Home Improvement Part Two: BACKYARD PATIO

Vegas is not known for his large yards, but our yard is exceptionally T I N Y. However, we've grown to appreciate T I N Y because it means N O maintenance.

We literally have 8 feet in our backyard so we debated for a few years on what to do. My parents recently re-did their backyard and poured lots of stained, stamped concrete. We really like how it turned out so we called their concrete man and he poured the same stained, stamp concrete in our backyard. Now, the back area is more of an extension of our house instead of a yard. The back part is ALL concrete and then the side yard has some concrete, a sandbox for Nate, a future retaining wall/planter & stepping stones.

The concrete portion is done & we really like how it turned out. I wish we would have done it sooner! It's so nice to sit outside. It will be nice for Nate and I to be out there when he can crawl and walk around. There's enough room for a small slide or a little plastic pool. Now we just need to finish it off with a retaining wall/planter, some rock, & sand for the sandbox.

Here are some photos of the final product. Hopefully in the next month we will have finished everything so I can post final pictures of the new living room and new backyard.

The before photo of the dirt.

Views of the back now....

Nate's got his own patio chair.....


Now I see this from my kitchen/dining area instead of ugly dirt and rock....


Nate's future sandbox....


The retaining wall/planter will line this fence. This will give us some green and give me the ability to plant a few flowers.


The concrete stepping stones that lead you to the gate. We need to fill in around it with some rock.


And finally, the path that leads from the driveway to the gate.