Our courtyard

I am finally sharing images the images I took this summer of our courtyard area! Truth be told: we had NO idea what to do with this spot that is behind and beside our house.
For years it became a dumping ground for all the random crap we have and such an eye sore. But I honestly could not feel inspired by any ideas and had no idea what to do with it. Years went by and slowly it all started to come together… The really great thing about holding off on things/ projects sometimes (we built the house on bare land five years ago) is that you get to live in the space, see how you use it, and find out where the sun hits it during a the day… Eventually, the kids get a little older and you see how beneficial certain spaces can be.

For a long time we had our trampoline out here but the gravel would hurt the kids feet. We know that the kids ( and I) like to be close- plus we needed a way to connect the front and backyards together as they ride bikes, etc out front all the time.
*I’m hoping to do a post about our sport court area that has been a huge hit around here. So stay tuned for that too 🙂 *

So anyways, through dreaming and scouring pinterest I finally got the inspiration and ideas all sorted out in my mind. As Steve would say- I’m the idea creator/ dreamer and he is the executer.
He literally can get stuff done better than anyone I know and just focuses so well and we really do make a good team.
We started by getting a landscaper to come by and have a look. We thought that the brick laying, etc was a lot to take on ( and let’s be honest, it was) but the quote for JUST the drawings almost made me spit out my coffee when I saw it. I believe it was like $9,000 just for those. So of course we did what we always do and decided to pour in some good ol’ sweat equity and do it ourselves.
Steve knows a guy that owns a local nursery so we were able to get some plants at wholesale pricing. Hydrangeas like always, a huge win. Even more of a bonus because they like living up here on the mountain.
The only thing Steve didn’t do was the vinyl fencing. There is a local guy that we love that did it and I just love that we will never have to repaint it, etc. Best investment ever (we literally have his fencing all over our property).
Of course, things are not as easy as they seem and we had to use an excavator to prepare the space, bring in gravel, run drainage, water lines for the fountain/ irrigation and just sort of figure it out as we went.

And here is what it looks like after:

I have no idea how much money we saved but it was probably A LOT. I am so obsessed with how it turned out, and having that fountain on while you’re eating dinner is such an amazing addition.
Truly my “Father Of The Bride’ dreams coming true.