Sanctuary! Outdoor Space; Guest Feature

It's the weekend and it is early May and the weather is beautiful for a few more weeks at least (crossing my fingers as we "speak"- which is hard to do while typing by the way!)  Anyway, I thought today would be the perfect day to highlight some beautiful ideas for your outdoor spaces. First of all I have Pam from Design Fanatic.  ( I have featured her handiwork before, I seriously have some major yard envy.  See she lives in the state I LOVE!  (shout out to North Carolina, I miss you! and all my wonderful friends there, including the trees)  and she has ferns, ivy and hostas, three of my very favorite things in the world.  (more outdoor projects to come...)

This is her space:

Here's my favorite spot in our backyard ... and front yard, for that matter!

I love to sit out here in the morning, look out into the woods and listen to the birds sing.The space is the patio outside my walkout basement. It is below the deck off the main floor. The little cleyera shrubs we planted several years ago have grown up to  create a little privacy on one side. On the other side of the patio, the house juts out making a little enclave; my own little  sanctuary. I will miss this space most of all when we move. tear :'-(

This is the beautiful view I see in early Spring when sitting on the bench. The little blue playhouse was mine when I was a little girl. Yes, we brought it with us from California, all the way to North Carolina. It is painted  blue because we lived in a little blue house in California. It is painted just like our sweet little house ... cornflower blue, grey shutters and bright white trim. This view is just another reason why this space is so special to me.

We found the bench many years ago back in California at Costco. It used to sit on our front porch. Reminds me of a cute Halloween photo I took of my girls when they were young. Jess was a cat & Jen was dressed as a little bride.  Back to the patio... This year it was looking pretty weather worn, so I put a coat of stain/sealer on it. We had some leftover stain from our Adirondack chairs.

As you can see I needed a new pad for the bench.

I also needed some flowers.

I found a new seat cushion at HomeGoods. Blue and Green are my favorite colors, 
so I 'm glad they are back in style! The pillows  are  from Target.

And, as you can see, I couldn't leave those pots alone, so I spray painted them! I know they will only last a season, but that's ok. The large one is old & the planter is starting to chip and the one on the right has a big crack in it. I bought Valspar spray paint in Mediterranean and Green Leaf . 

I bought two impatiens and two 6 packs of begonia at Lowe's. Can't wait for the plants to fill in.

I've had that Ivy for years. I just keep dividing the ivy into more pots & cutting it back every year. You can't kill them!!!

The lantern was an online purchase from JC Penney a while back. I didn't really like it when I opened the box and tried to make it fit in on the patio in the woods, the deck and then the porch, but it didn't look right. Yesterday, I brought it down here & I think it has finally found a home. Need to put it on a couple of bricks to raise it up, though.

Here's  a closer look at the painted pots.

I brought home three ferns from Home Depot.  - One for each post.

So, that is my favorite space. I hope you enjoyed seeing it.

I also hope everyone is having a great weekend and did something fun! 
You know I love digging in the dirt,  planting flowers and making things pretty.

Now, on to the front porch! 

I need some inexpensive ideas for a wreath for the front door! Anyone have suggestions???


Pam- that is so beautiful! 
I love the way the bench looks now, it is amazing how you can revive the look of old weathered wood with stain!  
It makes me want to sit out there and read a book!
Can I come over?