Hey there friends! Hopefully you’ve had some time to poke around my new website. I’m thrilled with the change!
I’m also celebrating because it’s patio season! Well, I say that now, the week before I took these photos we had unbearable heat. I’m talking hundred degree weather with rainforest humidity the first few days of June. I was about to hand in my Texas card, telling everyone we we’re moving to Alaska and I wasn’t joking this time, then luckily the heat and humidity calmed down. We’re back to the 90’s with dry air – hey I’ll take it! When the weather cooperates where I live, usually mornings or evenings the patio is my happy place, so today I’m sharing photos of my happy place with you. I think we could all use a bit more happy, don’t you?
What can I say about patio life, other than it is good! I still get a ton of traffic and some questions on my Pottery Barn Sectional, I have a full review of it on the blog. It’s been hands down one of the best investments we’ve ever made, and the fact that you can buy washable slipcovers is just pure genius. These slipcovers get down right filthy too, and everything washes out, sunbrella is such a tough fabric! We did the build your own outdoor sectional just because the other sets didn’t fit our patio well. So I was able to measure each piece and get the perfect size, but after the sectional was delivered I realized we did have a bit more room so I ordered another seat to add on. For patio furniture it’s pretty comfortable too, if I wasn’t so afraid of bugs I could sleep on it.
The $5 bookshelves I painted last year did bite the dust, indoor furniture just won’t last as long on a Texas patio facing west clearly. I was actually a little excited it fell apart because I had my eye on this herb storage cabinet. Again, it’s indoor furniture but it’s just so perfect for the patio, so I’m hoping it holds up. The owl wall art has done surprisingly well the few years it’s been outdoors. It’s indoor wall art from Pier 1 but it has’t faded one bit. In fact we get severe storms and it sometimes blows out into the yard and I laugh because it still doesn’t have one scratch.
When I designed and decorated our covered patio my goal all along was to have it feel like an outdoor living room, and I think we definitely achieved that. I was also adamant not to have our dining table on the main patio. I knew the majority of the time we would be having a drink and lounging more than eating a full meal outdoors, although I did add a bar height bistro table just in case. I wanted the dining area to feel charming and secluded. So we built a separate pergola for our outdoor dining room and planted vines growing on the pergola. I am very impatiently waiting on these vines to grow, so far we’ve not had the best luck.
Serving drinks and light snacks are a breeze with the bar cart though, plus it serves as storage. I had the hardest time finding a bar cart and actually returned several until I happily settled on this one from Ballard Designs, and this thing is sturdy!
Life is just a little bit better on the patio. From the fountains, to the music played from our bluetooth rock speakers we’ve just had some of our best moments out here. Facing west it can be intense when the sun sets sometimes, but that’s what the outdoor curtains are for! Again the curtains are made from sunbrella fabric and are very stain resistant. I hope you’ve enjoyed a peak at my happy place, its a great place to escape from it all. Where’s your happy place?
If you’re curious about any of our items, I’ve either linked everything I can find above or below in the shop carousel.
