My Dream Back Yard Cont.
I've written about this subject before - my dream back yard - and today I want to continue the conversation!
Let's recap what we already know: I have zero privacy. My yard is like the Roman Coliseum. I am down below, on display with my partner and our dogs, and my neighbors can sit up the hill on their second story balconies and watch the show. It's weird and uncomfortable and I desperately want to create some privacy for myself. You can read about how I plan to do that here.
But a taller fence and some well placed trees aren't all I'm dreaming about, my friends! I have so much more swirling around in my noggin. I want to build a big back deck where I can grill burgers and lounge in the sun. I want part of the deck to be screened-in for those gorgeous summer rain storms or for those not-so-gorgeous Tennessee bugs. I want a pretty little fire-pit area where I can roast some s'mores with my friends. And (remember, we're dreaming big here) I would love to someday build an addition off of the back of the house and make a really special master suit that opens up into the back yard.
These dreams are going to be years in the making, but I've developed a solid end goal and I'm going to take this on bit by bit. Here is what my back yard looks like right now:
I mean, will you just look at all of that potential!? It's just begging for something special. And I'm lucky enough to have a pro interior designer for a mom who drafted this up for me:
As you can see, I've labeled the different areas to help you understand what you're looking at. And my heart bursts just thinking about how amazing the outdoor living is going to be! Now, as far as the execution of this plan goes, I will be tackling it is phases.
Phase 1 is the tree. I have a huge dying tree in my back yard that needs to be removed (I'll share more on that later this week). Once my wallet has recovered from the tree removal, I have to decide what my highest priorities are and go from there. And currently, my highest priority is privacy. To gain the privacy that I would like, I need to build a tall lattice fence around the parking space and I need to plant some trees along the side of my property line. Both are going to get pricy fast, so I'm going to break this into two phases.
Phase 2: In the fall, plant some trees along my fence line so they can grow big and tall.
Phase 3: Remove current farm house style fence around the parking area and replace with lattice. (Maybe lumber prices will be lower by the time we get to this phase 🤞)
Phase 4: Build open deck and fire-pit area.
Phase 5: Build master suite addition and connecting screened-in porch. (Like I said, this is going to be years in the making. I don't expect to be able to swing phase 5 any time soon)
Sprinkle in some periodic gardening and lots of saving in between phases and I've got myself the back yard of my dreams!
I love the idea of an on-going project that will last me such a long time. I thrive when I have a goal and a dream to work towards, so this kind of project is perfect for me. Each little phase will have its own myriad of problems to solve and decisions to make and lessons to be learned and I'm looking forward to all of it!