As the sun and warm weather have begun to grace us with their presence here in Seattle I find myself making every excuse I can to spend time in my backyard. I even go so far as to take my food outside to prep each night. Not being a home owner, having a backyard has always been a luxury that I try to take full advantage of.
My home in Los Angeles was too small for a dining area indoors, but I had two of them outside. Ahhh, the California life. Needless to say I obtained quite a bit of outdoor furniture including a swing, hammock, umbrella, two dining sets and a fire pit. After becoming accustomed to year round outdoor living I was not willing to give up my new found outdoor furniture upon moving to Seattle, and my one contingency was that we had to have a yard.
I find backyards to be a very unique and personal part of the home; I love seeing how people choose to design them. Do they dedicate this space for relaxing, entertaining, gardening, barbecuing, exercising? I think it tells you a lot about a person and how they like to kick off their boots. What are your "must haves" that turn that backyard space into your perfect oasis?
Images: Chair, Umbrella, Picnic Table, Lounge, Hammock, Planters, BBQ, Planter Dog House
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odd. an upholstered platner chair should not go anywhere near anyone's back yard.
Definitely our Weber BBQ and comfy lounge chairs to enjoy a margarita in :)
Ditto Twelveindustries...
Here in San Francisco, I find that the pigeons and hawks use my balcony more than I.
Grill. COMFY chairs (it's already uncomfortably hot out there so I'm not going to want to sit on uncomfortable chairs for long). big table. umbrella/shade. lighting for the evening.
My oasis could not fit a dining table so instead I love my large square coffee table with adirondack chairs all around and made cosy with lots of cushions, candles and flowers. I put all the food and drinks on this table and I entertain very casual.
Shade. Something dry on which to sit. Garden shed/workshop. Garden. Patio. Deck. Potting area. Privacy fence. Lighting.
That picnic table and bench set by Ilmari Tapiovaara (one of my fave designers) is so friggin' adorable, I would love to have it for my indoor dining table set.
A swimming pool! It's HOT here for 6 months of the year!
Hmmm...it would have to be a backyard...but would settle for a front or side yard too.
As an apartment dweller, I don't have a yard. But I consider my balcony the next best thing. I need plants, color, chairs, end table, broom, a space to nap, and citronella candles.
bamboo, japanese maples, bonsai, a bbq, my turquoise solair chair http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/furniture/solair-chair/attachment/solair-chairs-canada/ and some sort of outdoor lighting.
My backyard is only three years old and is a work in progress. We hate eating outside (mosquitoes and black flies kind of spoil it here in NH) so my first priority it making the yard lovely to see through the windows. We have an oddly apartment-style balcony off the kitchen area with a small table, but the cats sun there way more than we use it. Eventually we want to have a deck off the back (walk-out basement) with seating and maybe a fire pit, but I doubt we will dine there. But you'd be able to sit and admire my zen garden, my "rain garden", and the wisteria I planted on the stockade fence...
The iconic Ilmari Tapiovaara kitchen table and benches seems like an odd choice for a back yard, at about $7000 for that set from Artek. I wouldn't put an Alvar Aalto table and chairs in my back yard either.
Shade, shade, shade and shade from this HOT Texas sun!! Other than that, my requirements, all of which I hope to obtain next spring, are a BIGASS fan, modular wicker seating, a couple of side tables, ambient and string lighting, a concrete patio surrounded by a succulent rock garden, our grill and our trampoline.
An unfortunate lack of a kitchen exhaust fan in my house has led to the best feature in my backyard: a little table and electric outlet so I can bring my electric skillet out and cook all sorts of spicy, pungent, or greasy-steam emitting foods and not smell dinner in the house for days. And cooking outside is such a pleasure.
bistro lights, succulents and above all- COMFORTABLE SEATING!
http://www.mintlovesocialclub.com/2011/04/outdoor-deck-before-after.html