Outdoor Living Rooms

This is our patio living area in our back yard. Our style is casual and informal and we didn't want the space to be ornate or elaborate. But that's just our style. The wonderful thing about outdoor living areas is that they can reflect any style and should match the house. See what a transformation this was:

Above is the before shot of what was a boring, hot, and sunny back yard. It served no purpose whatsoever. Now here's another shot of the transformation below, looking at the same bay window:

This spot is very shady now thanks to all the trees we planted:

This was the first step we took in making our living area. We planted shade trees. In the photo above, the new sugar maples don't have any leaves on them yet but now, 3 years later, the whole back yard

 is a shady grove. Notice the firepit that Tim made by hand:

Here's our "outdoor kitchen" below. It's simple; we only wanted to cook on a grill when we're eating outside but we did put in a counter top with a fridge underneath and a sink. I couldn't live without this sink now, we wash up before going inside after we've been working outdoors and all the vegetables from the garden get washed here before they go inside:

Notice what was a screened in porch in previous photos is now a sun room. Well, the sunroom isn't complete yet, but Tim did finish this wall first so he could put in the counter top. I think he wanted to make sure I had a place to cook his meals! Below is the "during" phase as we were putting down the patio stone:

Notice this tree, an Okame flowering cherry, is in previous pictures with a stacked rock wall around it and lots of flowers planted in it. This tree gives us spring blooms, a place to hang bird feeders, and lots of shade.

Why are "outdoor living rooms" so popular? I think it's because it's a place to re-connect with nature and to truly relax. We use our patio area to eat, read, nap, and just rest. We installed outdoor speakers that are hooked to our satellite radio channels. Music with no commercials is a must if you want to truly unwind! We also have a fire pit for cool nights and tiki torch lights to give a wonderful ambiance.

I hope these pictures inspire you to create your own backyard oasis. We did ours ourselves and worked on it as time and the budget allowed. It took 18 months to complete but was well worth every sweaty minute! Now I get to have fun with the "details":