Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it:
We lucked out in renting a great one bedroom apartment in the Mission area of San Francisco that a friend was moving out of. The real prize was a backyard that had mostly been neglected (our friend hardly ever used it) that the owners were happy to let us do what we wanted with. Living in one of the warmest areas of San Francisco...

...we spend as much time outside in our backyard as we can. We love to have coffee outside on sunny mornings and have friends over for dinner al fresco and BBQs. The deck is also great to sit on in the afternoon while reading and sipping some wine. When the sun goes down the outdoor lights strung through the rose bush and Meyer lemon tree give off beautiful light. We also like gardening, and while the large oak keeps the backyard shady throughout the day, we've had success with most everything we've planted.

How did you create it?:
With a lot of work! A lot of what you see has been repurposed or salvaged. The deck was actually built by Brandi's father at her parents old house, and when they moved we took the deck apart, hauled it down to SF and reassembled it. Caleb leveled the ground and set the piers himself, and the deck was a perfect fit.

The large succulent in the ground as well as the huge bush of pineapple sage were also transplants from their yard. Some of the other plants, like the large one in the corner, came from a restaurant that Brandi worked at. They renovated their back patio and were basically throwing out the old plants, so Brandi nabbed a bunch. A lot of the planters and pots were already lying empty around the yard and whenever we came across a pot someone was throwing out we picked it up.

The deck furniture comes from Ikea, which has the most affordable and cleanest-looking wood outdoor furniture we've found anywhere.

Recommended store, site, product or resource?
Ikea for outdoor furniture. We saw a lot of similar loungers for over twice the price, and they have a great selection of different kinds of chairs, tables and chaises to choose from.