This little patio area off the garage was a fun one to redo. It’s a 10 x 10 area between the garage and what was the chicken coop, when we moved in. With the help of Havenly, a new shed in place of the chicken coop, herringbone brick flooring, a fun bistro set and lounge chairs, we created a space we never want to leave in the evenings. 

We addressed the chicken coop first. We still feel kind of bad knocking it down, but chicken parents and urban farmers weren’t exactly high on our list of goals for the year…maybe one day. 😉 Replacing that area with a shed, gave us the opportunity to create more storage (as the garage will soon become the guesthouse) and clean up the landscaping a bit.

Now we have a 10 x 10 shed to hold holiday decorations, tools, winter wear, and our bikes. I never thought a shed could look cute, but once we painted it and added some fire stick plants around it (such an easy plant to take care of!), we felt like we could breathe a breath of fresh air. I guess it’s the joy of practicality and suburbia that I never thought we’d get a thrill out of. Our teenage selves would totally be laughing at us right now. 😉

We continued the desert-esque landscape around the side of the shed, adding creeping fig vines, aloe, and lady slipper plants. They’re just little babies right now, but the vines should take off pretty soon and climb up the side of the shed and fence, creating the same secret garden effect we originally loved when we saw the house, but more drought tolerant friendly for Phoenix’s super warm months.

When we bought the house there was a mix of of different pavers and brick which created the patio space. We decided to rip it all out, and redo the area with brick in a herringbone pattern. We saw a ton of this when we were in SF and it really reminds us of the charming homes in New England as well. It plays off the black and white color scheme nicely, we think.

Together with the Havenly team, we were able to design and create a charming bistro area in the newly manicured space. We wanted something simple, clean, and practical, but still stylish. Our designer Kylee, was amazing with marrying this space to the first patio area we created with them earlier in the summer. Playing with a variety of textures, we added a set of comfy West Elm nest chairs, a Crate and Barrel marble hexagon bistro table, and built around them.

The string lights add such a fun element to the space and make evenings outside much cozier. They’re a simple addition that can make any patio feel finished.

New pea gravel with a drip irrigation system makes this area very low maintenance which is a major plus for us!

Restoration Hardware printed pillows for a fun pop of pattern!

We cannot wait for this bougainvillea to take over. We have a few others sprinkled in on the opposite corner of the patio as well. The West Elm triple planter is one of our favorites for the yard. They also make similar ones for individual and larger plants.

Here’s a look at the initial rendering for the space. We ended up opting out of a rug, just given how much we ended up loving the brick. This black and beige one (from Home Depot) was a major contender though.

It’s been so exciting watching the backyard take shape. Each day we check on the plants and just can’t wait to see everything in full bloom. We still have some things we want to do in other corners of the yard, but for now this is just what we need to welcome in the fall, which is when us Arizonans truly take advantage of our backyard spaces. If you call another part of the world home, take advantage of some end of the summer sales for your patio design next season.

If you’d like to try out Havenly, they have so generously offered 25% off a full room design, with code: NEWDARLINGSNEWROOM. Happy decorating!

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Also, here’s a reminder of what the space looked like beforehand (swipe side to side), just in case you guys need a refresher. You can read more about our initial plan for the space, in a previous post here.

Check out more home posts here.

This post was made in partnership with Havenly. As always all thoughts & opinions are our own.

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