EASY UPDATES FOR A GLAMOROUS GARDEN
Remember those freaky sunny days we had back in April and then the gorgeous weather for the early May bank holiday? Wasn't it amazing? It's spurred me on to smarten up our back garden a bit and I want to try a glamorous look.
I say 'try' because we're in limbo with our back garden. We tidied it up not long after we moved in seven years ago but we didn't go mad. It's always been the plan to have a kitchen extension. No point in spending a load on landscaping etc when it will end up a building site.
But that kitchen extension is taking a little (a lot) longer than we expected to materialise!
I shouldn't moan too much. The garden is a million times better now than the overgrown jungle we inherited. It was covered in brambles taller than me, so it was quite a big job to even get it where it is today.
But you can see from the pictures that it's pretty boring and bland. Look at the state of our table and chairs!
This back garden is crying out for some glamour!
Plans For the Garden Mini-Makeover
So the garden is thoroughly deserving of a mini-makeover. We have loads of work still to do to the rest of the house but enough is enough!
I'm planning on painting the battered Ikea table and chairs with some leftover Farrow & Ball Pitch Black we used on the vanity unit in our loft bathroom. We were recommended to use an exterior finish on that so it's going to come in very handy for this project. We might also paint the side of our neighbour's kitchen extension and I'm thinking of going dark there too.
My main motivation for this mini-makeover is the picture I have of me relaxing with a cup of tea - make that a G&T - in a glamorous spot. That's wishful thinking but even so I'm going to focus my updates on the seating area. Apart from a tidy up, the reality is the bottom of the garden will be staying as it is. I’m just going to have to turn a blind eye to the ugly ladders by the bog-standard shed….and to the pink slide…and to my husband’s bike. All the more reason to make it a strong G&T to blur my vision!
Moving away from binge drinking and back to the makeover, I'm planning a slightly tropical vibe combined with some bold geo prints and brass accents to punch up the glamour. What do you think of the mood board - is it sad that just looking at it makes me a bit happy?
Glamorous Garden Mood Board
Shopping List
Here's where you can buy these lovely items. I've gone a bit Maisons Du Monde mad but they had by far the best selection of outdoor cushions I could find. Hurrah for them. I found Waitrose Garden great for pots.
1. Turquoise blue outdoor cushion Maisons Du Monde
2. TALAIA white/black outdoor cushion Maisons Du Monde
3. RAMPHASTOS plant print outdoor cushion Maisons Du Monde
4. NAHIRA garden cushion in black and white geometric motif Maisons Du Monde
5. Edison style bulb light string (10) Waitrose Garden
6. Sanctuary glazed plant pot in black Homebase
7. Gardenline blue Stamford planter Aldi
8. Spun metal planters in antique brass - Waitrose Garden
9. Outdoor carpet with tropical print - Maisons Du Monde
So there you have it. And now I've blogged about it, I have to do it, right?
Do you have plans for decorating outdoors this summer? Do any of these accessories have you tempted? I'd love to hear from you in the comments and I'll update with an after pic once I've done my painting and shopping.
Keep your fingers crossed for some sunny days.
Victoria x
