Backyard Reveal

As I was enjoying our "new" backyard this afternoon, I realized I haven't posted the big reveal yet. Shame on me! As you know, we got rid of the playground in our backyard and planned to make it more adult-friendly. The transformation was done in a weekend...so, let's begin!

Here's a before pic of the concrete slab. If you look closely, you can see I like to use it as a backdrop for my spray painting projects.

 

We picked up a gallon of concrete stain and a sprayer from Home Depot.

 

Next, we sprayed it on the slab. Please note, these are not my legs. Mine are much more shapely. And not as hairy. Well, usually.

We weren't thrilled with the color at first. Before we made any drastic decisions (like paint it a different color) we decided to finish the project first. We're always thinkin'.

We headed back to Home Depot and loaded up the Jeep with about 45 edging stones.

Landscape fabric went down first and then some stones from a local landscaping company.

 

Next, it was back to Home Depot for 20 bags of pea gravel.

 

At the end of the day, this is what we had. Not too shabby, huh? The concrete stain blends in perfectly with the edging and walkway stones.

 

Jeff was determined to have a built-in fire pit. Since our existing pit was only a year old, I didn't think it was necessary. He found this video from Lowes and convinced me otherwise. Our pit is placed on top of the stones. Genius!

We added some fountain grass....and here it is!

As you can see, it's a great place to relax with a glass of wine and old copies of Country Living and Flea Market Style (which is exactly what I did today).

 And, what's even better...it works!