Episide #31: Outdoor Spaces – A Beautiful Mess

This week’s episode is all about outdoor spaces—one of the things that is bringing us so much joy during this time! We’ve both been working on some outdoor space projects this season, so in this episode we’ll share our progress, opinions about outdoor furniture purchases and also there’s a very embarrassing story at the end. AUGH.

You can stream the episode here on the blog or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher. You can find the podcast posts archive here.

Show notes: 
-Back story … we share how I loved having two porches on our first home, which you can see a bit of here.

-We planned to build a porch on our last home, but we never did. You can see the outdoor spaces of that home here. It did have an epic sunroom, though.

-You can see photos of Emma’s outdoor space here.

-Our new porch: before + after …

BEFORE (this is how it looked when we bought the home) AFTER
We did quite a bit to this porch, of which I’ll be sharing all the details in a tour this month (just waiting on our fire table to arrive and then I’ll snap some photos!).

-Here’s a progress photo of the holiday house deck. Emma is getting closer to finishing it!

-When I showed our porch on IG I heard you *LOUD AND CLEAR* that your biggest concern is “How will this age??” and “Do you have to bring the cushions inside?” Here are ALL our opinions about making the best choice for you!

Choose colors that are fade-friendly (I avoid bright/dark colors now). We think it’s important to accept that things will get dirty and worn over time. So try to imagine items after a few seasons of use and see if you feel OK with that.

My very strong belief with all furniture, not just outdoor, is that you shouldn’t buy it if you can’t handle it aging and becoming imperfect. There needs to be a lifespan for furniture that exceeds its day-one condition. One way I make myself feel better about this is buying items I believe I can clean myself (that’s why I no longer buy synthetic rugs—they’re not easy to clean). So when I picked our outdoor seating, I made sure the cushion covers zipped off so I can wash them myself.

Another attitude shift that has helped me is being ready for, and embracing marks and imperfections. This goes for everything in my home, and especially for outdoor items. This is how I’m able to buy an expensive rug or sofa … I have made a deal with myself that when my children inevitably give it some “personality” that it won’t ruin my day. I know this may sound silly to some, but it’s helped me create a home that is 100% child friendly without buying stuff I don’t like just because I feel I’m supposed to. I am not a fan of the attitude that you should buy items your kids can’t mess up, even if you don’t love them. If you don’t love it, don’t buy it.

Anyway, prepare yourself that no outdoor furniture will stay 100% perfect, and that is OK.

Here are some pieces we purchased for our spaces (or thought about along the way …)

Exciting note! Article has provided us this link where first-time customers can get $50 off a purchase of $200 or more! 

A few Article pieces we love:

Lucra Sofa Set

Tavola Dining Table

Dark Gray Bar Cart

Aloe Green Dining Chair

Plants + decor: I look for plants that are easy to maintain and that I’m happy to bring in to our home all winter. We’re also embracing a less-is-more vibe for our porches in order to reduce waste and give our children more space to play.

-Fire table … we were on the fence, but we splurged for this fire table. I’m so excited to make s’mores!

-I can’t find the link to the exact kids pool we’ve used in past summers, but this is close.

I’ll leave the embarrassing story in the podcast. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PODCAST STAYS IN THE PODCAST. ?

Shout out to the The Office Ladies podcast, which I’ve been listening to on my runs.

XX! Elsie + Emma

Original Author: Produced by Elsie Larson and published on 27/04/2020 Source