Outdoor Spaces
I miss summer.
Just when it is getting grey and cold outside, I found these lost digital files this morning. We had visited with some friends at their house in the far suburbs last summer and spent a lovely evening with them on their back deck. I call it their outdoor living room.
When I was a kid, I couldn't understand the neighborhoods where lawns were not meant to be walked on. The pristine, rolling expanse of grass that no children we allowed to roll around on or hit a softball across or run through a sprinkler over. In the summer, we lived outside. We set up elaborate Barbie doll neighborhoods in the bushes, played freeze and flashlight tag, threw each other around for a vigorous game of King of the Hill. Our parents sat at an iron table with glasses of wine and played cards or chatted with the neighbors.
I love Kathleen and Mike's backyard because it is obviously meant to be LIVED IN. The different levels, the steps, the trees, the candles, the lights, the screened gazebo. They even use the hot tub (courtesy of the previous owners) as a small pool for their two kids. (They just keep the temperature of the water lukewarm.)
Gavin is very serious about his swimming.
My favorite space in their outdoor haven is the gazebo which was built by the previous owners and improved by our friends. It has a ceiling fan which spins lazily and wall sconces for reading when the evening dark rolls in. It's cozy and warm and welcoming.
I meant to ask them what wood is used for the decking. The stain is this deep reddish-brown that looks terrific and the wood seems to wear very well. Stained cedar maybe? Jadyn is showing us the floor of the gazebo.
Even more shocking to me was this picture of Aaron and Grace relaxing in the gazebo together. It was taken only 7 1/2 months ago and she looks sooooo tiny.
Hopefully, in a few summers, we will finally have our own outdoor space for the backyard to sit and dream in. Mmmm. Summer.
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Comments
Wow, I think your friends' deck is bigger than my entire backyard. Even though we have a tiny, urban backyard, we still enjoy spending lots of time relaxing in it in warm weather.
Posted by: Carol | January 20, 2007 3:58 PM
ahhh. In summer, we eat breakfast outside in our yard...I miss summer too!
Posted by: Jocelyn | January 20, 2007 6:12 PM
I miss summer and green things, too. I've been looking longingly at my little veggie patch and leafing through seed catalogs.
A patio and backyard landscaping is on the schedule for summer 2008 for us, just as soon as we can save up the chunk of change needed. The patio is definitely a job for a pro - I don't do freezing/thawing physics!
Not having a sweeping back yard like your friends' is one of my few regrets tied to living in the city. Any future kids will just have to play in the park, I guess.
Posted by: Ellen | January 22, 2007 2:05 PM
hey guys, when you find out what the flooring is made of, let me know...an outdoor deck project is next on the list! thanks =)
Posted by: leah | January 23, 2007 11:46 AM
I love gazebos. We built a screened in porch like that gazebo when we lived in Philladelphia, in a backyard that faced most of the other backyards in the neighbourhood, and if we'd had any neighbours worth spending time with, I think we would've lived out there too. It was a great place to read or do homework in the summer.
If you'd like one yourself, there's a website that will sell you a gazebo and (if you're in the right area) show up with it on a truck and build it for you in your own backyard. The company is Cabinfield.com. (Disclaimer/interest conflict: They are one of my consulting clients... I administer their webserver.)
Posted by: Karl | January 26, 2007 12:12 PM
Howdy - I happened in here after a long time since you used to post at Breaktime.
Your place has come a long way
That floor decking in the gazeebo looks a lot to me like Port Orford Cedar with a mohagany stain, but that is from here, squinting just right out of the left eye while holding a luicky charm over my head....
Posted by: Piffin | February 4, 2007 10:21 AM
Thanks for the great photos and comments re: our yard, Jeanne! The deck is cedar and the stain is a combo of red and brown mahogany. (Sorry for the late response but we didn't realize you posted these.)
One of the best parts of our landscaping (that you can't tell from the photos) is the placement and pruning of the tall locust trees. The deck faces south and the trees are deciduous, so we get plenty of warm sun in the winter to warm the house and enough shade in the summer to keep it cool. It's something the previous owners planned and we appreciate!
Now if only I can figure out how to keep the deer from eating my tulips...
Posted by: Kathleen | March 31, 2007 4:43 PM