Backyard Blues
Our backyard is a pretty sad sight. Everything about it straight up terrible. Even our siding has seen better days. The previous owners had already replaced the windows at the back of the house with vinyl ones but they neglected the trim, leaving some hacked up turquoise scraps behind. We have some big plans for the space, but unfortunately it's not in the budget to do it all at once, so we will be working away at it over the next few years.
Problem Areas
The whole "space" is a problem area. The old deck, the siding, grass, the awful fence, the railing around the back door, puke. So in no particular order, let's start with the deck.
The Deck
When we bought the house, we knew the deck needed to go. It had probably been there for at least 15 years. It was rotting and falling apart. Oh, did I mention it was hideous? I don't know who decided white, brick red, and turquoise were a good combo. (The 80's decided. That's who.) The walls around the perimeter of the deck blocked it off from the rest of the yard, but it did add some privacy though, which we did liked the idea of.
Two summers ago we decided to make some really simple superficial changes to the deck to hold us over for a year or two. We wanted to use the space, but we had so many other projects going on we just couldn't afford to spend all our time working out there. We took down most of the walls, and left three panels that made an L shape to maintain a bit of privacy. We painted the whole thing grey and bought a table and umbrella. It worked really great for that one summer!
1 Likes, 0 Comments - Becki Peckham (@beckipeckham) on Instagram: "Getting there"
0 Likes, 0 Comments - Becki Peckham (@beckipeckham) on Instagram
2 Likes, 0 Comments - Becki Peckham (@beckipeckham) on Instagram: "Summer"
But then over the winter my friend's foot went through a rotting spot on the deck and it was bye bye outdoor space. Last summer we didn't go back there at all, not even to BBQ. It was so sad! This summer will be different though. We will be reusing the table, chairs, and umbrella in our redesign.
The Shed
There was no shed. This was a problem. We had a ton of things we needed to store and with no garage or shed, storing our lawn mower in the basement was just not working. Last summer we broke down and hired our friend to build us a shed. The three of us sat down and chatted about what type of design we wanted. We didn't want your typical barn-style shed so we opted for something with a sloping roof that had a more modern look. We still need to paint it.
11 Likes, 0 Comments - Becki Peckham (@beckipeckham) on Instagram: "Finally getting a shed!"
The Fence
The wood on the fence is probably the same vintage as the deck. The boards are in poor condition and the paint is chipping off. It's a real eye sore (you can see it in the pictures above). It's a massive fence though, and unfortunately with a massive fence comes a massive price tag. There is also no gate on either side of the house, so this is something we need to think about adding.
The Siding
*Blank Stare*….. Umm ok, the siding on the house needs to be replaced along with the front windows. The front of the house looks pretty bad, but the back is even worse! There are holes in the siding that are taped over with Tuck tape. As mentioned above, the new windows hadn't been properly trimmed out and the trim that is there is flaking off. There are also no plugs out there.
The Rails
The railing around our basement entrance is that ugly 80's metal black rusted pseudo-wrought iron stuff (above). The steps are also rotten and the door is drafty.
The Landscaping
Or lack thereof. Damn, we have no trees, dude! Well, that's a lie. We have a couple of small trees but nothing that gives us any privacy. Our grass is patchy and needs some love. There are some dead trees that need to come down and some floral landscape tiles that need to go!
That's everything that's wrong with our yard. Next we will be sharing our plan for the yard along with some inspiration. I've already started demolition!
