So I know you’ve visited many times and you may have realized how we never spent time outdoors. Well, I want to welcome you to Our Outdoor Oasis…, patio, porch, Lanai, whichever! We do happen to have a small patio out back but it is literally a concrete block. I’m pretty sure Husband and I have stepped out here maybe five times in the past four years. 🙂 Is that bad? Well I was starting to finally get cabin fever…yes it’s taken a while for it to kick in and like all my projects, one day I got a bug in my bum and decided it had to be done! I mean, we live in Florida. The weather is really nice. We should be outside. And plus, Saylor wants to play with water and I want to enjoy the sun. So here is! Oh and here is how it looked for a loooong time.
So I started with the floor. It really is kinda rough concrete…not great for little feet, so I wanted to resurface it. I decided to try out these clip tiles from Costco! They happened to be on sale for $14.99 for 9 12 x 12 of them. After lots of research and finding some at other stores, these ones seemed more durable. YES, I was concerned about them being hot and unfortunately, YES they get hot pretty fast. If you have a covering- that wouldn’t be an issue. So we made sure to wear flip flops or water shoes and I’ve also added a bit of covering, which I’ll get to in a minute. Other than that and a slight tire smell at first, these tiles are soft though and we do go out barefoot once the sun is on the other side of the house. I also want to mention we have a slight dip in one of the corners of the slab and the tile is flexible enough to follow that dip. It all snapped together just fine.
Then again, after lots of research, I found the perfect outdoor sectional at World Market and it was on sale for Memorial Day. Funny enough, once I bought it, it had rained every day since then, so now that it is Fall with less rain, we can actually enjoy it. Ahh, Florida. But it’s super comfy. Love the white color- keeps it cool in the sun and the water flows through it just fine. I also recently added a water repellent coating from Amazon and it definitely helps.
Now for shade. The patio is small. I don’t have a lot of room for an umbrella stand footprint, so I decided to get a cantilever umbrella and have it extend over our pony wall above the sectional. It just sits in the grass. It’s been a great solution for our small space and I love the color, shape and sturdiness to it. I got it with free shipping on Joss and Main!
I also added a little water pool for Saylor and I have a few other ideas to add out here. But overall this is a good start. We also have a huge eyesore of an AC unit…but I have big plans for that too! So be sure to become a house guest to get the latest blog posts and follow me on Instagram as I post more regularly on there too.
So next time you’re here, we’ll go out and enjoy the outdoors! I hope you’ve enjoyed this home tour! If you want to see my Fall Dining Room or Marble Bathroom Reno, check them out too! Cheers!