We have a small little backyard that used to look like this:

Nondescript patch of grass, concrete walk from house to garage. Eric insisted last year that we take out the lawn and put in a patio instead, which I was initially very against. Where will the kids have lawn to play? I asked. I eventually relented, and I am ever so glad that I did.

We ripped out the grass and had a paver patio installed.  I  (or, erm, the contracters) used two different colorways and mixed them together–Borgert Holland stone in North Shore and Autumn Blend.  It’s laid in a herringbone pattern and edged in a solid color charcoal stone. This took a lot of work and I am so happy with the results.

Along the side are 3 aspen trees-typically you can’t plant aspens in a yard because they crop up everywhere and take over, but since we have stone and the neighbors do as well, it should be fine. I can’t wait for them to leaf out and start rustling in the breeze.

Along the garage wall are shade friendly plants-hosta (generic, but they work and look good), columbine, begonia, forest grasses.

The sail shade  and furniture are from Costco and have been great.  It took a few doings to figure out the best way to hang the shade, and it now is just right.  The furniture is modular which is nice because we can shift it around as needed to take advantage of the shade and also for various entertaining needs.

We’ve already been out here much, much more than we ever were last year. Still to come upgrades: restaining the fence, planting pots along the brick retaining wall behind the furniture, and an improved dining corner since it’s harder to eat while sitting on the couch than we thought it would be.

So I’ll say it here, in public, but JUST THIS ONCE.

Honey, you were right.