Outdoor Spaces

It's the most wonderful time of the year! For enjoying outdoor spaces, that is. Alfresco meals, doors and windows thrown open to let the breeze in, heated pool for the kids, and margaritas on the patio at local restaurants were the highlights of my weekend. We are beginning the best season for weather in Houston and I'm planning on taking full advantage of it before summer hits. One of the things I love most about my house is the number of outdoor spaces I have to enjoy this great weather.

The front porch




The pool







And the balcony off the master bedroom

That's a lot of outdoor spaces for a fairly small home. How small? I'm not sure if I've ever revealed this before, but my home is just under 2300 square feet. When you have three boys, an escape room is important. Outdoor areas are perfect since the yelling from inside is muted.

Besides the plants I killed, the front porch and balcony are in pretty good shape. I never really got to finish the pool area last year since most of the décor was sold out by the time our pool was finished. Here are a few things I have my eye on to finish it off.




I really wanted this black and white striped umbrella last year from Ballard Designs, but considering I needed two of them I could not justify the cost and went with plain red ones. I'll be watching these at the end of summer for a good sale and a coupon. I have to at least get two seasons out of my red ones. Isn't the black and white so chic?

Pool loungers are at the top of my list!





I've also decided to put in palm trees behind our waterfall. I feel like the rocks need a bit of softening. Have you ever priced palms? They can be insanely expensive and it's so hard to decide which ones to buy since there are so many varieties. I'm leaning towards the Mediterranean Palm because they're pretty. We'll see what my yard guy says tomorrow about these. I hope he doesn't burst my bubble by telling me they shed or won't grow well in this climate. He'll be planting the trees for me because I don't trust my planting skills. Painting, yes. Planting, no.


This is probably my first project that doesn't require woodwork, paint or any elbow grease at all on my part. I could get used to this!

Fire Pits and Backyard Progress

Our backyard is coming along, but first I've got to show you the pool at night. I was too nervous to turn the fire pits on while my husband was out of town last week, so I snapped a couple of pictures when he got home Thursday night.











Yes, that's a birthday balloon in the pool. My five year old was completely attached to it for some reason. I promise these kids have more than enough pool toys. If you follow me on Instagram you know this!

Oh, and as a disclaimer for those breaking out in a cold sweat over the fire and the kids being so close, the kids are not allowed on the rocks while the fire pits are on. Even when they are off, they are only allowed on the two lower shelves since they are wide and flat. We're making up the rules as we go along, but we realized a few things the first night. We also realized beach balls and fire did not mix the hard way. ;) You can see my little guy gathering up the airborne toys for me in the last picture. They still have plenty of toys to play with that don't go airborne, but I can't say they are that interested. I love seeing them make up games as they race each other swimming across the pool. It's nice to see them use their imaginations again!

My five year old can swim the width of the pool, but not the length. We bought him a thin Speedo life vest from Target and it has been the best thing ever. Not only does it give me piece of mind, but his swimming skills have improved dramatically and he can enjoy the entire pool instead of just the sun ledge and hot tub (aka baby pool). I wish I had known about these sooner. I only knew about the thick ones that are really uncomfortable and make swimming difficult. If you have little kids, you've got to get one!

In case you're wondering, Mario does like being outside by the pool. "By the pool" are the key words. He does not like being in the pool, but the kids wanted to see if he could swim. Luckily for Mario, he's a natural born swimmer. When he gets a little nervous around the boys he heads inside where he can safely watch what's going on from the window.




When I showed you the pool last week the deck had not been acid washed so it looked a little chalky. I was thrilled to see it when I came home from work Thursday. It's the color it's supposed to be and the best part is we're not tracking that chalky mess in the house any more.



I love how it matches the flagstone coping so nicely.




Irrigation and grass were added this weekend. We've been the DIY route before with both of these projects, so we know the extra money to pay someone else to do it is well worth it. The areas along the fence were intentionally left alone because we're going to add flowerbeds. I'm hoping to find something that grows tall fast so we have a little privacy when we're outside. The fence isn't the most attractive thing to look at either.




When it does get cool outside we want to be able to sit near the fire pits. My five year old is looking forward to making "snores." That's the reason for the half circles behind the fire pits. We're going to place large pieces of flagstone here to make a patio for chairs or benches. We need to move the sod from behind the other rocks because there will be plants here instead. I'm hoping to find something that will soften the line of the rocks and drape over them a bit.




We've been so busy enjoying the pool that we haven't made too much progress on the beams, but we did get all four of them boxed in. Before, we just had the two front ones done. We just need to add the trim and paint them next. Eventually, I'd love to add a tongue and groove ceiling on the porch with a fan, but the landscape is taking priority right now.




I also found LED candles at Target for the lanterns. It makes such a difference to have these on at night. I'm just crossing my fingers no one kicks them. My husband already broke one trying to put the candle in it. He said he just turned it over and the glass came out. Hmmm...imagine that. Thankfully, Lowe's had one left.

I still haven't shown you all the outdoor serving pieces I have. I keep forgetting to take pictures when we have parties. Don't worry. We have pool parties several times a week!

The Big Pool Reveal

Check it out!












Here is my fast attempt at weekend decorating.











We're beefing up these beams by boxing in the originals and painting them white, but we can't finish them until the deck is acid washed later this week. When that's done the concrete will be a tan color. It just has a fine layer of dust on it right now.




I love these candleholders I found at Lowe's. I can't wait to find some LED candles to put in them. They are glass, but I put them in front of the beam. Who would walk into a beam? I probably will. I'm also going to put some potted plants in front of them too for extra protection.




Hopefully, in the next year or so we will have a summer kitchen where the grill is sitting.





A rug at the back door is a must because wet feet make this tile really slippery. I bought this one at Target.




And, I have a basket of towels ready by the back door.



Obviously, we've been swimming a lot since there's only one towel left! My husband put a doorbell on the bottom that chimes every time the door opens. We can hear it all the way upstairs, which is important with small kids. Excuse my dirty floors!

We still have a lot going on this week-irrigation, grass, acid washing the deck, finishing the beams on the back porch, and fixing fences. But, I'm okay with that because we can still swim! I can't wait to show you the fire pits on at night. My husband is out of town and I'm a little nervous to turn them on.

It was an amazing night when we filled the pool! The kids were just absolutely thrilled. We had friends and family over and everyone just had a blast. One neighbor said this would be a night we would always remember. I think he's right!