Reclaiming Outdoor Space

There seems to be a theme happening over here of trying to reclaim neglected areas of our home to make it more "us".

Well, isn't this pretty? Yeah, not so much. I'm not sure I can really say we are "re-claiming" this space, because I don't think we ever claimed it in the first place!

Our home has a partially finished walk-out basement that opens out to this area. It's  approximately 10 x 30, with a very small concrete patio....

 

 

...lots of gravel, an unattractive and noisy A/C unit and a super cute almost-6-year-old boy : )

Above this area we have a comfortable, cozy and much used back porch.
But down here in the summer it can be very hot, uncomfortable and unpleasant. In the past we've had a little plastic pool down here for the younger kids, but it disintegrated over the winter, and I'm not sure if we'll get another one this year or not.



It really does have potential for a cool hang-out space, so today the kids and I started cleaning it up a bit, and trying out a few ideas. They are anxious to claim this as usable kid space, so they were more than willing to help with things like hosing down an outdoor rug! {and little brothers}

 


My 15 year old helped me hang my mason jar chandelier 
over a table on the patio. 




I messed around with bringing a few pretty things out. Then it occurred to me that all this glass hanging in an area where the kids will be playing might not be the smartest idea! Bummer...

Oh well, it was fun to take a few pictures anyway. Can you believe this is all that's left of my Lilac mission?

So sad that they don't last longer. I might try to go cut some more this week before they're all gone for the season. 

Over the next several days I'll be trying to really pull this outdoor space together. As always, there will be no budget and I will have to be extra creative with things we already have around so I can come through, and give my kids an awesome outdoor area for the summer! I'll show you what I come up with soon {hopefully!}.




But just for a moment, can't a mom dream about candles and Lilacs? 

See you soon, friends!

Jeanette