My Great Outdoors: JJ's Outdoor Lounge

Name: JJ De Sousa

Location: Portland

Type of space: Front Yard

Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: We have a lovely outdoor living, dining and lounging area in the front of our home, complete with dappled shade for the super hot afternoons. We can seat 8 for dinner and drinks as well as just enjoying a shady afternoon.

How did you create it?:
As this home was condemned when I bought it, it took a great deal of cleaning up and redefining spaces. Add alot of time and patience, some killer, lush plants and some great outdoor furniture, and we had it!

Recommended store, site, product or resource?
Farmington gardens, Schou outdoor furniture, Fermob outdoor furniture

See all Reader My Great Outdoors submissions here

Comments (9)

What a great way to relax, very inviting.

posted by adiaphane on June 12th 2009 at 4:53pm
view adiaphane's profile

condemned! wow--it's beautiful

posted by jen_g on June 12th 2009 at 5:27pm
view jen_g's profile

Really love all the orange accents! Great job (not only because I'm also in PDX)

Just wondering whether all of the furniture pieces withstand the weather pretty well... as it rains on and off, sometimes very unexpectedly...

posted by MidoriMonsta on June 12th 2009 at 5:29pm
view MidoriMonsta's profile

what in the world did you feed those plants in the containers?
beautiful yard and love the orange/red dishes and accents!

posted by sassydo on June 12th 2009 at 8:12pm
view sassydo's profile

Great color and I love the serving cart!

posted by Kathryn on June 13th 2009 at 11:45am
view Kathryn's profile

Thanks for the comments! I love the orange too - can you tell? MidoriMonsta, all the furniture is intended for outdoor use - even in Portland! sassydo, the plants in the pots are a VERY large hosta called Sum & Substance - and I don't feed them a thing - in fact, I totally neglect them and they are as happy as little clams! It is my favorite variety of hosta because it gets so big and it can take more sun than other varities - the more sun you give it the more chartreuse the leaves get. The serving cart is actually a vintage flower cart. We just refinished it with Hammerite in Pewter, but I am seriously thinking of changing it to orange - too much?

posted by jjdesousa on June 13th 2009 at 1:11pm
view jjdesousa's profile

Love it! And what a fabulous house too!!!

posted by Fate on June 18th 2009 at 7:38pm
view Fate's profile

Is that just pea gravel on the ground? Did you do anything special to install it? My husband doesn't want to put pea gravel in our back courtyard because he thinks it will move around too much.

posted by grizzarkhov on August 12th 2009 at 11:11am
view grizzarkhov's profile

I'm not crazy about the orange/purple house trim combo, but the Garden is very charming and inviting!!

posted by reb on August 12th 2009 at 2:19pm
view reb's profile