The Outdoor Room...

This post brought to you by Pier 1. All opinions are 100% mine.

Justin and I have been working really hard on our backyard since we moved in.  But especially this summer. Now that Etta is getting older and wanting to play outside more, we have been trying to get it to be a safe and inviting place.  

I need to go through and show you what we've done. 

• We built a deck mostly /2 recycled wood and piers that our neighbor gave us
• Made a raised garden from buried blocks we found around the perimeter of the yard two years ago.
• Planted crepe myrtles (my favorite thing about Texas are the Crepe Myrtles)
• Moved some trees
• Built a chicken coop and run...

I haven't blogged about almost any of it.  But we have been really loving the transformation and hanging outside a lot, and I need to blog about it soon.  (I'll add it to the list of things I need to do!)  

Anyway, since building the deck, we have been on the look out for outdoor furniture.  So, I decided to try a good old mood board for our dream space.  I decided to shop Pier 1, I loved it!   Half of the outdoor furnishings I want to use on the inside of my house.  For example my absolute favorite way to add a pop of color  is this Garden stool.  I need one for my living room too!

I actually think I would love all three colors, but our back door and the coop door are both red, to refresh your memory (see image below)  So, I would probably go with the red since that is my accent color.

The other thing I REALLY want on the deck is this modular/sectional outdoor sofa system has me totally drooling.

We would need three of the corner units and about 5 sections of the armless chair- I want a LOT of seating.  

Across from the sofa two chairs would be ideal with these cushions.

Okay, those are some of the ideas, here are more in the form of vignettes / mood boards:

5 Quick Ideas that I want to incorporate in our backyard:

1. Outdoor Rugs

I think the outdoor rugs are a great way to really make the space feel pulled together, it ground the area and helps to make it feel like a "room".

2. Lanterns

There is something to be said for great lighting.  And not just one type.  How about hanging paper lanterns under the umbrella, and candle lit metal lanterns on side tables...

3. Pillows

Make the space softer and more inviting, with fun pops of pattern and solids.

4. Tons of seating

I want to host big parties back there so, I want to have several seating areas that groups can gather round.

5. A large table

That way we can have drinks and food set out buffet style for people to grab during parties...

YEA!!!  LET SUMMER BEGIN!!

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