One Room Challenge Spring 2021 – Almost Done!

Welcome back to those who have been following along. For any new readers, welcome and a quick recap- this is the first time we joined the One Room Challenge. We have been working on our backyard, doing some small projects ourselves, hiring out the majority and jumping in to lend a hand where we can.

We ran into some hiccups along the way. One major issue that turned out to be not so bad, is moving the patio a bit to accommodate our trees’ root systems. We didn’t have to scrap our plan, but it did mean adding another set of steps and more soil. We are on a slight hill and bringing materials up our many stairs is no walk in the park. If a yard of topsoil or gravel is needed, that means bringing it up bucket by bucket.

Then there were rainstorms and a flat tire, and some materials were incorrectly delivered and other materials were missed from deliveries altogether.

Now here we are, so close, but still not done. So what is the latest? UPDATE!!! Patio Reveal is here!

Grass is here!

Rolled up swaths of lovely grass that I can’t wait to run my toes through. The arborist we consulted with gave our grass and irrigation plan a thumbs up as it will help to protect the root systems of our very large trees.

In the beginning of this project we saw some of the coldest days recorded in June and now we are experiencing some of the hottest! Hoping the new grass can withstand the heat wave!

Plants are so close to getting planted.

We decided to go with a fragrant shrub called Daphne Eternal Fragrance. We have two of them out front and love the wonderful the smell and little white flowers. They are evergreen which is nice for fall and winter interest. Once they grow in, we hope they will make a nice barrier to prevent any potential falls off the wall.

Patio is almost complete!

The paver sand is level, the pavers are in place, throw on some pea gravel and we will be ready to party!

Originally my husband and I planned to do lay the patio ourselves, but with other projects in the works we asked our contractor to take it on. We love him. He works with his family and they are all so nice and hardworking. He has great ideas and he is able to decipher my requests and make them better than I imagine!

Subscribe to my site on the side bar and follow me over on Instagram to see this space completed! I am so excited to get the furniture in place with all of the accessories and to share the outcome!

You can catch up on the previous weeks here: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7

To do:

• Build low retaining wall in east portion of the yard (98% done).
• Order pavers, caps for wall, blocks for wall
• Order pea gravel.
• Finish dismantling paver walkway and replanting Irish Moss.
• New grass install.
• Break up current patio slab.
• Build a border (rocks?) for patio space.
• Fill patio space with square concrete pavers and pea gravel.
• Shop for plants.
• Add plants along edges of retaining walls.
• Repair and stain current patio furniture (or source used/new depending on time and budget)
• Remove small pavers and Irish Moss (to be replanted)

It was great to participate in this challenge and I will definitely join again! It was fun to meet new people and follow along so many great projects. A big thanks to the creators of the ORC and medi partner Better Homes And Gardens.

Please hop over to the One Room Challenge site to view the projects of the featured designers and guest participants. You will be so inspired to see what everyone accomplished!