OUTDOOR OASIS

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One of the reasons we purchased this home in the desert was the spectacular views of the McDowell Mountain range. With many of the interior projects complete we can now focus on the backyard and really take advantage of the outdoor living Arizona is known for. Well maybe not during the summer, but I tell you between October and April it is just amazing to be outside here.

Let’s start by sharing some of the before pics and the potential we saw.

Our back yard consisted of 2 areas of water features. The pool & spa right off the patio and then this section for the koi pond with small waterfall.

We love the desert landscape and all the cacti Arizona has to offer. Unfortunately the cactus in this patio space was diseased and dying when we did the home inspection. Jeff had to take it down shortly after we moved in. Once the cactus was removed we thought this space would be a great spot to extend out the patio and do some lounge chairs. That’s how we got the idea to do the concrete work.

We added 2 new patio sections. The first was directly over the covered patio where we can use some lounge style pool chairs and the second patio is for a seating section over by the koi pond.

Once the concrete was dry it was time for paint/stain. The first layer was a concrete bonding primer by Behr. We wanted a cohesive backyard with a Restoration Hardware color scheme so we went with the color Fresh Concrete by Behr. It’s a concrete stain rather than just outdoor paint so it will hold up to the elements.

With the concrete paint/stain all dry we can finally add some furniture. We love the Restoration Hardware sets and found this dupe on Wayfair Sofa and Chairs .

We loved the seating set so much we got the matching dining set as well. I styled this space with budget friendly lanterns & faux shrubs. Tied it all together with this indoor/outdoor rug from Loloi rugs. This is the Rey-02 area rug x Justina Blakeney. The concrete coffee table is from a purchase we made at Restoration Hardware a few years back, I linked a dupe below. I couldn’t be happier with how this seating are turned out.

The next section was the new concrete patio we laid and it was the prefect spot for some laying out chairs. These durable and sleek Echo chaise chairs are from ledge lounger and they really transform this space to look like a resort. We also got 2 autograph chairs by ledge lounger for the pool to sit on our baja shelf.