Creative Outdoor Living Ideas

I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. We spent ours with friends and family, had multiple cookouts and explored new bike trails. Saturday evening my fam and I headed out to some dear friends' house in the Sewickley area. They own a little farmette, as we like to call it, where they're investing a lot of time and labor into growing their own food. It's always exciting to visit them and see what's new. This time I took pictures of some inspiring ideas. Rebecca's really good at re-purposing things. Check out this little seating nook on her deck:

Doesn't that look like a high-end outdoor coffee table? You know what it is? A ceramic planter, topped with beveled glass, and voila! instant table. Instant chic. I love this idea because think of all the pretty planters out there you could use as a base. And when you're tired of one look, switch it out with another and use the old one for plants. Also notice the actual plant in the background. Potted plants are great for making decks feel intimate and cozy (so are candles).

Inspiration #2: An old, dark wood sewing chair revamped with some white paint. She bought a high-back outdoor cushion and it became another clever seating option. Also to the right of the chair, a small wicker stool, painted a fabulous apple green and topped again with glass. Below the table sits a little ceramic giraffe. I don't even know if she realizes it, but by incorporating the three pieces, she's created a completely decorated nook that doesn't look out of place because it's part of its own little grouping. My imaginary rule of 3's = one thing is too sparse, two is a pair, but the third thing really anchors a grouping.

Inspiration 3: Rebecca found these three chairs at a garage sale. They were $1 each (I'm assuming the seller didn't think someone would want three chairs without the forth). She used a bench to act as the fourth seat, repainted them all in the same fresh white paint as the sewing chair, reupholstered the cushions with a turquoise, outdoor fabric, and achieved a cohesive look for about $10 per chair. I love the bench idea as a fourth seat option. She wasn't bound by our normal idea that we need four of the same chairs around a table, and by getting creative she found a great solution. So now when you find an awesome odd number of chairs, don't be afraid to snatch them up.
Their next project- a hanging, twin-sized bed. I can't wait to see the result. Something like this would be lovely.

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Thanks for inviting us into your lives, John, Rebecca, Rach, and Jake. We love hanging out with you, and I can't wait to try your planter-coffee table idea for my own deck.