WE ARE BAAAAACK!!!!
These first two months of Summer have been jammed PACKED with good stuff. I placed 3rd in my first pole competition, we survived our big-ass trip to Europe, the fam let us tag along to Florida for "Disney as Adults", and this weekend we're off to Michigan for some cabin-on-the-lake chill time!
Between each of our adventures were a few brief weeks at home. Eric took this as a prime opportunity to absolutely ATTACK the backyard. Giving ME the opportunity to snap pics and provide an enormous photo dump for your enjoyment.
The last time I shared anything about our pergola, it was the Summer of 2016 and looked like this.
Eric removed all the paver stones and grass, and with the help of his dad, they leveled everything out and created a frame for the future concrete.
The two rectangular sections closest to the house are walkways, with flower beds in between. That big round stone covers the opening of an old cistern, so by placing a bed over it, we'll still have access to it if needed.
This all went down July 4th weekend 2016, so for about a year, we were at a stand still. There was a bit of drama with a concrete guy who ghosted us (lame), but I won't get into that. The only good thing about waiting so long for progress is we had plenty of time to decide what we wanted; like a beautiful brass fire ring!
After watching the seasons change yet again, we FINALLY caught a break, and a husband of a friend had another friend who hooked us up with a team to pour and stamp our concrete. HAZZAH!!!
I have never been so happy to see a bunch of sweaty dudes in my backyard.
We decided to go with stamped concrete for a few reasons. One being covering that amount of square space with pavers would be too expensive, and we also didn't want to worry about weeds growing through the cracks and the upkeep. They literally used a giant rubber stamp to give the wet concrete that natural stone texture, and we couldn't be more pleased with the results!
With the concrete complete, the next phase was all about flower beds. Right from the start, Eric had a vision of multiple beds surrounding the space, particularly a long one filled with vining plants to work their way up one side of the pergola.
Total there are seven beds; three in front, three in back, and one along the North side. We're still on the fence about what to plant, but my hope is a mix of flowering perennials and big leafy greens.
As you can see in the photo above, to create a wall for the vining plants to grow Eric attached lattice from top to bottom on the one side. It will be stained the same color as the pergola, and those support beams are just begging to be filled with cute potted plants. I really like how it closes up the space, creating a more defined "room".
You may also notice the electrical work going up the back post. That's going to be used for our sound system, as well as powering up the cafe lights!
For as long as I can remember I've dreamed of sitting outside, sipping cocktails, and relaxing underneath the warm glow of lights. We'd like to get an additional strand to hang over the "fire pit" area and bring light to the whole backyard. It's going to be magical.
Speaking of magical, the amount of work Eric has put into Project Pergola is supernatural. I swear he just wakes up in the morning with shiny new skills he didn't have the night before. There's a whole grilling station and dining table he whipped up out of nowhere I didn't even get to in this post! Stay tuned for those updates, till then, here's a little before/after combo to really hammer in how far we've come.
And there you have it. Everything we've been up to this Summer, besides packing our bags every weekend and jet-setting off to who knows where. Hopefully, you enjoyed scrolling through our pics, we're SO CLOSE to being done we can smell it! Or we're smelling the barbecue ribs...either way, it's going to be a glorious Summer.
Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.
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