I am so happy to introduce you to my friends the Reynolds and their backyard today! They live in a truly magical place in Suisun Valley. Both Mallory and Scott are incredibly creative and handy and have committed to a life of recycling and reclaiming with their home decor whenever possible. Each time I am at their property I am filled with fresh inspiration. It also helps that these two and their four children are such GOOD people; being with them is always time well spent.

I am looking forward to taking you INSIDE their very cool house in the near future; for today here is their beautiful backyard. Be sure to check out Scott’s handcrafted custom furniture site and their Instagram feed for plenty of inspiration. And now, onto our tour!

Me: “Hi guys! Thanks for letting us travel around your property today. OK, so please tell us a little about what this backyard space was like when you first moved here?”

Scott: “The space was very different then what it is now, lots of mature plants and landscape with a pond and a bunch of unused space. That was the biggest thing that stuck out to us was the amount of unused space. So that was what we focused on when we started to redo the backyard was how to make it more functional for our family and maximize the space.”

Me: “So what would you say was the feeling or tone you were going for when you started to carve out this space?”

Scott: “Family. The tone was definitely how to make the space more functional for our family, not just the stage we are in now but also in the future. We wanted it to be a place that we could enjoy with the kids now being little and also a place that our kids would want to hangout in with their friends when they are older. And also we needed to make it safer for the kids being younger and adventurous, so we got rid of the pond first and turned it into our sitting area with the fire pit.

This space we wanted to be the living room of the backyard. Then we added the hog wire fence to keep the crazy kids secure and safe but also we didn’t want to lose out views. This year we added the stock tank pool, which is something we’ve been very excited to add to the space. Our last phase is going to be adding an outdoor kitchen area to complete the whole space.”

Me: “Oh, I cannot wait to see the outdoor kitchen! In looking back over all of your renovations and projects, what was the hardest part of pulling together your backyard space?”

Scott: “The hardest part of the whole thing is that when ever we do renovations we DIY it, and just doing all the hard labor is tough. For us, we aren’t really green thumb kind of people so figuring out the landscape design and keeping it alive has been a learning process for sure.

The easiest part is definitely enjoying it, watching the kids run around and play and laughing all together. And the most enjoyable part has been seeing it transform over the past two years. It’s come a long way and isn’t finished yet but it’s close.“

Me: “I love what you guys have done back here! It looks fabulous!  Now, please tell us a little about the playhouse. Did you build it yourselves or was it a kit? The playhouse is one of my favorite things about your backyard! I have major playhouse envy!”

Scott: “The playhouse is something that my dad and I designed and built ourselves when Avery was one and a half. The windows are the original 1932 Windows from the house, and all the appliances were built by us as well. It’s had some renovations and upgrades over the years but we love it and so do the kids. It’s been a statement piece for the backyard and adds a secret garden feel to it.”

Me: “What are a few of your favorite sources for some of the elements we see here in your backyard?”

Scott: “Our biggest thing is repurpose. We are big about reusing and repurposing things, also we love antiques and the old world feel they bring. All the stone for the fire pit were reused from the pond as well as most of the plants around that area. The feature wall in the fire pit are 80 year old grape stakes from a fence we took down on the property. Also it helps knowing someone that can build you stuff whenever you see something or find a need for. We are big about building it ourselves instead of buying it if we can.”

Me: “Ok, final question. What (if anything) do you still want to tackle in this backyard space?”

Scott: “We still have the outdoor kitchen area that we want to finish and we also want to re-sod and expand the grass area, it’s the original grass and it’s on it’s last leg. And we are working on pouring some more concrete by the pool for a lounge area where we will be adding a lounging bed and some more pot landscaping. We love the space and use it a lot, it an extension of our house and we love how cozy and functional it is now.”

Thank you to the Reynolds family for the beautiful inspiration. Are you feeling like redoing part or all of your backyard now? Or are you really feeling like you need a playhouse? I know that I am! Happy Tour Tuesday!