~our new outdoor entertaining area~

I am so happy to finally share with you all our new outdoor entertaining/kitchen space!

This project actually started a couple of years ago.

We had a big concrete slab poured and then my husband and I built the structure over it.

We knew what purpose we wanted it to serve, but never really got around to finishing it up.

With summer upon us we decided to dive in and finally finish it!

This is going to be a long post with a lot of pictures.

Let's start at the beginning.

Here is that concrete slab we had poured.

We had it colored and stamped to mimic the look of stone.

The beginning of a really long project…

We had fish stamped in as well, as a nod to living on the lake.

Slowly but surely the structure went up.

These are all the photos I have from the building process.

It was a family affair as you can see :)

Then it sat in this state for a couple years until we decided on a plan.

It's about 400 square feet.

And here it is today, finally finished!

We made a built in "kitchen" area for our new grill, fridge and gas fireplace.

The only thing we don't have out here is running water, but there is a hose nearby, does that count?

We added a giant tv for football games/parties, and outdoor movie nights.

Most of the materials we used are reclaimed pieces.

The faces of the bar area and fireplace/tv area are made from reclaimed scaffolding as it was no longer certifiable. We ripped it in half width wise on a table saw and installed it like planking.

I love the rustic nature of it and the grey color.

The majority of the countertops are beams from a turn of the century building in Seattle that was being torn down. 

They were giant beams that also had to be cut down.

The only surface area that is different is on top of the fireplace, under the tv.

It is a slab of slate that once was my parents hearth in their home!

I love having this piece of history in here.

The furniture is from AE Outdoor.

It is called the Sanford 6 piece deep seating, and it's on sale right now!

I couldn't be happier with it.

It is incredibly comfortable and I know will last us a long time. I don't see ever having to buy another outdoor furniture set again.

The color is perfect and the quality is amazing, they are very sturdy.

The barstools we picked out are also made to last. 

They are made with trex decking and specifically for outdoors.

The cushion covers match perfectly with the AE Outdoor cushions.

We got the textured silver with charcoal black stools and the cushions are

 the color called bird's eye.

This area stays cool in the summer with a  ceiling fan, and warm on chilly fall nights with the patio heaters.

I like how you can sit up to the bar and watch tv and

 just below it is the sofa and chairs for additional seating.

To match the slate from the countertops, I picked out this fun slate tiered tray from Painted Fox Treasures.

The burlap star pillow is from Joss and Main, and the stripe pillows are from Heritage Lace.

The flag scarf was a gift from my mom.

I love using quirky vintage cans and such for vases, and 

I think the spiky flowers look a bit like fireworks going off.

This "bar" is the Raskog utility cart from Ikea.

It's so affordable. 

I also chose this because it's on wheels so very portable, and also because the shelves have holes in them which is great if moisture does get in there.

I got the dark grey color and my husband added some wood to the front to blend in with the rest of the wood fronts.

He also did the same treatment to our Texas Pro smoker.

The wine glasses and tumblers are melamine, so totally unbreakable.

They are from TJ Maxx.

This cabana service doorbell just adds a bit of whimsy to the space.

It actually rings…..

Now if only it came with an actual cabana boy!

You can find it here.

{cabana service coming shortly}

I made the garland years ago.

Here is a close up of the slate slab, it's really thick, love it!

Tray is from TJ Maxx.

Another thing I love about this furniture, is the coffee table sections are lightweight and can also be used as end tables.

The outdoor heaters are be perfect for chilly nights.

They were purchased at Home Depot, as well as the grill.

Phew, that was a long post, but I always love getting sources for items, so thanks for bearing with me.

If I left anything out or if you have any questions, feel free to email me or comment below.

Now, off to bbq and light off some fireworks.

Have a happy and safe fourth!

xoxo

~doing a little living room rearranging~

Every now and then, ok, about once a week, I get in the mood to change things up.

Sometimes it's little things like bringing in fresh flowers and cleaning out the cupboards.

Other times it's rearranging furniture or tackling a major project.

This week I switched things up in the living room a little bit.

As many of you know, I sanded the green paint off our coffee table.

I know a lot of you liked the green, and I did too, just not in here.

And if I ever do want it green again, I'll just paint it!

I'm loving the look of the raw wood.

The photo below shows the main changes, even though they are small. I removed the glass front cabinet from the left of the fireplace and stacked it on top of the other matching one, on the right.

{you can't see the bottom one in this pic}

Then I moved the leather chair to the corner to create a cozy little spot.

Sorry for all the sun glares. 

It rained all day and when I went to take photos, the sun came out.

Not complaining though!

I didn't have any fresh flowers so I cut a couple branches off some trees in the yard.

I also brought back my stump table and put all my favorite back issues of Cottage Living Magazine on it. I could read them over and over and over.

Of course when I sacked these two cabinets, the artwork was too big, so I changed that up too.

Some sources for this space:

Lamps on table- Homegoods, similar here

Sectional- Pottery Barn {in twill cream}

Euro pillows on couch from here 

Frames on wall from Ikea

Shutters, glass bottle, and tray on console table, various antique stores

Stacked cabinets {old} Fred Meyer

Floor lamp-Homegoods, similar here

Metal pitcher- Joss and Main

Leather chair {color whisky} -Pottery Barn

Blanket on chair- World Market

Pillow on chair- Pottery Barn

Coffee table- family heirloom

Wall color-swiss coffee by Benjamin Moore

Ticking pillow on couch from my friend here

xoxo

~living room refresh~

I teamed up with these lovely bloggers to show you how to refresh your living room!

classic•casual•home

Don't Disturb This Groove

Lime In The Coconut

Little Black Door

My Sweet Savannah

Pretty Petals 

Rough Luxe Lifestyle

Roses and Rust

Stone Gable

Sometimes we all just need a little pick me up, some fresh new pillows, flowers from the garden, etc. to brighten things up.

When it came to our living room I thought really hard about the purpose this room serves. What we really use this space for. 

I also kept in consideration the upcoming summer months, and how it is used during that time.

I came to the conclusion that this really is a kid hang out room in the summer. 

The kids go swimming in the lake and then come back and plop down on the couch for a movie, maybe a board game on the coffee table, a few snacks….

So, here is how I added a little life and summer fun into our living room!

{sources at the bottom of the post}

The very first thing I did was hang this flag.

I have had it forever, as well as the frame, so I put it together, got on a ladder and hung it up high!

The ceilings in our living room are 12' tall, so it filled up this space nicely.

I think the flag might be my favorite part of the room.

Now here's a funny story.

When I had the ladder on top of that console table to hang the flag, I stepped back to view it all and realized how nicely the blue in the ladder looked with the flag!

So I took a copy of the ladder with my phone and took it to the hardware store and picked 

out a paint to match.

I painted this bucket and added fresh flowers from the yard.

Voila!

Ok, I lied.

This coffee table is my new favorite.

And it has a story.

It was my husbands when he was little, how special is that?

The whole piece was green, which happens to be my favorite color, but after getting it in the room I realized it was just too much color.

So, I sanded down the top to reveal the wood and put a coat of clear wax on it to seal it.

It's much bigger than our previous coffee table and I am loving to!

I also had to cut 3" off of each leg to make it the right height.

Since a few days ago when I did this little living room refresh, we have played many games of junior trivia and dominoes. :)

I brought out some more of the kids' board games and piled them high on my books.

I also piled on the pillows.

Lots and lots of pillows, most I had but I did pick up the blue vintage ticking ones at a antique store.

I wanted to keep the pillows fairly neutral since there is so much color going on in the room elsewhere.

Do you see how just a few accessories and pops of color can change the look entirely? 

Here is a before picture:

And after:

sources:

Lamps~ Homegoods

Wood bucket~ Home Depot

Paint on Wood bucket~ Behr "tornado season"

Shutters~ antique

Gallery frames~ {I don't see the exact ones, mine are about 13x17} Ikea

Flag~ My Sweet Savannah

Pillows~ Dreamy Whites, Great Findz, vintage {similar here}

Sectional~ Pottery Barn

Ceiling light~ Pottery Barn

Jute Rug~ {8x10}  Rugs USA

Zebra rug~ local antique store

Console Table~ Farm Chicks Antique Show

Bench behind couch~ Craigslist

Wall color~ Behr Swiss Coffee

xoxo