdoor gear and tools… and a small office for myself! Sort of like a SheShed, but with a normal shed, too. Given how up in the air my office space has been, creating a multipurpose structure would be so big for me!
So those are our backyard design plans for this year. What do you think? I will say, the list is definitely a lot shorter now that we’re coping with a pandemic. If anything, Sean and I are choosing to get crafty and make do with what we have on hand. Our budget right now is pretty limited, so I look forward to sharing each of these projects with you. I hope you enjoy following along!
