My husband felt our newly landscaped courtyard needed a water feature.
I felt we already had a water feature...a garden hose.
I admit I wasn't crazy about the idea at first (so many are cheesy looking) especially when he told me he wanted to place it in the same sunny spot as my 2 precious tomato plants! But he scored this one for only $50 on Craigslist and we compromised on a shady area away from the sunny flower spots, so I'm happy with it now. Its modest size doesn't overwhelm the space and it drowns out some of the noise from the neighbors' air conditioner by adding a nice tranquil sound. Turns out, this exact same fountain retails in our local garden center for $350!
What I learned from this project:
1. We tweaked the fountain by adding some large river rocks to the basin part because...
2. There's a fine line between a tranquil water sound and a noise that reminds you of someone peeing.
When we bought our house we made a priority of turning the wasteland that was our tiny front courtyard into a space we could enjoy in nice weather. We hired a landscaper to grade the space and install the patio but we did the rest ourselves - stone path, landscaping, drip irrigation and low voltage lighting. And when I say "ourselves", I mean "my husband" (while I supervised and drank ice tea).
At last, I had the courtyard I had always wanted! I already had the all weather wicker chairs but we lacked a table. But wait, wouldn't it be so cool to have a firepit there for those cooler nights? Sure, but our postage stamp sized courtyard didn't have enough space for both.
The answer came in doubling up. The gas firepit was a purchase from Target.com and resting on top of it is a table top courtesy of Craigslist. My husband found a round metal cocktail table and just unscrewed the top from its base. Then he turned around and posted the unneeded base on CL - and sold it for the same price that he paid for the entire table! We just lift the table top off when we want to fire up the pit.
What I learned from this project:
1. You don't need an elaborate stone built-in firepit. This inexpensive one delivers a lot of heat!
2. I was concerned that an 8' x 8' patio would be too small - I was wrong. It's become the cozy "cocktail hour" locale.
3. There isn't much that beats that toasted marshmallow smell on a cool evening.
We had a decent sized back deck that extended the length of the house, but it was a little underutilized. I wanted a seating area that was separate from the dining area. We found a great conversation set (that's what they call them even if you are just talking to yourself) at Target.com that fit our small space and was WAY cheaper than similar looking sets at other retailers. Soon after we set it up my husband realized the seat cushions were prey to falling leaves and every bird with a digestion problem that flew over unless we added some protective cover. The answer was one of those cantilevered umbrellas.
The price for a new one varied widely from $200 to an astonishing $6000! But, for an item that YOU KNOW is going to get pooped on by a bunch of birds...the $85 craigslist find suited us just fine.
What I learned from this project:
1. Having the umbrella over the seating area really defines the space, in addition to protecting the cushions. It's become one of my favorite places to relax.
2. Once again, my husband had a great idea and made it happen.
