A California Outdoor Living Room

This post is sponsored by World Market.


[dropcap2_large]L[/dropcap2_large]ast month I shared a modern tropical moodboard to help guide and inspire me with my indoor-outdoor planning, and since I’ve made major progress. I’m happy to say that for the most part all of the work is done! Today I’ve partnered with World Market to help make my vision come to life and to share some of the major progress we’ve made in our side yard, as well as some tips I’ve learned along the way. Do you remember what the yard looked like before? Hint: see above photos.

Renting a home is so tricky sometimes, and while our landlord is very laid-back and loves to see us take charge with projects and be creative, we have very much crossed most people’s line of investing in a rental property v.s. owning your own home. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is one of the highest priced real estate markets in the United States right now, perhaps even the world. Buying a simple starter home here would mean a sale price of well over a million dollars, which sadly isn’t in our budget unless we’d like to give up the quality of life we enjoy. We’ve looked at other rentals but haven’t been happy with the value v.s. cost ratio. Simply put, we’re not ready to be house-poor before we’re actually house-poor so we’ve vowed to make improvements to be happy where we are.

The side yard has been a big work-in-progress for us since we moved in over 7 years ago, and while it has never been officially completed, it has been what we needed when we needed it. It has housed stock tank swimming pools, sandboxes, gardens, and judging by what we dug up in the dirt when we had to level it so many other projects long before we lived here. Now that we’re ready to settle down, we’ve put in hours and hours of work to finish the job and aside from a few finishing touches, it’s ready for us to sit back and enjoy.


Above: Clear Bulb String Lights, Small Assorted Succulents, Praiano Outdoor Collection, Fringed Hermosa Outdoor Pillow.

The plan I had in mind has so far gone off with only a few issues, mainly that we had no experience in actually installing pavers like I wanted. Maybe I’ll share a behind-the-pavers post later, but I still don’t feel like we are knowledgeable enough to do a how-to by far. Since we are only renting, we try to stick to a lower budget with any improvements we make to the house or yards, while still maintaining the type of aesthetic and quality that we would want for a home that we actually own. We did our best to level the soil and double-lined under the pavers with a natural weed blocker fabric.

Although the sedum seeds have not yet sprouted to grow in between the pavers, we’re happy that the bulk of the work is done and are excited to share our progress.


My takeaways and tips:

  1. Have a plan. It’s best to do lots of research about similar projects ahead of time and to have a well-thought out plan so that you can do the bulk of the work over an appropriate timeline. Your plan should include how your space will function, and what type of look you’re going for. Include lists and estimates for any larger projects, and a mood board for the final look.
  2. Make a materials list. You will probably make lots of trips to the hardware store, but we could have cut down on quite a few if we had planned farther ahead and rented a big truck. I hauled a ridiculously heavy load (960lbs) of pavers home in the back of my small SUV quite a few times. Measure, re-measure, and measure again to estimate how much you will need and try to do it all in one big trip. If you have little ones, save yourself some sanity and hire a sitter for a few hours while you sort it out.
  3. Don’t order decorative items too soon. Or have a place to store your goods before they’re ready to assemble. Spring here in California has been full of rain. I’ve had to keep covers on my furniture almost every week since it arrived a few weeks ahead of our project schedule.
  4. Complete large projects first. We had to wait until we finished our grid paver area before we could bring in the furniture. It sat in other areas of the yard patiently waiting it’s move to a final place. Do any larger projects you need to first like pavers, painting, etc. before bringing in any decorative items.
  5. Bring in furniture, then decorative items. Just like decorating a room inside your home, bring in the larger furniture before going crazy with decorative items or plants. You’ll want to see how it fits in the space before buying lots of accessories you might not end up using.


Shop The Look:

What are some of your favorite ways to bring the indoors out?

This post was sponsored by World Market, a place I’ve loved and shopped at for years. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so much for helping to support the sponsors that make life here a little sweeter.

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Comments

Responses to “A California Outdoor Living Room”

  1. Neha Saini

    You have designed your home perfectly. (y)

  2. This looks unbelievably cozy. I feel like it’s perfect for the California weather since it never gets too cold to sit outside at night <3 Some twinkling lights and some of that rose and I'd be good to go for hours!

  3. Beautiful, I love it. I live in the Bay Area as well (Marin), and I’m currently in the process of redesigning my front deck. I’m definitely working towards a similar aesthetic – it feels so right for this climate!

  4. Neely Moldovan

    That outdoor space is stunning! I love everything about it. Such a great place to relax!

  5. It’s great that you’ve been able to work on making your vision a reality. It definitely looks like a nice place to hang out comfortably!

  6. Looks amazing! We are working on moving in a year and plan on having an outdoor oasis. Lots of great ideas here, thanks.

  7. I love this!! What an inviting and beautiful side yard set up! Can’t go wrong with World Market ❤️

  8. I’m loving that outdoor set! This so makes me wish our World Market location hadn’t closed!

    1. Oh no! That’s too bad that it closed, if it makes you feel any better, I ordered it all online. 🙂

  9. so lovely!!! very well done!

  10. Such a gorgeous outdoor living room! I am totally envious of the weather! We still have about 4 feet of snow surrounding us and although the weather is slightly warmer I think winter will be here a while longer.

  11. This outdoor living looks like something you would see in a magazine! I love the furniture!

    xx,
    Amanda || http://www.fortheloveofglitter.com

    1. Thank you so much, a lot of hard work went into it for sure. 🙂

  12. Wow this is such a stunning setting! I love everything you’ve done with this.

    xo,
    Steph
    trendyinindy.com || @trendyinindy

  13. Stephanie S

    This is awesome and perfect for my indoor sunroom!!! Love the furniture and ordering a set myself today! Also Bay Area resident!

    1. Ahh, I hope you love the set! We love ours and use them all the time. I did scotchguard the cushions though, and am crazy about keeping them covered in the rain.

  14. I have to say that I started to visit your website after finding a very interesting post about some info that I was looking for. I have to admit that after receiving some of these great post on my email and reading through them, I have found on this blog a huge source of valuable information that helps me climb to a higher level everyday.

  15. Danielle

    Hi! I love this set! Did you add a stain to the wood?

    1. No, but it is toned down a little in photos. It is a nice color in person but it does lose a bit of it’s warmth over time. Teak oil brightens it back up really easily.

  16. Nice outdoor room.I ilke a life to live like that,Hope one day i can buy new house.

  17. This is cool when we can setup living room like this.

  18. when i read this article i want to live in CALIFORNIA so mcuh

  19. good decore I will do like this too. thank for sharing

  20. lovely outdoor set. looking at it I am gonna change the look of my house soon..

  21. Look like I won’t need to go out if I have such this living room at home! Well done!!

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