The soundtrack to this post is here.
Now that we have internet back, I re-upload the photos from this post, this post and this post under a different file type. Now hopefully anyone who they wouldn’t load for before will be able to see the pictures. Because who doesn’t want to see the Backyard of Dooooooooom Tour? (Yes, Lisa, this means you. And anyone else they wouldn’t work for.)
Over the weekend we knocked out three of the things on our To Do List, which consequently knocked out our internet. (It’s always something, isn’t it?) Then yesterday there were lots of lovely rumors flying around about the company I work for, so in order to keep my sanity, I decided to daydream about the backyard and the porch.
The Backyard

1. Table & Chairs – We bought this table&chair set from Target shortly after we bought our house. I’m not sure it’s the set I’d buy if I had it to do over again (for aesthetic reasons; I’d probably buy these chairs and this table), but the chairs are comfortable and the table has held up well.
2. Lounge Chairs – They make a chaise lounge version of our table&chairs, but I think I’m leaning towards the Ikea Applaro chaise lounge instead. I see them working really well around the tank pool we want to build.
3. Umbrella – An umbrella for our table would be nice. I’d love it to be a bright color (like green or yellow), but I think the Florida sun would bleach it out too quickly so cream or white is probably the best bet. Something like this one from Target would be great.
4. Lighting – I imagine a lot of small lights. Maybe lanterns, these Ikea solar lights or something like these Oxo Candelas. I also really want some of these string lights from Target (I promise to find an LED version soon, but this is my daydream, and I have wanted this style of light for a long time).
5. Tank Pool & Deck – As I mentioned above, we want to make a tank pool out of a livestock tank, and ideally I’d like a small deck around it, and maybe a shade sail over it. The idea for the pool was born after seeing this pool (which is actually a silo, I think) featured on The Brick House.
6. Outdoor Shower – I already discussed some of our plans here, but I started saving some other amazing ones (like the one shown) on Houzz.
7. Firepit – A fire pit would e nice, too. The Incinerator that our friend Ryan’s dad used to have in his backyard was amazing (so long as you didn’t stand too close to it wearing something that would melt, like Cintas work pants). Recently we were at a friends’ birthday party and there was a firepit made from a semi truck wheel (which was awesome), and it got the wheels turning on how to DIY our own unique fire pit.
The Porch
1. Fan – A while back we scored this Hunter Fan from ReStore for $50! Color me incredibly excited!
2. Lounge chairs – I nixed these for the patio/deck/whatever, but I think these Ikea Ammero chaises would look great in the lounge area I envision for our porch.
3. Stump Side Table – (image from West Elm) As I mentioned a while back, we already had a stack of stumps to turn into tables and just picked up a few more (my neighbors love me</sarcasm>). I think that at least one of them would look nice on near the lounge chairs.
4. Lighting – The last time we were at Ikea we bought one of these Ottava pendant lights to go over our pool table. Originally we thought we wanted the Kroby, but now we’re thinking one Ottava on either end (we need to buy one more soon). We’ll also need some more lighting in the lounge area (or at least to find a better bulb for the Hunter fan- it came with a spot light bulb, probably because that’s the only bulb the previous owner could find that fit). I love the look of barn lights and these gooseneck lights, maybe we can DIY something similar with the old light from my parents’ kitchen.
5. Industrial Touches – (light switch image from here) It may seem odd, but I want a bit of an industrial vibe for the porch. One day we’ll build our dream garage with studio above it, and I’ll have an industrial inspired studio with exposed brick walls. Until then we can have an industrial-inspired porch to tide me over, with details like exposed conduit, Ottava lights (and maybe cage lights) , and whatever else we think up.
6. Bead Board – I’m not sure that beadboard goes with the industrial look I just discribed, but I love the way it looks, and it would be a quick, hopefully cheap, and easy way to fix the painted ply currently adorning the walls.
7. Flooring – I loved the pallet wall in Will’s old nursery, so what about doing it as a floor? We already have a stack o’ pallets, so maybe we can slap some boards from those suckers down to cover the hot mess that is the mismatching tiles.
8. TV – We are thinking about wall mounting a tv (with a bracket like this one) so that we can watch footbally or something nerdly like Mythbusters while playing pool. We would probably obscure the tv with a curtain or a cabinet or something when it wasn’t in use.
9. Bar Stools – Initially I forgot that we also want barstools (and mabye a small pub table). I can’t decide if I want mismatching yard sale/Goodwill finds, or something matching (and maybe stackable). Currently loving the Ikea Sebastian stools.
Hopefully we can tackle some of these things slowly over time, because I would really like to use our backyard a lot more this summer than we did last year. Cue the staycation.