Design Daydreaming: Bringing The Indoors Out
A little known fact about this house is that, in addition to the charm & layout of the interiors, the outdoor spaces are what sold us! From the listing photos, we could tell it was a magical space and I already started daydreaming about the ways I'd transform it for our family.
The previous homeowners were very intentional and meticulous when they designed the backyard, with dedicated zones for different activities. Actually, my first thought when walking the area was how reminiscent it is of my boo Shavonda Gardner's backyard... just on a much smaller scale. And to be clear... Shavonda's back yard is GOALS AF so if you haven't checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and check out her reveal from last year.
Even before our offer was accepted, I could envision our family enjoying the space & I began pinning & plotting.
Last year, I participated in a virtual show house for High Point Market — The House That Diversity Built -- and my focus was on outdoor spaces. I designed two spaces and, with the help of illustrator Nicole Updegraff, began planting the seeds for my current outdoor living ideas.
Heavily inspired by these designs, in addition to my hygge-inspired indoor spaces, I have been pulling together different iterations of what I want for the outdoor spaces. Admittedly, the outdoor transformation will require A LOT more than furnishing & styling, but a girl can dream right?
To bring any combination of these concepts to life, some prep would need to happen in the yard, including staining and/or replacing our deck, rebuilding & remapping our raised garden bed, installing new back perimeter fencing, and and removing anything from the previous homeowners that's damaged or we're simply not using. Somewhere in there I also have dreams of a chicken coup... but one major undertaking at a time.
If you know me you know that whenever I design daydream, I don't just mood board... I don't just Pinterest plan... I space plan too. I still have tons of measurements to take to actually & accurately design the backyard, but I couldn't resist giving myself something of a bird's eye view of what this could be.
I have one design goal: to bring the indoors out.
My interior spaces are all hygge inspired: creating cozy spaces that are beautiful, functional, and joy-inducing. This is what I want outside — spaces that will look just as beautiful, feel just as cozy, and be just as supportive of our lifestyle needs. This means creating zones for dining & lounging, allowing space for play & relaxation, and nurturing sustainable self care habits via gardening.
Will everything I'm imagining for the outdoor spaces come to pass this summer? Hopefully so. Probably not. And that's okay. The one thing I have come to appreciate about living in the Pacific Northwest is how the spring nicely flows into the summer and into the fall, affording me (give or take) 4 months to get this all done... and time to actually enjoy what I do get done.
Truth be told, I wholeheartedly planned on working out the outdoors for this season's One Room Challenge but with the kitchen renovation still incomplete, I knew I wouldn't have the bandwidth to make that kind of [content] commitment. Coincidentally, my very first ORC project was our apartment balcony 3 years ago, so how cool would it have been for the first "official" ORC project at the hygge ranch to also have been an outdoor project?
Even though I may be a few weeks behind — it's already May by the way — I am in no rush. If the kitchen renovation has taught me anything it's that you can't rush these things. I am more than happy to take my time with this because I know we have time... and proper landscaping takes time.
