Jaime Costiglio

build - paint - sew

Summer 2017 Outdoor Home Tour

A special hello to you readers coming from Cassie’s home at Cassie Bustamante summer home tour.  Her home is always filled with fun surprises and Summer is no exception!  If you haven’t visited her please check it out, I’ll be right here waiting.
 
As part of the Seasonal Simplicity home tour series hosted by April at House by Hoff and Krista at The Happy Housie I’m here today to share with you our outdoor summer home tour.  This week 25 DIY and home bloggers will give you a beautiful glimpse into their summer homes with tons of inspiration.
 
outdoor summer patio lounge furniture

A summer home tour of our primitive farmhouse exterior patio space. Come see where we spend our summer relaxing poolside in this quiet space.

  • patio lounge space
  • tiki torch installation secret
  • DIY trestle style coffee table

seasonal simplicity summer blogger series

PATIO SPACE

Naturally summer brings us outdoors so I’m focusing on the back patio space.  I recently completed a makeover where I swapped out the giant trestle dining table for a more casual and comfortable lounge area.
diy outdoor dining table
 
I built the outdoor dining table in August of 2014 and we loved it, it seats 10 adults easily so plenty of space.  But as we’ve lived in this home for a few years now I’ve come to the realization that there was no comfortable lounging furniture on the patio.
 
outdoor lounge area back patio
 
The number of times we entertain where we need an enormous table are few so I decided to replace the big table with a sofa and swivel chairs.  And I built a sturdy truss style coffee table to fit the center of the space.  So much better and so much more enticing.  We typically eat dinner on the upper patio near the kitchen where I built a round outdoor dining table for that space.
 
This new lounge furniture has already gotten so much use and as summer goes along we will be out there every chance we get.
 
backyard primitive farmhouse with pool
 
The patio is next to the pool for reference.
 
lanterns on patio bluestone steps

TIKI TORCHES

As usual every summer I bring out the tiki torches.  They’re super inexpensive and help with the bugs at night.  So I’ll show you my secret tiki torch installation tool.
 
tiki torch installation
 
I’m sure I’m not the first one to use a planting auger to make holes for their tiki torch posts.  Because every summer home tour should include bug control and lighting 😉
planting auger to install tiki torches
 
This probably needs no instruction but you drill a hole into the ground with the auger.  Then pull up to get all the loose dirt out.  Finally insert the tiki torch post and firmly pack the dirt around the post.
 
Another option if you want a more portable tiki torch or don’t have a place to insert the post in the earth is this stand idea I made here:
 
diy portable tiki torch stand

DIY COFFEE TABLE

Back to the patio and the diy truss coffee table.
 
outdoor summer patio furniture
 
I built the coffee table using the lumber from the old dining table and I made free plans here so you can build it too.  It’s a solid coffee table that provides a nice anchor to all the lounge furniture.  No summer home tour would be complete with featuring the gathering space.
 
outdoor summer home tour patio makeover
 
So just for kicks, because everyone loves a good before and after, I thought I would share a photo from the back patio when we moved in 4 years ago:
 
koi pond before
 
The previous owners had installed a koi pond.  As beautiful and magnificent as koi are I actually didn’t want anything to do with the expense of maintaining a koi pond.  So we relocated the koi to a friend’s pond.  Then we drained the whole thing and pulled up the liner, lights and pump and filled it all in so now we have the perfect grassy area for the fire pit.
 
summer home tour patio area with koi pond filled in
 
It’s amazing how much you can transform a space with a little planning and a lot of work!  Because at the end of the day it’s definitely all worth it.
 
I hope you enjoyed my outdoor home tour for summer.

Be sure to stop by all the bloggers participating in the Seasonal Simplicity home tour.

SHOP THIS POST:
 

 
Source list:
 
– Hampton Bay Spring Haven sofa: The Home Depot
– Hampton Bay Spring Haven swivel chair: The Home Depot
– sofa & chairs cushion slipcovers: The Home Depot

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Comments

  2. Amy says

    Your back patio looks so nice. Love your new table and that you recycled your old one into it! Those swivel chairs look so comfy and that is so smart to have them on swivels. Beautifully done as always!

    Reply

    • jcprime1 says

      Thank you Amy. You are correct those swivel chairs are everything! My kids particularly think they're fun but honestly they are such a great converstaion area solution AND we can see the pool with ease so I feel safe.

      Reply

    • jcprime1 says

      Thanks Jen. Agree – the truss coffee table is just that much better and we can still eat off it so #winning. Send me some Texas sun and temps soon!

      Reply

    • jcprime1 says

      Thank you Jennifer. It is dreamy but some days I feel like it's a jungle! I do love the greenery and I don't mind the weekly trimming and weeding – small price to pay. I'm still amazed at how everything just grows and grows and grows.

      Reply

  7. Cristina Garay says

    Your outdoor space is beautiful! The new lounging area is the perfect spot to relax. Love how you shrank the table! 😀
    Thanks for the Tiki torch installation info, I need to do that, just yesterday mosquitoes had a feast on me while working outdoors. :/

    Reply

  14. Botanic Bleu says

    Jaime,
    Your seating area on the terrace is so inviting… much more so than the koi pond. Great job restructuring and redesigning the space. All of the greenery (hostas are some of my favorites) under the big tree look lush. Here in north Texas, my yard never looks that lush. Summers are just too hot!

    Judith

    Reply

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