We Updated Our Outdoor Area and I’m in Love

Back in May, our outdoor area got a huge upgrade and we have been enjoying it all summer long!

Our family of five loves spending time together outside. During the summer we spend hours outside each day, and while some of those hours are spent playing at the park or riding bikes in our driveway, a huge percentage of our outdoor time happens between our patio and pond. Even now that school has started back up, when LJ gets home from school and Justin gets home from work we often find ourselves heading outside to chase the last few warm hours of the day with a family swim.

We also entertain frequently because opening up our home to gather others together is a core value of our family. We truly love hosting at all times of the year, but there is something extra special about having friends and family over for long sunny days full of grilling, swimming, yard games, and just lounging by our pond. Our outdoor space is an extension of our home; it feels like an extra room we gain from May-October!

We have spent the last five summers here building traditions, making memories, and enjoying the space as it was, all the while dreaming up ways we could update it to better accommodate all the things we want to use it for. Because we highly prioritize both spending time together as a family and hosting friends and family outside, we knew this is a space we were willing to invest in. We planned and saved and this year we hired a local company to make our dreams for the space a reality!

Upper Patio

Before

After

The previous owners had installed a stamped concrete patio adjacent to our home’s small concrete porch. It was a good size and worked well for our family of five. We could comfortably fit up to eight people around the table, but we frequently entertain more than that. Whether it is another family or two or a larger group – just this summer we had four different occasions with around 20-30 people here! – we often need multiple tables and seating options to accommodate everyone.

We thought about adding on to the existing patio, but there wasn’t a way to do it without it seeming like a patched job, so we decided to take out the old patio and pour a entirely new one that is roughly triple the size. I wanted it to feel aligned with the surrounding nature so we chose a wavy edge and no stain, only sealer. We chose a stamped concrete pattern that feels like natural rock. We originally planned to stain the border, but once the edge was etched I decided I preferred the clean, simple line. I want eyes to be drawn to nature, not a dark stained border. I’m so happy with how it turned out!

For right now, we continue to use the same table and chairs we got off Facebook Marketplace eight years ago, and we pull out a folding table and chairs when we need to accommodate more people. Eventually our plan is to either get two tables or just one substantially larger table, but this year the budget was spent on other things – just a reminder here that home takes time! 😉

We also use the extra patio space as a place we can set up for the youngest kids who come over with a little kiddie pool, water table, and playset.

Pond Patio

Before

After

When we bought the property, we were newbies to the pond life. We both grew up swimming occasionally in friend’s ponds, but we didn’t really ever envision owning one ourselves. I think Justin and I were both surprised by how much we love it though – it’s so fun to swim, float, lounge, and use our diving board and rope swing and it is where so many of our summer days are spent. Whether we jump in for a quick cool off or spend hours swimming and floating, it’s our main gathering spot outdoors!

The previous owners created a sandy beach area about 14 feet by 31 feet. A small concrete wall kept it separate from the rest of the yard. This little beach has always been a huge hit with both our kids and all the kids who come over to play. We love it! The sand has washed out slowly over the years so we added four tons of sand last year and three more this year and should be good for a while. I don’t actually mind that it washes out over time; the benefit is that the bottom of the pond in our swimming area is nice and soft and sandy! Next to the beach was a small wooden deck where we kept two lounge chairs and my DIY umbrella table. We used this space as much as we could, but the boards were starting to warp, crack, and break apart. It also could only accommodate 2-3 people without feeling cramped so we wanted make it much larger.

The contractor we hired removed the old deck and created a huge lounge space surrounding the existing beach area. We used the same stamped concrete pattern on both patios and I love how cohesive that makes them.

Because the ground slopes down to the pond, we needed to have a retaining wall behind this patio and we chose to include a limestone cap on top. We chose to do three large steps in the middle of the patio with pillars on each side and I’m very happy with how this turned out! The limestone ledge is the perfect height for additional seating and has been put to good use often this summer.

Much as I loved our DIY umbrella stand, I had no desire or time to make more this summer so I moved that to the upper patio to provide extra shade and purchased new umbrella tables from Frontgate during their Memorial Day sale. Our lounge chairs were an unexpected score at Costco and our umbrellas are from Lowe’s. Whether it’s adults lounging and talking and watching kids play and swim or kids coming to take a break in the shade and grab a snack or drink, we love having more chairs and umbrellas and space for everyone to use now.

My one regret is I don’t love the combination of the limestone cap with the stair-step end of the retaining wall. Initially, we were going to just have the wall end with a clean, straight edge, but due to a series of events (cliff notes: we asked the mason to pull up the last brick to end the wall a little sooner, it left glue reside, and when they tried to power wash the glue off it took a chunk out of the concrete so we needed to extend the wall anyways to cover it) we considered all our options and decided to do a stair-step finish. I liked the stair step, but I don’t love the way it looks with the limestone cap. My plan for next summer is to come up with some type of planter to have here with a plant trailing down the stair step to disguise this portion (and discourage kids from climbing the “stairs” because they do love to do that!) For now, I can live with the look.

You may have noticed the asymmetry of the lounge chairs. Originally I thought I would do three on each side, but I wanted each chair next to a table so keeping them in pairs worked better. Plus the two sides of the patio aren’t the same width – the one by the dock narrows more to fit the width of the dock. I didn’t want to have chairs in the path to get to the dock since it’s a favorite place for kids to run and jump into the water. Next summer the plan is to find a round lounge chair to fit the empty space and balance the asymmetry.

Playset

One more addition we made to our outdoor space was adding a playset. Our kids have been begging for a playset for a couple years now, and one set of their grandparents very generously offered to gift them one. After considering what felt like endless possibilities, we landed on this set. How fun is that crow’s nest!?

After a couple weekends of assembling (we estimate it took about 23 hands-on hours) it was ready to go and our kids have had an absolute blast playing on it this summer! It’s situated away from the pond and patio, but in full view of both so we can monitor them playing from anywhere in this outdoor area.

Now reveal posts are fun, but my favorite pictures of these space aren’t the neat and clean “finished” pictures, but the snaps of the spaces actually in use over the summer. It shows why we did this and it makes my heart happy to see towels, sunscreen, snacks, and drinks everywhere because that means fun is being had and memories are being made. Here are a few little peeks into our summer adventures:

We feel so lucky to be able to live here, with space and privacy and what feels like our own outdoor oasis, and we are so thankful to be able to gather friends and family here to make lots of memories. All the planning, effort, and resources feel worth it seeing everything come together. It’s been so fun to enjoy this space even more this summer and we can’t wait to make many more memories here in the years to come!