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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Home Tour Tuesday - Outdoor Living Space



Happy Tuesday!  I started a Home Tour Tuesday series a few months back (links to all of the posts are here), and I made the rounds through our entire house, but then I stalled when sharing our back porch because it wasn’t quite fully decorated.  Well, I’m happy to say that it is finally done (with the exception of hanging the TV) and I’m sharing it today!

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember that last summer we decided to add on to the back of our house.  When we built our house back in 2009, we opted for the covered back porch upgrade.  However, it was only 8x10 feet (if my memory serves me correctly), so there was barely room for a couple of chairs out there, and definitely no room for a table.  Plus the sun beat down on the entire porch every evening as it set in the west, so it was typically pretty hot and miserable out there.  Needless to say, we didn’t really spend a lot of time out there and it was pretty much just wasted space. 

On another note, our garage could barely contain our cars due to the amount of outdoor lawn equipment, etc. that was stuffed in there, and when Olivia was born our only spare room that contained all of my Christmas decorations, fall decorations, etc. was turned into a baby nursery.  In just five short years we had already outgrown our home.  Therefore, we thought it would be a great idea to add an indoor closet off of Brian’s office, an outdoor utility closet, and extend the back porch across the back of the entire house.

Best decision we’ve ever made.

We now have a large outdoor utility closet to house the lawnmower and all of the other lawn equipment which allows our garage to hold only our cars (so nice), we have a huge indoor closet to house all of my many holiday decorations and extensive gift wrap collection, and best of all, we have a gorgeous outdoor living space where we actually have room to enjoy ourselves.  Plus, the utility shed closes off the end of the porch to give us more privacy from the neighbors and it allows the entire porch to be in the shade all day long (even when the sun is setting) since the sun sets on that side of the house.  Win win win every way you look at it!

Construction began in the beginning of June last year, and it was completed by the end of August. 

Here is what the back of the house looked like before.



Here is the building process.

 






And here is what it looks like all finished.  Come on in!



When furnishing the porch, I knew I wanted three separate sections:

1. A place to eat
2. A place to lay out and read
3. A place to lounge on couches, hang out, and watch TV

And I also wanted a place to store the kids' outdoor toys. 

First up, the eating area...






Next, the area to lay out...







And then, the lounging area where we spend most of our time...









Finally, an area to house all of the kids' outdoor toys...





Our house backs up to an easement in the middle of the neighborhood, so we have tons of trees separating us from the other side of the neighborhood for ultimate privacy.  And that's exactly why we chose this lot!  It's all about location!





The only thing that we have left to do is to hang a TV on that left wall under where the twinkle lights dip down.  I’m hoping to have one up by football season because I can see us spending many Saturday evenings out there watching our Dawgs play!



We spent oodles of time out there this spring… we ate countless meals at that table, and we spent many evenings just hanging out, listening to music, and relaxing with drinks in hand.  I’m already looking forward to fall! 

Now all we need is a pool.  Ahem, Brian.  ;o)

*Linking up with Our Pretty Little Girls for Tuesday Talk, and Stang & Co. and Crown Me in Glitter for Talk About It Tuesday.






30 comments:

  1. It looks amazing! I would hang out there all the time!

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    1. Thanks, girl! Now I just wish it would cool down a bit! We haven't been able to spend as much time out there this last month because the heat has been unbelievable!

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  2. We have high hopes for our patio next spring & summer! We need some sort of covered space because we don't have any shade either! So.hot. Yours looks great!

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  3. Your addition is fabulous!!! It looks like it has been there the whole time. I love how you have all the different areas. I was totally thinking of you guys watching football games out there this fall. :) Such a lovely space!

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  4. OMG I absolutely LOVE it!! The difference is amazing and it looks so great. I want to come over and relax with you. :)

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  5. I'm in love! It looks so perfect!

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  6. OMG seriously this transformation is AMAZING!!!!! I looove it! It's a backyard oasis now! I would spend every free minute out there!

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  7. Wow!!!! This is an amazing transformation! Great job, girl. I love the before and after of it all and your finishing touches are perfection!! I especially love your toy storage for the kiddos. I neeeeed to do that! What a fun post! Love, love, love it!!!

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    1. Yes, the toy storage is probably my favorite part! Sure beats having it all strewn around in the house!

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  8. Fantastic! I know you will really enjoy this.
    :) gwingal

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  9. Oh WOW! That transformation was HUGE! I love how cozy it is out there too. You could literally just hang out all day long. It's perfect.

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  10. Wow, Lindsay, talk about a makeover! That is amazing. And your interior aka exterior decorating skills are wonderful! What a special space.

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  11. So amazing!!! People just don't have outdoor spaces like that here.. sigh.. probably because of how we get warm weather for maybe 2 months and then it's fairly cold and rainy... I love how you've made it so inviting and cozy!!!!

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  12. I absolutely LOVE your porch and yard. And I need to know where you got everything! Loving your furniture and outdoor rug!

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  13. What a nice setup! The extra space must be so nice!!

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  14. I have serious patio envy! I love it. I love seeing the before and after pictures of building it too!

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  15. I love this, looks so amazing! We have a big back porch too and we've been living out there this spring and summer!!

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  16. Oh my love the porch!! What a great idea to have separated eating/lounging areas and the brick, so lovely.

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  17. Wow, what a beautiful porch! I love how you created separate areas for eating and hanging out/reading! great work!

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  18. Your patio is gorgeous! What a fun space.

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  19. It looks so good! I would want to spend all day every day out there! I love how you fixed it up and the furnishings you have out there.

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  20. I love your patio. I love what you did and how you made amazing use out of it. I love the different areas and I want something like this. I am definitely showing Rory this as our inspiration.

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  21. Love it! Looks amazing and so hospitable. I've been dreaming of a sunroom behind our master bedroom since our deck goes 3/4 of the way at the back of the house. Has the overhang affected your light inside much? That's one of my concerns.

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    1. Ah, you're so smart to think of that beforehand! It didn't even occur to me before we did it, but yes, it did affect it a little bit. Not drastically, but it definitely did make it a little darker in there during the day.

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  22. I like that you clearly defined each area of your outdoor space. We would like to fix up our back patio, but I have no idea where to start. Making a list of defined areas is a good idea. It all looks great and I especially like how you organized your kids' toys!

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    1. Thank you so much, Emily! Yes, the porch was so large that I didn't even know where to begin to put furniture so I figured that having different areas made the most sense. We definitely do love the way it turned out!

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  23. Lindsay, I am absolutely SMITTEN with your back porch! The idea of having the three separate hang-out areas to area, lay down, and sit around on couches makes me SWOON!! I would love love love a set up like this! So happy to have found your blog. :)

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  24. Oh my word!! This space is incredible. I would spend all of my days out there!

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