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March 30

Sharing Our Plans For Our Outdoor Spaces

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I can’t believe our home renovation is nearly finished. We are moving back in in roughly a week and I couldn’t be more excited. The inside of our house is beautiful and pristine now but I can’t say the same for our outdoor spaces. If you’ve ever been on a home construction site, maybe you’ll have noticed that existing landscaping can get pretty torn up. Our yard has been a total disaster, but that’s why we saved the outside for the end of the project. We are just now getting started on the landscaping, focusing first on two spaces that I’m the most excited about- our front porch and back patio. We equally love to entertain friends and family, as well as relax with just the two of us, so we are going to use these spaces often. I’m counting down the days until these spaces have been fully transformed and ready to enjoy! In order to make that happen, I’m so excited to be partnering with Lowe’s to bring these projects to life. We were thrilled to work with them on this because they’ve always been our go-to for outdoor spaces and garden. In fact, going to Lowe’s was one of our first stops when we moved to Charleston. Thomas was so excited to finally have outdoor space and went and bought his grill, which we cooked on almost every single day we were home. We went back dozens of times last year for plants and pots and everything in between, but we’re most excited for this go around. I can’t wait to share how we transform each space over the next few months. In this post, the first of a three part series, I’ll be giving you a glimpse of the spaces in their current state and fill you in on some of the plans we currently have.

But first, spring weather is definitely in full force in Charleston and while our spaces are being planned and prepped, I couldn’t wait to get started on something to kick off the season. Thomas and I decided to plant an herb garden filled with our favorite herbs we use when we cook. We found the cutest blue pots to plant basil, mint, rosemary, lemon thyme and chocolate mint. Now we have fresh basil for pasta, rosemary for grilling chicken, mint for tea and thyme to top our salads. Planting an herb garden is a fun weekend project to do with family- it’s simple and easy and you’ll use it so often. Plus, the timing couldn’t be better to start so that you can enjoy it all spring and summer. And if you live somewhere where you don’t have as much outdoor space, an herb garden allows you to bring a little bit more green and nature without taking up too much space. If you’re not sure where to start, here is a great resource on growing herbs in containers.

While we are still working on the design plans for both of our front porch and back patio, I thought it would be fun to share rough plans for each. As we whip up the designs we keep in mind our intentions for the space. Our ultimate goal is building spots that inspire us to be outside more often. After all, it’s one of the reasons why we moved from San Francisco to Charleston and more specifically, bought this house.

Our front porch is a spot where before renovation we spent a lot of time. We’d eat lunch or have coffee or tea out there on weekdays and on the weekends we’d host dinner parties- it’s been such a great feature. From our renovations it’s already been transformed by the fresh white exterior paint and our blue shutters. To complete the space it needs updated plants framing the edges as well as long planters that can add a barrier to the space since there’s no guard rail. I’m also looking for ways to incorporate these white planters, possibly next to the front door. For furniture we are thinking rocking chairs and a smaller dining option that we can use often.

Our second project, the back patio, is the one that needs the most amount of work. There was so much going on as far as construction right there and it really took a beating. A lot of the plants have either died or been neglected and the courtyard itself is sort of torn up. There’s lots to do! This includes a refresh on all of the plants, reworking the masonry including building permanent steps (those wood ones are temporary) and elevation changes. We also have Thomas’ grilling setup. For furniture we are thinking of doing a teak dining set with ample room for entertaining. I’d love to string bistro lights across so we can really set the mood on warm summer nights. That project will take the longest and we are hoping to get started as soon as possible so that we can get the most usage of it this summer!

Coming next in the series will be our reveal of our fully furnished front porch just in time to make the most of the spring season followed by a post about our fully furnished and constructed back patio in the middle of summer.

Thank you to Lowe’s for sponsoring this post.

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