Well… Plans sure do change at the drop of a dime, don’t they? We truly thought our new build would have at least been started by now. We were hoping we would be in there doing our finishing work by mid-summer. And moving in by the end of summer. But, we finally admitted to ourselves this week that we will for sure be living here at this rental throughout the summer, even if we started it tomorrow.
Another reason to hold off building was made because of none other than The CORONUS! Even if our crews could start tomorrow, we are just afraid that too many things are up in the air as far as the economy. What if we get the basement dug and there was a halt in progress? What if we get started and material costs skyrocket? If we build it now, and material costs drop, we will have wasted lots of money. Things are just too uncertain at this point, so we will be waiting for a few months to see what everything does.
In the meantime…. we either twiddle our thumbs, or we create outdoor spaces where we want to hang out in. (We approved all of this from our landlord.)
If you’ve been around here long, or watch us over on Instagram, you know we LOVE to be outside. Any day that is nice enough here in Indiana, we sure as hell aren’t going to sit inside. At our previous homes, we’ve had several different outdoor spaces. We had a fire pit, a pergola, screened porch, porch swing, gazebo, etc. And, depending on our mood, that’s where we relaxed at the end of the day. Coffee was spent on the porch or under the pergola, happy hour was spent on the front porch swing, and television shows were watched on the screened porch.
Having a nice space to relax is a necessity for both Deb and I. We decided since we would be here all summer, we may as well make some of the areas a place where we loved to be.
First up… we needed a shed. There is no garage or shed here at the rental so that was a must. We did the math. Hiring someone to mow the lawn was going to be way more expensive than buying an inexpensive resin shed. We will be able to sell it when we move and even get some of our money back. It was on clearance and already put together so we got it for almost half price. So that decision was a no brainer.
After purchasing it online, we ran to pick it up. Social distancing due to The CORONUS meant we had to unload it ourselves when we got home. Deb using a 2-wheel cart and me pushing, we soon figured out that it wasn’t too bad to maneuver. We found the best place for it was leaned up against the back of the house.
The decision to put the shed up against the house meant we needed to buy a load of stone to make a level surface. We bought an entire load of 11-F packing stones for $16 at our local stone quarry. And unloaded it along the back of the house. We used the broken bricks from the fire pit as a base and a filler for the low spots so we could use less stone. And we used cardboard to cover and kill the grass and weeds underneath. That part isn’t necessary as the stone usually kills all of that, but we had the cardboard so that’s what we did.
After unloading the stone, we used a tamper and a 4′ level to make sure it was all nice and packed down and level. This stone pretty much stays in place once it settles. (Sorry about the blurry pics… they are the only ones I had.)
Remember, we are doing this backyard makeover on a budget. Therefore, we are trying to use everything that is here at the rental to create this backyard space. I found a few penis shaped bricks ???? at the back of the property around a janky flower bed. We will be incorporating those penises in this makeover somewhere. ????
The load of stone for the shed sparked another idea to make a grill area. Deb actually had the back legs of one of her grills propped up on bricks because the yard is so un-level. ???? So we will be using the rest of that stone to make a pad for our grills.
We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being able to walk outside and grab our meals. I have a method that I have used for the last several years and it’s basically fool proof. I will be talking about that soon. It takes a little more work in the beginning but after that’s done, you basically sit back and watch your veggies grow. I have that all planned out as far as where it will be in the yard, what we will be planting, etc. Stay tuned for that in the next couple of weeks.
We LOVE hanging out by a fire. I already mentioned the janky fire pit that was here when we moved in. The bricks were in terrible shape. They were all broken and kept falling over into the fire. So we recycled those as the filler and base of the shed. Now we need to find something that looks a little better to make a different fire pit.
We have a step outside of our back door. That steps down onto a few limestone pieces that were removed from The First State Bank here in our downtown area. I have no clue how or why they are here but I remember when they were taken off of that building. Somewhere along the line, one of the renters must have gotten their hands on them. Those will be recycled and used in our design.
I LOVE having a clothesline and I use them all of the time for sheets, blankets, bedding, etc. That will be spruced up with a coat of paint that we already have on hand here.
We aren’t counting our shed as part of the budget because we will be selling it when we leave. So far… we have $16 in this backyard makeover.
I am SO EXCITED for this project. I explained over on Instagram that Indiana weather is really dumb. It may seem like we are bouncing back and forth between this project and the camper. And, we are. When it isn’t raining, we will be working on the backyard. When its cold and rainy, we will switch gears and go to the camper.
Oh… If you would like to see what we did to our backyard at the House on Winchester, I have shared it several times. Deb and I built a pergola and I talked about our plans, when we started it, an update mid-build, another mid-build update, and how I decorated it for Summer. Those posts also show you how we used packing stone in our design of that backyard, too. And, how we recycled concrete.
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I’d say the owners of the house are really lucky to have you guys landscaping their backyard.
Awww.. thanks!
I am so excited to see what you do.. I’m a widow and on a fixed income.. I love to do outside projects .. I want a garden.. don’t have a clue how to start..I will be anxiously waiting..
Love you girls
Oh this is so easy. Like I said, it takes a bit of work in the beginning, but you basically sit back and relax. And, wait on your veggies to grow.
Can’t wait to see all your projects! Have fun& keep dreaming your dreams????
Thank you!
Anything you girls put you hands to turns out “Model Home Beautiful!”
Can’t wait to see!!
Oh geez… thank you!
Wow it’s going to be lovely!! I really like the shed too!! (Too bad the owner wouldn’t count the cost towards the rent). The stones are incredible! Can hardly wait to see the next installment!!
Thank you! I’m excited about this project.
Great job! You two work so hard!!!
Oh thank you!
Can you give me the measurements of the buffet table from last year that took like 30 minutes?? I love that, but I’m sure it will take me more like 3 days! Thank you!!
hahaha we don’t have it anymore. (We left it at the old house.) But, you can make it any size you want.
Can’t wait to see the outcome. I always treated a rental like it was mine. I had to live there. Why not make it comfortable? Take care,
Thank you… that’s how I feel. The only people who would be miserable would be us. LOL
I so look forward to your progress! I love new ideas. You both are amazing and fun!
Thank you…I’m excited about it.
I am so excited to see this backyard makeover on a budget. We have needed a backyard makeover for years, but only have a small budget. I can’t wait to learn from the best. ????
Awww… thank you. We are excited about it.
I can’t wait to go on this outside journey with you both. You amaze and inspire me to get creative as well.! Can’t wait to see your garden project! I don’t know what it is about this week, but I’m definitely feeling hopeful! Love ya both!
Thank you so much. I’m feeling hopeful, too. Maybe it’s just that we fell into a routine and accepted everything as it is.
Would you PLEASE move into one of my rentals!?! I’d give you an excellent deal!!!
But you’d have to move to Kansas while your house is being built ????
Always enjoy following you two!
hahahahahah awww..thank you.
I very much look forward to see how you plant your garden! Do you start with seeds or use existing plants?
I Love every idea and makeover that you do! You two are so very talented
Thanks… we buy existing plants.
[…] you’ve missed any of the other projects, I shared some before pictures when we brought in our shed, and then when we uncovered the large limestone pieces and incorporated […]
[…] Backyard Makeover on a Budget – Click here. […]
[…] you several times that we will be here at the rental for awhile. We have been sprucing up the backyard on a budget because we will for sure be here all summer. We gave our fire pit a makeover and made a […]
[…] this backyard here at the rental a makeover since we will be here for awhile. We brought in a little shed that we will sell when we leave. And we uncovered some limestones from an old bank here in our […]
What Stone Quarry do you use? My sister is local to you and is looking for good deal on Sand~
By the way You and Deb would be top of my list if you ever decided to rent in home in Wapakoneta Ohio, I would kick any of my renters out just to let you live there!
hahahah awww thanks… and we use Stone Street in Hoagland.
[…] of the budget because we will be selling that when we leave. But, I talked about our shed and our plans for this backyard a few weeks ago. So far, we uncovered some limestone pieces and used them as a landing spot […]