Concrete slabs. Many an outdoor space has them, installed by a previous owner whose original intentions for the space are lost to time. It is easy to view them with disdain, a harsh element forced into a natural setting. Many people get rid of them, to be replaced by bluestone, brick pavers, or maybe even a water feature. But if the concrete patio is blessed with a gorgeous view and encircled by handsome gardens, it may pay to look at it not as an eyesore, but as the floor of a room without walls. And then let your imagination take over.
Kate at Centsational Girl has done it again. By turning a sparse concrete patio into an oasis for her family she has really captured the concept of an 'outdoor room'. Breezy and airy but with a cozy enclosed feeling, it epitomizes the perfect place to relax on a hot summer day. While the gazebo and furniture are big-ticket items, we find that the rehabilitated thrift-store trunk-turned-coffee table and the wine barrel planters serving as end tables are the details that really make this space click.
Kudos to Kate for creating this inspiring space!
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(Images: Centsational Girl. Via: Remodelaholic)
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WOWZA!!
She recently resurfaced the concrete to make this area even more beautiful!
So cute with the wine barrel tables. I do wish there a wider shot of the whole space though.
Wow thanks so much for the feature AT! We built that space for entertaining and used it all summer long, our friends loved hanging out in it too, plus it provided a much needed shade structure that we didn't have before. We're about to put it back up again, not that the rains have stopped, thanks again for the feature AT!
Kate
Double that: WOWZA!
Triple that: WOWZA!
This is a pretty amazing transformation, and looks like it could definitely be in an outdoor furniture catalog, but... am I the only one who finds outdoor rooms like this offputting? I guess it is just that, when I want to relax outside, it is because I want to NOT feel like I am indoors. Oh well, nice work, anyway.
Amazing...love it!! :)
@Holler, i am with you. i do agree this is an amazing transformation, but when i am out of doors that 's what i want the place to reflect. i like garden furniture looking more garden, less furniture ;-)
@thorndale... my thoughts exactly.
Concrete slab can always be stained, providing it hasn't been painted. The result can look pretty amazing. We used stain on our patio instead of the expense of having it removed and then new pavers replaced. The stain can give it a lovely, worn patina.
Im speachless!
These wine barrels killed me..... Ahhhhhhhh
Holy wow. That is all.
I don't know. I'm kind of with Holler in this one. I feel like if you have that beautiful flora around you, it would be better to embrace it rather than obscure it. However, if you're not pleased with the view and want to obscure it while still smelling some fresh air, I could see value here. In short, this strikes me as the right design in the wrong setting (or vice versa). But maybe there's more to this story than these particular pictures let on.
QUADRUPLE WOW!!!!
Ooops, make that quadruple WOWZA!!!!
;-)