take it outdoors
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our home. maybe it’s because now that I’m freelancing and staying at home with my son, I’m actually HERE more often. and I want it to look great and be functional. lately I think a lot about the backyard. we’ve got a HUGE space. and we hardly utilize it! I began drawing up plans for raised beds, a hammock, a play area for Wolf, etc, etc, and dlb convinced me to slow down. since we’re renting, it doesn’t make sense to spend a ton of time sprucing up the back yard, however, I do see us living here at least through next summer and possibly until we’re ready to buy a home of our own. so a little sprucing is totally acceptable, right?
{inspiration: summer patio / terra cotta pots / outdoor kid tub / deck / kiddo chair}
Love the pictures! I have the same issue. We’re in a rental house until we find a house to buy. That will be next Spring at the very earliest. I want our backyard to be a beautiful, useable space but don’t want to invest a lot of money in it. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
I say plan, plan, plan and daydream, daydream, daydream, so when you have a home of your own you’ll know exactly what you want. But in the meantime don’t do anything big. Landscaping and such is a lot of hard work and expensive and you’ll most likely have to leave it all behind. At the most buy outdoor furniture, a hammock and potted plants to make it cozy.
yes. we’re in exactly the same boat. our rental yard was so bare. we decided to turn it into a room and bought splurged (splurged) on a sectional from cb2, added an umbrella and potted a bunch of inexpensive plants (mostly herbs) — and it’s been DREAMY. we spend so much time out there.
i found a diy for the furniture we bought, too: http://www.thedesignconfidential.com/2011/04/free-diy-furniture-plans-to-build-a-cb2-inspired-havana-sectional-corner-chair
with the umbrella too, i have enough shade to work in the yard. i love how mac screens (even the older ones) get so bright.
love all your inspiration! we had big plans for our house we were just starting, then we found out we were moving. love that first pic! i would be outside all day!
I love when the outdoor space looks just as inviting as the inside! I’m sure I’ll be renting for years before buying, so I’m totally for making it “home”.
have you looked at apartment therapy? they suggest putting one month’s rent-worth of cash into your rental place to make it your own, right at the outset. When my husband and I started renting our current home, I probably put that much into starting a garden. I’ve continued to put a lot into the yard here, but part of that is because it is a real quality-of-life thing for me. I love growing fruits and vegetables and flowers for us, and it creates such a nice bond with your landlord (and neighbours!) when you invest in a place.
The important thing about a garden is that it is going to reap more benefits the longer you have it – so while raised beds probably aren’t a good investment for you if you aren’t going to stay there more than another year, it would be a much more affordable thing to grow lots of annual flowers (especially if you started them from seed!). Even tomatoes can be grown in a pot! We also keep an eye on craigslist for when pavers or stepping stones become available for very cheap or even for free – and use them to edge our flowerbeds and add polish to the yard.
The tree lights are so pretty in that first photo… I wish I had some outdoor space to work with. If you have the space, I say USE IT! It will be worth the time and effort.
I love this house!!! Renting an appartment is such a good idea and helpful in order to know exactly what you want when you buy your own home!!
Cute and lovely photos!Love the inspirations!Amazing space!Love the yard!I want one like yours!
http://www.cosfever.com
Love your blog! I say, spruce away! Enjoying life matters, even in a rental :)
Love it. My dream/goal is to have a south facing porch/ sun spot/ nest in the home that I own one day. I want a quiet spot, with no tv, only room for books and journaling.
spruce!!!
we’ve been living with biscuit-colored walls for FIVE YEARS because we’re “just renting.”
Great inspiration!
Totally acceptable! Because you still have a lot of time to still live there and enjoy it. I love love love thinking of new home ideas. xx
awesome inspiration photos. when we rented, i never put much into our outdoor space for exactly that reason. but you could totally do a super cool container garden (you can grow just about anything in containers, really!) so that you can take it with you when you move, if you don’t want to dedicate the time/money/effort to building raised beds that you’ll have to leave behind. or just do it and maybe your landlord will reimburse you since you’re upgrading the property? and the next renters will have an awesome garden to take over!