Oh man. I have waited a loooooong time to write that title! I have been fantisizing about a patio addition for almost as long as we have lived in this house (coming up on 12 years, folks). A little background: We are on a little under a quarter acre and have a great size backyard. I have always wanted to add shade and create some kind of an outdoor living room space but wasn’t sure how to do it. We went back and forth with possibly creating a full on addition to the house, to a pergola to a glassed in sunroom and finally to a covered patio addition. We worked with California Sunrooms and from start to finish they exceeded all of our expectations. Because of the HOA in our neighborhood, we needed to have a spanish tile roof on the addition that matched our existing roof, which meant we needed to have a really strong roof and supports! Luckily California Sunrooms was accustomed to these kind of requirements and it wasn’t a problem getting exactly what we needed.

Our crew came in and built the structure in two days. The columns have electrical and there is a light/ceiling fan (which will be so perfect for hot summers). We also installed bluetooth speakers. It was another month until the tile roof was completed (due to rain and holiday timing) and that installation took one day.

Once we got the structure built, it was time to furnish it. Patio furniture is EXPENSIVE, ya’ll. Like, way more than you ever expect it to be, am I right? I decided that we were just going to need to wait a little while until we could find the perfect furniture for the best price. BUT. I kept my eyes peeled and my tabs open on the computer, searching Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for something that would possibly work. And then one day as I took a break from work BINGO. Someone just down the street was moving and getting rid of their entire patio set. It was ten years old and the cushions weren’t in great shape, however, the actual wood bases were in great shape. The best part of this unexpected find? It was FREE. FREEEEEEEEE. We borrowed a truck from our friends and I enlisted my 16 year old son to help transport everything back to the house.

My dog tore through a bunch of the original cushions (ohhhhhh that was a bad day) however I have a treasure trove of funky fabrics at my disposal and so I wrapped the cushions in some textile love. The dog tearing the cushions ended up being the best thing because it allowed me to really make the set my own. Now the cushions have a colorful, bohemian look which is much more my style.

With a few plants, some lanterns (and some candles on a timer), and pillows the space has really started to come together. We also put our patio table and umbrella back out on the other side of the patio, so now we have dining seating as well as conversation seating.

My favorite part of this space is all of the color! The kids come home from school and like to lay on the couch and just relax. Sebastian made himself some nachos the other day and just laid there eating them in total bliss :). Simon likes to sit out there and Facetime friends. I had hoped that this space would be an extension of our living room and even though our weather is mostly rainy and chilly this time of year we are already using it. I’m sure once warmer weather hits we will get even more use out of it.

We are so happy with how this new space turned out. We feel like we got more than expected for our money with even better quality than we were promised. How often does that happen?! I have already laid on the couches, wrapped up tight in several blankets listening to the rain pinging off the tile, closed my eyes and just felt so happy. I am sure this space will continue to evolve and we will make a few more changes in furnishings but for now it has become one of my favorite places in the house. Time to throw a party (once it stops raining…and gets slightly warmer :)).