I have more of the leveling, grading, and sinkhole saga coming to you soon, but I also promised another sneak peek this week, so I wanted to go ahead and show you something I'm installing in the kitchen:
It's a wall-mounted breakfast bar! Or, well, it's really just IKEA shelf brackets that I spray painted black, along with some leftover butcher block from the kitchen renovation mounted on top. Still, if it all goes to plan, it's going to be a nice little spot for my morning coffee (I haven't even routed or screwed the thing in yet, but I've already been drinking my coffee here all week… so you could say the dry run went well enough to proceed).
So far, everything is exactly level, according to that giant level that I believe used to be my grandfather's. I think it's kind of cool to use things like this that were handed down over the years, especially since he passed away before I ever bought this house or began my renovation/blog journey (and considering how close he and I were and how much he liked to tinker with things, he probably would have been the biggest supporter if he'd been alive to see it). So, it's just kind of nice to have a piece of him around.
I still have to route the edge, install a third shelf support (I would have done so already, but I needed to pick up a few more wall anchors since this one isn't going into a stud), and treat the butcher block like I did with the rest of the kitchen, but I think it's a perfect use for this wall. The patio and backyard are to the right in front of this area and the dining room is just behind it, so it felt too cramped to put another table and chairs here. Instead, a more casual setup with some industrial bar stools (you can see a peek in the pic above, but I'll share more on those next week) and a narrow counter will work well. Then, it'll be time to add some art above, and I've already got a plan for that too!
At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep the height the same as the rest of the counters in the kitchen (roughly 36″), but when I tried out the first bracket, it just felt too low, so I raised it to standard bar height (usually between 40″ and 42″). This feels much more appropriate for the space, and the shallow depth of the counter will allow me to set out platters and such but not get in the way of foot traffic going out to the back yard (keeping the entire space designed for casual entertaining). I cut the remaining piece of butcher block that I had been storing in the garage to make it, and it's basically half the width of the counters (12″). I never wanted to get rid of the extra walnut if I could come up with a use for it, and I'm so glad I did!
This of course means I still have an identical strip at about the same length and width as this piece, but no plan yet for what to do with it. Feel free to suggest some ideas. I'm going to spend the rest of my afternoon outside though, as I've got more of the backyard transformation to take place and I just heard a loud pop of a fuse outside (or the transformer blew), so my internet and power will be down for the rest of the day anyway (I'm guessing). Then, I'm going to actually get out of this house for a change and try to even out some of these weird tan lines I earned this week while on that backhoe.
just as soon as I stain this chair… and the matching one
So, about six things going on at once… kind of the UDH as usual! What are your weekend plans?
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.
You guys. I am so excited to share this update with you today. As I sit here typing this post, my eyelids are just as heavy as they were when I went to sleep. And it has everything to do with the giant pile of dirt I shared with you in the last post.
I just completed one of the biggest projects, if not THE biggest project, that I've ever done at the UDH. This pile of fill dirt plus one more load of topsoil were delivered to my house in the last week so that I could fill in the backyard sinkhole. If you've been following on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Periscope, or whatever else other social channel popped up in the last five days, you've already seen some pictures and video describing this experience. This is where I started:
And after several days of sitting in the hot sun on what I'm calling “a giant toy”, you could say that I have definitely had some moments where I just couldn't pull up one more root without getting a little goofy:
I would show you the whole before and after thing in one post, but I have so many details to cover that I'm saving the last few finished shots for the final post. There will also be a giveaway on that post from my sponsor on this project, Compact Power Equipment Rental, so the wait and reveal will be worth it. Sit tight!
If you are wondering if I'm exhausted, you're 110%, 150%, 1000% correct. In fact, I just noticed this morning that one of my favorite tank tops is now dyed pink on the back in a distinct pattern of the sports bra I was wearing because the sweat-soaked dye bled through (and I've worn and washed that thing enough times that there's no good explanation for how it even happened, other than I guess sweat has extreme dye-leaching properties). I have sports bra and other weird tan lines along my shoulders, my back, and along my legs from being out in the Georgia summer sun for five consecutive days. I have weird muscle aches from working on a machine that was never built for someone as small as I am. In short: I became a dirty, bug-spray-covered, human swamp monster… all in the name of filling a backyard hole.
(So many half-formed jokes are in my head now after reading that last sentence, but since I'm too tired to turn them into punchlines, I'll just move along.)
Anyway, all of this came together in kind of a weird, serendipitous way. I mentioned the sinkhole in my backyard a few years ago, but since I didn't really have the budget to fix it at the time (fill dirt + topsoil + renting machinery + hiring labor = $$$$$), all I have been doing for the last few years is throwing various bits of yard debris back there and just avoiding the area altogether. Charlie has been quite comfortable with this scenario, as it's basically her bathroom and it is left relatively undisturbed and provides plenty of privacy. This pretty much meant that for the last six years, half of my backyard has been an unused mess. But let's back up and talk about that sinkhole for a second, just so we're on the same page.
The Story Behind the Sinkhole in My Yard
I'm betting when you hear the word sinkhole, you're thinking of the clips on the news where whole streets go missing, cars get swallowed up, and it looks like someone just took a giant bite out of the earth. However, at least in my case, it's not quite as scary as all of that. Back in 1982 when my house was built, a common practice in Georgia was for builders and contractors to cut corners by burying their excess trash (things like tree stumps, regular trash, other yard debris, etc.) in a hole on the construction site rather than hauling all of it to a dump and paying disposal fees. Over the course of around 10 to 15 years, the debris begins to decay, depress, and sinks down. Then Mother Nature does her thing and washes away even more soil in some cases, and a depression forms, usually by a few feet. The surface area might look like it sunk down or it might not unless you step on it (which can be dangerous). And if this is anywhere near a foundation, driveway, or other structure built on top, it can cause some MAJOR problems, and many builders have often gotten away with the whole thing scot-free (either the statute of limitations runs out, the fine is negligible compared to the cost of paying for dump fees, etc.).
To read most of the articles out there, it seems like this is still a sneaky practice that's happening occasionally, though laws since the 1990s have made attempts to curb the problem. Regardless, in my yard and those of my immediate neighbors, we are pretty lucky. These trash pits were buried in a back corner of each lot and nowhere near the home foundations, so they are pretty much little more than annoying chunks of the yard that sink down a few feet (and insurance companies don't care if it's not really causing structural issues). The previous owner disclosed (required by law) to me that she had filled in the hole once before with fill dirt, but since the materials below had likely not fully decomposed, it made sense that the area continued to sink down a little. Most of my neighbors have done similarly, filling in these areas once or twice and then leveling out the rest of the yard. I'm pretty glad they have, too, since it gave me a good idea of what I needed to do to fix the one in my yard, and how I might go about accomplishing this on my own.
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Before I move on to the next part of the story, I should just go ahead and address it before the comments start rolling in: there are plenty of people with experience with this who have given me advice on the matter. Some websites will use every exclamation point in their arsenal and say that how I did this was completely the wrong way for how to fix it, since what you're supposed to do is dig up the offending area and fully excavate, just in case there are still stumps and other things buried below that will continue to decay (which of course means that the yard might sink again and it will need to be filled in again). I chose not to do this for a few reasons:
it's been almost 35 years since the trash was buried and not the 10-15 year window where most people try to remediate the problem, so a lot of the decay has already taken place
the previous owner already compacted the soil down once before when she did her own filling in 15-20 years ago; to excavate would mean to first dig up all of the soil she put on top of the area to begin with
obviously, excavation is a much bigger project and costs tens of thousands of dollars, and I don't have $25k sitting around for dirt (student loans and whatnot); so even if I had to fill this pit in twice before moving out of this house, it would still cost me considerably less with the route I chose, and most of my neighbors have successfully filled in theirs in the same manner for many years without issue
it's my yard and I'll cry if I want to?
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Finding the Right Equipment
I knew many years ago when I bought this house that I might someday want to add some fill dirt to the back yard, but since I had so many other renovation projects in mind, this one kept getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. I thought after removing the pine trees last year that it might be time to look into the cost of fill dirt, hiring labor, getting the job priced out and such, but that's where the serendipitous part comes in: a few months ago, I got an email from Compact Power Equipment Rental, who rents out large, towable equipment from select Home Depot retailers to both pros and DIYers alike. I never even knew equipment of this size could be rented by homeowners (I suppose I assumed a special license would be required?), but I was so excited to see their email that I immediately wanted to jump on board with them as a project sponsor. I sent them a few pictures of what I had in mind, they asked for dimensions to determine what equipment would fit through the gate of my fence, and made their recommendation to provide a tractor loader backhoe. Not only would the front of this machine help me to push the existing mound of dirt on the left side of my yard around the sinkhole to help fill it in, but if I got a load of fill dirt, I could use it for that too. Plus, the rear backhoe would be excellent for digging some new garden bed areas, digging out the extensive tree roots left behind from the removed pine trees, and I could even dig a small trench to run lights out to the remaining pine tree I left in the yard for shade. WIN!
Before You Dig!
It took a little planning to coordinate everything together. And even then, not everything will go smoothly. But before I did any digging, I checked in with 811 to let them know of my project plans. What this service does is contact your utility companies that might have underground lines buried around your yard.
Each company that might be impacted will come out, mark off the areas you shouldn't dig, and you basically get a legal window for a period of time to complete your project. If the project goes on past the date, you just call them up again. It took just a few days before the project was to begin to have them come out, but I would recommend a week's lead time just in case there's a delay. Since the back yard was the only place I intended on digging, this was kind of overkill (the spot had already included pine trees previously, so I knew there weren't gas lines below them), but it was more peace of mind to avoid driving a heavy piece of equipment over areas where I knew would be more trouble if things went sideways.
Finding Soil
Finding a fill dirt provider turned out to be the most difficult part. Granted, things came together both over a long period of time and yet seemingly overnight, so making sure everything was going to be there at the same time was a bit tricky. The dirt needed to be delivered before the equipment, 811 had to come out too, but most fill dirt places had weird hours and some places wanted to see my house before they'd even be willing to drive their trucks over. I finally got lucky with a disposal company that recycles dirt waste and offered clean fill dirt, a discounted rate from competitors, and dropped off more cubic yards than initially quoted. They were very helpful over the phone and could deliver in just a few days. Boom!
My Favorite Part (So Far)
My hands-down favorite part was when Chuck, the regional rep from CPER, dropped off my shiny, brand new backhoe. As part of their service, CPER includes a training session that shows you how to use their equipment so that you can jump right in. He also gave me his card for when I inevitably ran into a couple of learning curves (things like spinning the seat around to use the backhoe function, figuring out that it was my weight - or lack thereof - for why the engine kept shutting off, etc.). But seriously, I was thrilled. I don't think I've ever felt like such a badass. My friends came over (more on that later), neighbors got an eyeful too, watching me move all of the soil, seeing a giant mound of dirt in my driveway, etc. I got lots of looks, a few stares, and at least one old dude giving me a big grin and thumbs up. And knowing that I was soon going to be left with a yard to build on, I couldn't wait to get started!
Since we're already over 2,000 words for this post, I'll wait to share a play-by-play of the first few days of progress. In the meantime, you can check out some of the live videos I shared and get some sneak peeks here. More soon!
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.
I NEED TO CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW. I mean, it's just a pile of fill dirt. A giantpile, but dirt nonetheless. It's making me so damn happy.
Dirt angels, anyone?
This dirt pile means that my back yard is finally (!!! all the exclamations) going to get some major overhauling. It also means that a life-size Tonka toy is going to be delivered soon to help me move this pile into place and grade things out. And a group of my friends will be coming over this weekend to watch it all go down, where we will possibly make crude jokes using phrases like “dirty hoe” (or whatever, it's not like I've been writing them down on a list or anything). It's going to be pretty great.
Folks, I am literally moving the earth. I'm pretty sure that means I'm going to be obnoxious to all of my friends and speak in a loud, booming, blasphemous voice for a few days. It's a good thing then that we're also going to be videotaping a lot of it for my Youtube channel. I expect lots and lots of laughs… and free labor.
The dirt is here… the equipment is arriving soon… 811 has my utility lines marked off… and I'm ready to go. I'll be keeping you posted on Facebook Live, Instagram stories, Snapchat, and maybe even Pokemon Go or whatever other of-the-moment social media frenzy suddenly decides to announce itself until the Youtube video recapping the whole thing is finished, as well as take tons of photos to share soon on the blog for how everything went down, what you need to know when doing this yourself, etc. At this point, I'm praying everything will go smoothly and that we will all have a good time while still making sure people don't do something stupid, like ripping down my power lines. Wish me luck. ;)
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.
For those that only like DIY and don't like the personal stuff, skip ahead to tomorrow's post or peruse the project gallery… there are some BIG things happening at the UDH this weekend that you won't want to miss!
It's Wednesday afternoon, which means that around this time three days ago, I was at the end of one of the most mentally exhausting experiences of my life. And although the events and my emotions leading into the Haven Conference this year were certainly different from years past, I can honestly say that this experience was, at this exact point in time, what I needed, where I needed to be, and with the people I needed to be with. If this is your first time hearing about the Haven Conference, I'll allow Kirsten Thompson to recap it for me:
350 home decor & DIY bloggers gather in a gorgeous hotel in Atlanta for 3 1/2 days to mingle with brand reps and other bloggers while learning gobs of stuff to help improve their blogs, eating too much yummy food, and dancing the night away at a soiree. Oh, and swag. SO. MUCH. SWAG.
While it would take way, way too long to go over every little detail (and I don't even have enough pictures for that), I decided today to share some highlights about what teaching for the first time at a blog conference taught me. You can also watch some video recaps on Periscope and Facebook Live that I published yesterday if you want to see words come out of my actual face instead of reading and see the things I hauled home, but there are different things I covered below versus in those two videos, so choose your own adventure. If you want to see past years' recaps, you can find them here, here, and here too. Here were this year's takeaways.
Find Your Voice… Over and Over Again
I strive to be transparent on this blog, on social media, everywhere - sometimes ramblingly, clumsily so. I share the mistakes I make so that you guys don't wind up accidentally imprisoning a family of squirrels in your attic… that sort of thing. Normally, I don't really have a hard time putting my thoughts onto paper or even talking to perfect strangers (I consider myself an extreme extrovert under most circumstances), but I'm also a very nervous public speaker. It's also hard to find that line of wanting to share my life, the funny-to-me things that happen in this house, the DIY lessons I learn, etc. with you guys while also having some common sense of what can or even should be shared. There's really no manual, so it's kind of like fumbling around in the dark, hoping to hit something and stay consistent enough (hell, I know a thing or two about that - the breakers in this house are all mislabeled!). It's also the unforgiving beast that is the internet, where everything is permanent, screenshotted, and people are frequently both strangers and friends at the same time. It's experimenting and testing my comfort level, and I feel like I make a lot of mistakes and then spend a long time reassuring myself that I didn't so that I can find the courage to say something again.
This year, there was a new person in my life after having spent a majority of this blog's existence without, and I was struggling for many months to get used to the idea of even putting their presence whatsoever on the blog. Things seemed to be going well enough to think it might last awhile, but second-guessing and cautious planning are kind of my default settings, so I had a lot of internalized questions. Would it look weird? Would not providing info be more confusing? Would I feel dishonest to not share and my writing changes in some obvious way? etc. etc. And just like I wasn't prepared for someone suddenly arriving to this independent, strange world I've created, I wasn't prepared when they were suddenly gone from it, either. And within a matter of weeks, I was heading to a conference of mostly married-with-children women who (I thought) couldn't possibly relate to any of these things while also telling them how I do things my way. I felt in over my head and procrastinated like the day was never going to actually arrive.
Leading up to the very minute I was sitting in front of the first of my two-day panel discussion, I didn't know whether to skip lunch, cry, or take a run around the hotel to work off my nerves. I did none of those things. Instead, I built a piece of furniture with Jaime from That's My Letter. ;)
Find Humility
This entire feeling i'm describing above is more commonly known as Impostor Syndrome… or some variation of it, assuming I'm probably wrong and don't even know what that is. Put more simply in a way that I understand, it's really just arrogance, because it's believing myself to be more important than I am while feeling anxiety over not being the thing I just told myself I was. And that kind of magical thinking is probably how aneurysms form.
The good news about a niche blog conference like this was that it's full of people who feel the exact same way. Each of us are entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and obsessive hobbyists who never learn to take breaks, who beat themselves silly with comparisons, and yet still file into rooms with each other to share notes and secrets and build each other up. There will always be someone more successful than us in each of our eyes - someone with a larger Pinterest following, a better eye for photography, or a better understanding of web analytics. Still, whether it's a “community” or a “tribe” or simply a room full of people, we're all doing this one weird thing because we enjoy it enough to pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket and then hundreds more to travel and stay in a hotel and then stay up until 2AM with each other… even though we're already exhausted and losing our voices. We talk about things that only we get because our significant others, parents, and friends strangers don't always have the passion and enthusiasm for it like we do. And then we have a dance and get dressed up. It's fucking awesome.
Me on the left, a childhood friend I randomly ran into at this conference on the right. Crazy, small world!
Soak It In
No joke: I took more photos of this donut door than I did of my friends while at the conference. Which is the coolest way I've ever seen someone display breakfast:
But the fact was, I wasn't sitting around in groups and trying to document the moments. I was trying to absorb what people were saying, relating to people about my own anxious feelings, and getting really, really into my panel. My confidence grew back because I felt I actually knew what I was talking about and could answer the questions asked. I got back tenfold, and the discussion went far better than I expected. People feverishly wrote down notes and gave us feedback on how they are already going about fixing their blogs based on our discussion. Two of my clients came to introduce themselves at the end of the first panel, and one even gave me a gift to thank me for my help on her blog. I was stunned.
I got to have big bear hugs with some of my favorite people and keep tradition on the dance floor with Chelsea from Two Twenty One (the utter ridiculousness of which I hope everyone experiences at some point). I had long talks with Jacque from The DIY Village and got to finally meet some of my other friends in person (and make a few new ones!).
The closing ceremony speakers were John and Sherry from Young House Love, who after years of admiring, I'm very happy to now call them friends. They gave out some great advice about their famous decision to quit blogging (or in most of our cases, how to avoid burnout and then quitting), and I thought this image they shared from Waiting on Martha was especially cool. In fact, it brought back memories of a post I wrote a while ago, written at a time where once again, I was struggling to get all the words right. So, I guess what I thought was a new feeling for me… really wasn't at all.
In the end, I started off in a kind of weird place leading up to this conference, and even though there were times I probably acted like a total weirdo, these are exactly the kind of folks where being a freak is what it's all about. Worth it, worth it, worth it. <3
Another post is coming up for you guys tomorrow. I have some BIG deliveries making their way to my house as we speak, and I'll be sharing some of it as I go live on Facebook and Instagram. Stay tuned!
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.
Time for a little family update. It's been a while since I've mentioned her on the blog, but you guys remember Em, right?
If not, allow me to introduce you again: this is my gorgeous, hilarious little sister, Emily. I call her Em (as does pretty much everyone else in our immediate family). People say we look alike, but I don't really see it other than our mutual cheesy smile from Dad (my lighter eye and hair color is more from my Dad's German side, while her darker hair and eyes are Mom's Italian side). We are just shy of three years apart.
About a year ago, Em went through kind of a nasty divorce. The details are pretty unsavory (the words “emotional dumpster fire” come to mind), but let's just say that if the best revenge is to live well, she is exacting hers pretty flawlessly. Recently, Em bought her first house (woot!) and we all came over to celebrate. It's a cute little place, but it's definitely going to take her some time to make it her own. Her awesome new dude has recently moved in with her too, so they are tackling quite a few projects right out of the gate (if she takes my advice and snaps before photos, I'll share some of the progress so you can see those transformations). ***This post contains affiliate links that help support this site. For more, see my disclosure page.**
As a sort of gag gift for housewarmings, I often bring over the largest package of toilet paper I can find (with a giant bow, of course). It usually gets a few laughs, but as I've heard on more than one occasion from friends I've given it to, it's strangely one of those products that people forget to buy in the chaos of moving (and discovering you're out of TP after a full day of heavy boxes is the last thing you'd want to deal with!). In the same spirit of things-that-are-forgotten-until-they're-desperately-needed-on-moving-day, I brought Em something I thought was even more perfect for her circumstances as an owner of multiple dogs: a giant green box full of Swiffer goodies. I've been a Swiffer brand ambassador for this past year and have given out a number of these boxes before, so I knew it would be a solid fit for her “clean slate” home (they often give these boxes to new Habitat for Humanity homeowners too, which is one of the reasons I enjoy working with them). Inside, she found a Swiffer Duster, Swiffer Duster refills, a Swiffer Sweeper, and wet and dry cloths - basically $50 worth of “home clean home.”
Her response? “YASSSSSSS.”
No joke, Em makes this face every time she's excited about something.
As for the dogs themselves, they now have their very own muddy backyard to sniff and dig to their heart's content. Known in our family as LemonandLana (because they are never apart), Lemon (the red one in the back) is her very own piddle factory, while Lana (the black one) tends to be a lot more outgoing and affectionate. On this particular day, I was thrilled because Lemon actually approached me to give me a quick cuddle before retreating to the corner again (even though they are sisters, they have completely different temperaments). Perhaps she was just really into her gifts?
And speaking of canine family members, I had one more stop to make on this day, because we also have a tiny, new addition to my parents' house: Buddy!
When our family dog, Lucy, passed a couple of years ago, my mother was adamant: she and Dad would. not. adopt another pet until she retired. But despite her declarations, I knew it was only a matter of time before Em (who volunteers and fosters with dogs regularly) wore her down. She wasn't even subtle about it; I wasn't exactly stopping her, either (hey, I love dogs too!). Mom is still shy of retirement, but when they gave in and agreed to go meet “Clyde” at the rescue center, it was all over. We debated changing his name a few times because he's still a puppy (I was campaigning for Oliver/Ollie), and my parents settled on Buddy.
Now, they are pretty much smitten, and every day is as if they've never had a dog before. It's really quite hilarious, especially because he's so tiny compared to the other dogs (though as a dachshund, he makes up for it in attitude, of course). For instance, I've recently learned that he hates school buses. And trailers. As part of my dropoff of gifts to Em's new place, I swung by my parents' home and gave Buddy a gift of his own from Swiffer: a Bark Box complete with treats, toys, and a few items that replaced things he thought were toys.
New dogs, new homes, new adventures… 2016 is full of change for the Fogle family!
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.
Confession: I have a thing for cafe lights. I know - it's crazy, since these things are so ugly, they don't add any ambiance whatsoever, and I'm totally lying. I like them as much as I wish every morning started with a huge pot of coffee and a basketful of puppies. And since I seem to not be the only one in blogland with a fondness for them and I'm planning on doing some major overhauling of the back yard soon, I have found quite a few ideas to ogle on an almost daily basis. Here are some of my favorite ways designers and bloggers have used them in their outdoor spaces.*
*Note: the pin-it button has been turned off on this post for most of these since they have original sources elsewhere; please click through to the individual project if you'd like to pin them!
My sister bought me two sets of outdoor cafe lights last Christmas, but I'm pretty certain I'll be adding to that number once my outdoor space is planned out. Chatfield Court did an excellent job in her tutorial for how to hang several strings of lights together in one space (and without it looking like a tangled mess of wires or extra hardware). Saving this!
Most cafe lights are strung overhead, but my friends Jacque and Matt from The DIY Village changed things up and added some to their deck along the railing. I can imagine this adds a nice little glow at night!
One of the things that I'm taking diligent notes on are how people create the posts that the lights hang from. I took out a bunch of trees last year, so I have fewer spots around the yard that are up high enough. Posts, poles, and hardware are going to play a big role in my own yard transformation (when the time comes, of course). Design, Dining and Diapers used metal poles and added a wooden topper for a little polish, while blue i style covered in extensive detail (my favorite kind of detail) how to plan for them (spacing, type, etc.).
And how cute are these? Alexis from Persia Lou added some sweet little tassels between each light, which in her words “definitely upped the magic factor.” Since these are paper, they won't last as a permanent addition, but I'm keeping this idea in mind for the first party I throw outside.
Most of the pictures I've found for cafe lights are strung underneath a ceiling or pergola, just like this patio makeover from Table and Hearth.
I am also digging smaller light projects, like this Anthro-inspired hurricane created by Sadie Seasongoods.
Elizabeth Joan Designs only spent $30 on her patio makeover, but the lights are my favorite part. And that pegboard luminary is so clever! I think I'll have to make a few of those myself.
In my case, I will need to probably do the pole version and figure out an interesting way to blend them into the surroundings. I am simply in awe of Brittany's transformation to her patio. Her lights are installed with copper pipe… and you all know how partial I am to copper!
Ultimately, I just want to create the kind of charm and cozy feeling that French Country Cottage did with her outdoor setup. Simply lovely… I just want to grab a blanket and a glass of wine and curl up.
Sometimes when I'm finding it difficult to get started on a big project, keeping my mind on some of the accessories I get to add at the end spurs me through the tedious parts. I'm sure I'll be coming back to look at these ideas over and over until the back yard makeover is complete. Can't wait to finally see these in my yard!
