our cozy patio
Hello, friends!
I’ve been sharing little snippets of our patio space on my Instagram stories (if you want to follow along with me over there, my handle is @catsivula), and I’ve been getting lots of questions and comments about it so I decided to snap some photos and share the full space here!
Full disclosure: our backyard is TINY. Like, barely enough space to do a cartwheel without sailing through the fence tiny. We moved into our place in late November and I basically closed the curtains and avoided looking into the backyard for months because it was just dead grass and a bare cement slab. Talk about depressing.
When spring arrived, I knew I wanted to transform the little space into something cozy and lush so we could enjoy spending time outside again. Cue the planning!
The first thing I bought was a four piece conversation set from Wayfair (find it here). I also found this great outdoor rug for the living/conversation space and this one for the dining space. I can’t stress enough what a dramatic difference the rugs made! Covering up that ugly, cold cement was a great design decision. And the rugs have worn really well—they get wet every day when I water the plants and they dry quickly and look good as new after. Win!
I’ve been eyeing egg chairs for awhile and just couldn’t justify the price, but I finally caved and bought one and OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS THIS CHAIR IS AWESOME!! It’s like a little cocoon, just plush and cozy and the perfect spot to drink my morning coffee and read a book. Not to mention it adds just the right amount of boho flair to the patio. Find them here!
I opted for a rectangular table with bench seating for the dining space, mostly because I wanted it to be versatile. The benches can fit 2-3 people each (or up to 4 kids!), whereas I would have only had room for two chairs on each side if I’d gone the single seat route. I also snagged a couple of our extra dining chairs from inside for more seating when we have company over—it’s been a great little setup!
While we don’t need the umbrella for shade often because of the positioning of our house, it’s nice to have it when we need it and I also love the way it adds to the ambience of the space. A heavy duty umbrella stand was a must with the high winds we get around here—I found this pretty white one at Target!
Okay, now to my favorite part: THE PLANTS!!! I love having plants in my living space. It adds so much life and beauty to spaces that can otherwise feel sterile or drab. If I had one piece of decorating advice to give that ALWAYS works, it would be to add plants! Anyway, I suppose I’ll step down from my little green soapbox and get started on the details :).
The first (and largest) shrubs I bought in early spring were Laurels. I specifically wanted evergreen shrubs so that they would stay green and pretty in fall and winter. I planted them in large pots with good drainage and they have probably doubled in size since I got them! Laurels will yellow and lose leaves in drought though so I’ve had to be diligent about watering them (especially since they’re in pots and not in the ground).
One of my other favorites is Japanese Euonymous. These pretty evergreens have dark green, clustered leaves and have been surprisingly easy to care for. I’m praying they survive the winter in their pots because I really want to plant them in the ground when we move!
My favorite summer flower is vinca (aka periwinkle). I planted six tiny little plants in a shallow bowl planter in late spring and just look at them now! I love the snow white blooms and deep green foliage on vinca. They also don’t wilt and brown like some other flower varieties (geraniums, I’m lookin at you). The flowers are very delicate though and will blow away in the wind, so make sure you put them somewhere safe if a storm is headed through!
Some other plant varieties in our little container garden include hostas, alyssum, snapdragons, geraniums, boxwoods, basil, oregano, campanula and jade. Some have faired better than others in recent heat waves, but overall they’ve done well!
Well, that’s all for now, friends! Thanks for stopping by to check out our little patio, and I hope you’ve found some inspiration to make your own outdoor oasis!
xo
