I know I'm supposed to be in the middle of a guest bathroom remodel, but last Friday I finally had absolutely enough with my backyard and I took action. See, I have a very small backyard. Tiny. Miniscule. Said diminutive yard has been eclipsed by a giant deck and an awkwardly placed, ugly as sin, rotting to hell hot tub and hot tub house.
This beauty has been anchored firmly right smack dab in the middle of my back yard since i moved in 2 years ago. Bonus: it no worky. It was attached to my deck and certainly did not reflect the model of relaxation a day-spa alcove strives for. This photo was taken 2 years ago and the whole kitten kaboodle was actually in much worse shape Friday, it's last day on earth. Imagine all that wood rotting from 2 years of Texas weather. Ok, don't. It's gross.
I finally had enough of this mess and late Friday afternoon I marched over to my neighbor's house (he lives for demo projects) and asked what he'd charge to tear it the fuck down. Giddy as a school boy, he quickly settled on a more than reasonable price.
Yes, my husband is a handyman. Yes, he's too busy to work on my house so I have to hire other people. No, life is not fair.
This is what that stupid hot tub house looks like now. I'm sorry I didn't have any wide angle before shots. That damn thing was so ugly I never took a picture of it, since it was ripped down while I was at Round Top this weekend, a before shot didn't cross my mind until I was 45 minutes outside of Austin.
I never knew that tree to the left was even there! See, that whole left side of my yard was only visited by my dog as it required a treacherous climb behind the hot tub house to access it.
Do you dudes see how my yard is clearly too small for a giant hot tub and companion structure?
This is a before picture of my deck. The hot tub house was immediately to the left. Now, don't be swayed by the fact that this picture was taken while all the trees and plants were in full bloom and the yard had been freshly mowed. This deck is monstrous and all those railings are better suited for protecting visitors viewing niagra falls, not a postage stamp size yard.
This is what that same stretch of deck looked like this morning (the wood piles are being hauled off as I type). I had the deck cut back a couple of feet, exposing every inch of yard I can get my hot little hands on. Those pesky railings are gone now, too. I will be planting something or another along the border of the deck as soon as I pick out whatever that something or another is.
Like I said, don't be fooled by that pretty before picture, that thing was 2 years old and I stand by my belief that everything must get a lot uglier before it gets prettier. It's just part of the renovation process.
And just for good measure, here's a view of the back of my house. As you can see, we have a long way to go. Good thing my neighbor likes all forms of outdoor work, not just demo.
In preparation for the beautification process, I've already picked up these hot items:
1. Sun Shades, one rectangular and one triangular from Amazon
2. Hanging rattan chair for (wait for it) $10 from Round Top yesterday. Yes, that said $10, no I do not know how I'm going to hang it. I think I'm going to have to buy a stand, if anyone has a better suggestion, I'm all ears.
3. Big ole weathered galvanized steal trough, picked up for $10 from Round Top. I'm going to plant my mint in this since it's too invasive to plant in the ground.
4. Benjamin Moore exterior stain. Ok, so I haven't picked out my shade yet (see you soon, Sanders!), but I have already reserved neighbor-Mike for a down and dirty power wash and belt sanding of the remaining deck in preparation for the fresh coat of stain.
Trust me. It's going to look awesome.
I just put these pictures up so you could get a better idea of what the shades I bought look like. I did get both of mine in the sand color shown on the left. I think. Look, the site was a little confusing.
And this gratuitous shot I've included so we can all fawn over how hot hanging rattan chairs look in the right context. Keep your fingers crossed that my back porch incites a collective sigh one day too.