New Outdoor Space Dilemma
I have a decorating issue that's driving me nuts.
My house is a typical, two-story box with a full basement beneath. But in the 1980s, the previous owner added a large sunroom/great room on the back of it, so now it's a box with a box sticking out the back. Since the basement is only visible from the rear of the house, this means that when he added this room, he had to put tall, brick columns underneath to support it. This created an outdoor space that is a whopping 20' by 25' (at least) with concrete flooring. To the side, he placed a fountain (traditional kind--a little boy with a jug pouring water into the base) and it's oh-so pretty. He used to park his car on the concrete area, and never used it as an outdoor space. However, there is a detached, two-car garage on the property, and I park there or in front of the house. So I never really used it for that.
The space remained empty for two years, as I tried to figure out what to do with it. Then, we got a third driver at my house, and a third car. Now dh or dd (darling daughter) have started parking there. The problem is that when you walk out the back door, if you take a step or two, you nearly run into a car. I don't think this is a very good use of a space that is screaming for a re-do. So dh has decided to create a parking spot for dd next to the garage by clearing it out and adding some gravel or something. This frees up a large space for me, which is just fab. Except for one thing: I have no idea what to do with it.
Actually, I have too many ideas, and therein lies the problem. I'm thinking maybe I'll put my grill on this patio, and a big dining table. But dh wants a hot tub. Then I saw some really cute stuff at Pier 1 the other day that I can almost afford, and use to create a very nice, relaxing area there. Or I could take some of my old wicker, paint it, and get new cushions and accessories.
Decision, decisions. I'm off to search the Web for ideas.
Comments
target has some cool stuff, too. and I'd love to have one of those outdoor rugs, but I just think I'd end up with something icky underneath it. cool space- you'll have to show us pictures when you get it figured out.
Posted by: Karen | April 30, 2006 12:11 PM