Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor Update

Published on October 9, 2013October 8, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

Just over a month ago, our nearly complete freshly landscaped yard took a hard hit of rain, leaving it looking like this:

Thus putting our master bathroom renovation on the metaphorical back burner. Instead, Ben dug out all the muck and crushed limestone. I sorted and washed mud from the rocks.

A new, larger drain to hold up better if this happens again.

And the waterfall pond containers were pumped dry, buckets of sand removed, and repeated until clean.

While it’s annoying to re-do what we just did, we’re lucky we didn’t get water in the house. Actually, we’re super lucky this storm didn’t hit last year, before we started landscaping. Originally, the dirt was level with the sill plate and foundation of the house. Rather than cleaning up a back yard, we could have gutted the basement. Of course we now know to expect the unexpected. Hopefully the new trench above the hill will direct water away from the house if we get another torrential rain.

Our limestone came late last week, so we spent the weekend spreading more rock and getting things put back together. Before winter hits.

Color me excited.

No more dirt, ah-hem, mud for the kids to play in.

And we found a new patio set so we can enjoy it all.

Ben found this on Craigslist for a steal. Even though it’s not my favorite in the looks department, it’ll work.

Now we’re solidifying bathroom plans and materials. So excited for this reno. What are you working on this fall?

DIY Outdoor Gas Fire Pit

Published on October 2, 2013October 2, 2013 by Our Humble Abode24 Comments

Time to show our weekend project. A galvanized tank turned outdoor gas fire pit.

From the get go, we knew we wanted a gas fire pit (no flying embers starting a fire, please). After searching Houzz for inspiration, we decided we liked a longer, linear style.

Modern Landscape by Menlo Park Landscape Architects & Designers Keith Willig Landscape Services, Inc.

Figuring out the housing was tricky. Ben didn’t want a heavy concrete piece and wood wouldn’t work. Finding a huge metal bin around here isn’t easy, unless you want a water/stock tank. So a six by two by one foot deep galvanized stock tank solved our problems. To get started, Ben ran a flexible gas line through a rigid pipe. Luckily, our furnace and water heater are on the back side of the house, so punching through wasn’t terribly difficult. Then he drilled a hole in the side of the tank for the gas to come in and a few more in the bottom for water drainage.

H burner kits, like this one, are available online, ready for install.

After talking to a guy at a local fireplace store, he suggested Ben make his own using black pipe. Turns out, this way cost under 50 bucks and is completely customizable. With the end caps still off, Ben drilled holes.

Ours are all about 2 inches apart, the whole length.

And here it is, before adding decorative top rocks. There’s an exposed valve on one end, but a main shut off valve in the garage. That way little hands can’t turn on the gas outside. That Tarter sticker is gone now, too. Not that I didn’t love the look. Haha.

Having this valve makes the flame height adjustable. Super low for ambiance or high for warmth.

Until we decide on the top layer, we put a layer of limestone on.

Because we have so much limestone, I want something with contrast. The Houzz inspiration used large and small river rock, so that’s an affordable option. Maybe black river rock? Or steel spheres like these:

Modern Patio by Tulsa Architects & Designers CRFORMA DESIGN:BUILD

Of course, we’re still cleaning up and fixing the damage from the storm, so things aren’t looking finised…yet.

Backyard-with-Outdoor-Fire-Pit-and-To-Do-Points

The waterfall is clean and functional again and there’s a drainage trench along the hill to hopefully channel water down. Muddy footprints cover the deck and we’re waiting for another truckload of limestone to cover the dirt and mud. But we’re happy with any and all progress. Especially when it’s fun and s’mores are involved. Oh yes, we put the new fire pit to the test the day we finished it. So, what do you think? Do you have an outdoor fire pit? Or top rock suggestions?

P.S. We didn’t win at Apartment Therapy, but really, really appreciate your support and favorites. Sherry, you’re the lucky winner of a custom Sit and Stay pillow set.

Stump on Wheels

Published on September 11, 2013September 11, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Because we’re now up to our eyeballs in mud and more landscaping, here’s a little outdoor project. I found a big stump in our wood pile and kindly asked Handy Sammy to carry it up for me. Luckily, he’s a super nice, strong guy and happily helped. Then I picked at the bark, most of which came off easily. Because this guy is hefty and will live on the deck, I bought casters for the bottom.

Instructions suggested installing 3/8 inch from the outside.

Four work nicely and moving around is a breeze now. And we don’t scratch the deck in the process.

Whether an extra seat or side table, this guy is handy.

For a quick jolt of color I painted the top Japanese Kimono by Behr.

I also really want to make a hairpin leg table similar to this one.

How fantastic are those blue legs? Maybe with a chunk of birch with pretty white bark? Also, if you like our colorful guest room, could you please take a minute to vote for it at Apartment Therapy? Pretty, pretty please?

Thank you in advance for your help. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

When it Rains, It Pours

Published on September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

I wish I had a finished or fun project to share today. Due to weekend storms, I have a damage report. If you follow on Instagram, you’ve already seen a few pictures. Friday afternoon we had a 10 minute down pour. At the time, we thought it was a lot of rain. The waterfall looked like it was on.

More water gushing out of the bottom.

Rock stairs over flowing. Suprisingly, my new plants survived both storms.

And a mini river on our road.

I wasn’t able to get pictures of Saturday night’s storm because it was so bad and dark, so trust me when I say it looked at least 10 times worse. Piles of dime sized hail, near constant lightning, and rain like I’ve never seen before. Two inches of rain in twenty minutes rushing down hill never looks good. And our back yard really shows that. What looked like this on Saturday afternoon:

Looked like this yesterday morning:

About a foot of mud slid down the hill, over the waterfall, and piled below.

Mainly from this natural crevice turned raging waterfall.

Ben and I ran from end to end of the house during the storm, monitoring damage, completely helpless. So we fully expected to wake up to this:

Not this:

Water didn’t make it in the house, and I’m positive it is because Ben installed a drainage system under the rock. Though during the peak of water, it was nearly level with the top of the deck.

There’s so much mud and debris in the waterfall and rock that we’re pretty sure we’ll have to pull it out, sort the rock, and toss it up. Again.

On a positive note, seemingly no structural damage was done. The beam stairs are still standing.

Even with a gaping hole cut around one of the support posts.

Most of the front is unharmed. But a major drainage trench runs along the side, which dumped tons of water and mud, moving all rock away.

Mud in the bocce court.

Rocks piled everywhere.

A giant delta in the road.

Our fountain has two inches of rain, but obviously was higher.

Of course, just as we neared the end of our landscaping, we have to start over. Not all is lost, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve talked to many of our neighbors and most fared better. A few with a little water in unfinished basements. Most with debris to clean up. Right now we’re thankful everyone is safe and we don’t have house damage and giant rocks stayed put. But it was scary. So now we’re in clean up mode, getting ready to fix this. The bathroom remodel will have to wait again.

Erosion Prevention

Published on September 2, 2013September 2, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

We inherited a set of stone steps that abruptly end up the hill-side. Like the rest of the house, the stairs hadn’t been maintained.

Over the past year we’ve made many changes to the back ‘yard’, but the stairs stayed.

While waiting for our paint at Home Depot last week (spoiler-couldn’t handle our royal blue bedroom anymore), Ev wanted to push the cart and look at plants. Boy do we need plants, so we wandered around. Not many large shrubs this time of year, but the ground covers looked great. The hen and chick succulents especially.

I instantly thought of this fabulous succulent garden.

With the hope to recreate it, Ev helped me pick out our plants. A six-pack of hen and chick succulents, one stone crop, lemon thyme, pink mums, and Dianthus. All full sun, low maintenance plants to line the rock steps.

Also to prevent eroooodiiingggg from the stacked rock planter above. Oh, and because the Creeping Jenny I planted a few months ago aren’t doing so great. I grossly under estimated the exposure.

A few pink mums (only 88 cents each!) replace the dead greenery with the ground cover filling the cracks along the climb.

Aren’t the mums pretty?!

Fingers crossed the succulents and other ground covers will a) make it through the winter and b) fill in the dirt patches.

But I’d love to get a few more bright green succulents to brighten it all up. Any suggestions for full sun, deer resistant plants?

Don’t forget, we’re having a big end of summer sale in our shop. Buy one item, get a second of equal or lesser value free. We’ve also had a few requests for 50% off, so I’ve added the code ENDSUMMER50 to get 50% off everything in the shop until Monday, September 9th.