We have a front porch but almost never use it. The traffic going by is surprisingly loud & conversation unfriendly. Also, no gate or fence for the dog in front.
No porch or deck in the back yard, but we have a large driveway with a turnaround (let’s not discuss snow shoveling right now) and we make a little sitting area on a section of driveway for the summer months.
I’ve got a couple chairs & side tables. A fire pit that is rarely used now that the kids are gone.
Yesterday, I had the inspiration (thanks to this thread!) to set up my collection of clay pots there, instead of the usual spot by the back door.
I think it’s going to look great. It’s part herbs & kitchen garden and also flowers.
The gnats have started swarming here, and we’ve had tick encounters for a couple weeks already. I get cabin fever this time of year rather than during the cold winter months. Our lot is 3.4 acres of sparse woods.
I need to find something screened; either enclose our porch, or a free-standing structure. Screen-house-in-a-box? Would welcome any links or suggestions.
Based on the many posts on this thread so far, it seems as if most of you still live in individual homes. I used to, but don’t anymore. My house was on 5.5 acres of land with wonderful views of the mountains and ski trails in Vermont. I had a covered front porch and a large deck in the back facing the views. I also had gardens. I loved planting and caring for the gardens. The front porch had hanging flower pots. The deck had lots of flower boxes.
Now I live in the city in a one bedroom apartment. Even so, I have a patio that is about 24 feet by 6 feet, which is unusual in the city. My apartment sits on the Hudson River and views Midtown Manhattan. The water is my “backyard” and I have great views. It finally got warm enough to go outside. I just planted my patio…I have flower boxes that sit on the railings and on the ground, as well as individual pots. I have planted them all just now with annuals. I also planted tomatoes and lettuce in large pots. I have a barbecue and dining seating for 8, and lounge chairs. It was great for 4th of July last year with the kids, but right now I can’t see my kids (or anyone). The railings are all white and my flower boxes are all white, and the color scheme of the seating is navy and white, as is my outdoor dining/serving pieces (actually that is my interior color scheme too). I also have wound little fairy lights all around the entire border railings and I love the feeling of it at night, along with all the lights of Manhattan, and the boats going by. Today, I even did work for my job on the patio.
My BIL made a sunroom in his home in Foster City. It added square footage to his home and is very well-used. When the weather is unpleasant, the larger dog roams there and the rest of the house. Screened porches are nice too, depending of the weather.
We also have lovely mosquitoes and west nile to worry about. We also have fierce winds at times. The first week we moved into our home 20 years ago the wind threw all lightweight including glass furniture over the deck. So we have heavy furniture now.
My favorite part of our outdoor living is 2 comfy chairs with a small table between them, with an overhang facing south. Nice all seasons.
Screens would not work here.
So far we bought a new to us (on Nextdoor from someone moving) wrought iron table and chairs set with umbrella, and have added a video projector, and projector screen so the teens can have peeps over, the projector works with xbox too.
Now we need a fire pit, preferably gas because we don’t want to have to build a fire…does anyone have a fire pit they would recommend? Or recommended place to purchase? There seem to be so many, it’s a bit confusing…the paradox of choice!
We just finished having our deck re-stained and it looks great. It can get very sunny so we also got (online) a large umbrella and stand. H got a new grill too! I expect our deck will get a lot of use this summer – I’ll be sitting there and I hope to have some socially distanced company outdoors.
I’m practically living outside. I did end up buying lots of potted flowers and hanging baskets. It just wasn’t the same without them. Fortunately two garden centers nearby did order over the phone with curb side pickup. H and I are also eating dinner outside a lot more than we normally do. Mostly because he’s Ren stuck down in the basement all day for 3 months, versus when he is at the office.
We have a nice propane fire pit that is also a table that we can sit around and have drinks. Very similar to the Belle Vie in the link Bunsen posted. No idea what brand ours is.
We bought it on sale for only $800. Iirc, it was originally around $2000ish. We grabbed it when we saw the sale price.
Am seriously considering adding a summer bed on the screened back porch so we can sleep out there. We’ve “camped” out there on the air mattress a couple of times this spring (since we can’t go camping for real), and it’s just lovely sleeping surrounded by trees and crickets.
I’d like to get a propane fire pit, but DH isn’t comfortable with it out front or on the screened porch. His birthday is in about three weeks, and he’s so hard to shop for. Buying him travel gear isn’t going to work this time!
Taking down the 110 yo tree in April 2019 that was 6 feet from the front of the house was a really good decision in retrospect. So was replacing the decrepit brick walkway and replacing/expanding it with bluestone last September. (We spent years debating whether to spend the $ to do this stuff.) We now have a nice walkway and sitting area and it’s been getting tons of use. Brought chairs from the back porch out to the front, and got a 30" bistro table from Lowes that works for sewing or eating breakfast. The dog is delighted we’re out there, too.
Got a couple of large planters for the front, filled them with flowers and herbs, and now I need to paint the front door. Got the paint last fall and never got around to it. Will be a good break from mask making.
We finally added our outdoor fountain to the yard but the pollen is clogging up the pump every few days. We’re going to try to put a mesh screen over the openings to the area where the pump is situated and hope that helps. We’re getting more birds to the yard coming for a daily bath ; )
We’re prioritizing our deck rehab. We just met with architects to figure out how to enlarge our deck, screen off a portion with a fine mesh screen, and add balconies off our 2nd floor (one room a dedicated guest room, the other my dedicated art studio).
We have a beautiful eastern marsh view.
Although I expect this to be costly, I think it will more than double my enjoyment.
@emilybee, He’s not comfortable having a fire source facing the street. There’s also not much of an overhang over the front, so the chairs/table/fire pit aren’t protected from weather. OTOH, we both love fire and I can see him roasting marshmallows regularly. Our backyard is wild and forested – would have to clear a big area to install a fire pit there.
This time last year, we had knee-high weed, out-of-control ground cover and a ground-out stump next to an 18" wide run of recycled brick.
The front walkway area is 24’ from the driveway to front door and 9’ deep from the front of the wall. So glad I decided to add an extra foot of depth at the last minute – it really made the difference between being a wide sidewalk vs a sitting area. It’s not fancy, but it’s homey, and it’s something I can maintain.
