the backyard and pool reveal!

the two readers of my blog have called... they want photos of the backyard since the pool has been completed. and who am i not to oblige my in-laws. so i headed outside (covered with bug spray and long sleeves to ward off any west-nile-virus carrying mosquitoes...yes, i'm paranoid) this evening and took a few shots.

but before i show you all the photos of the finished pool and patio, let's remember back a few months ago to what the backyard looked like when the pool was first dug.

 DURING

as you can see the pool fit perfectly in a little niche up close to the house, surrounded by an L-shaped patio.

and drumroll please.... somebody, anybody......pixel?

THE AFTER

hang on to your hats..... there's a lot of photos coming up. but remember, you (and you know who you are) asked for it.

the pool as seen from the patio

a closeup of the waterline tile

the spillway. it makes a soothing, bubbling sound that doesn't drown out conversation.

and now for the patio. we searched high and low for outdoor furniture. everything that was comfortable was out of our budget (i had issues with paying more for an outdoor sofa than my indoor restoration hardware sofa.... call me crazy). and if it was in our budget, it was, well, ugly.

we finally found a gorgeous set in a local store  but discovered that we were only looking at the price tag for one section of the set. the price tripled when we added up all the sections. we left with the maker of the set and model/style. we found it online for about half the price with free shipping and no tax. they quoted me a 4-6 week delivery time (a little disappointing). i was ecstatic when it showed up in 2 weeks! i loved also that i could pick out the fabric color. this is sunbrella's canvas palm. it was just what i wanted. i found the black and white pillows at joss and main.

the sofas and ottomans can be moved around in a multitude of ways. and if we get a storm i lift up the ottoman cushion and store the pillows in the base.

 we had the sheers from last year's end-of-summer sale at restoration hardware. i bought black outdoor curtains to pair with them.

we got creative with our hardware. we went to home depot and found plumbing pipes. steve anchored them to the ceiling as our rods. i love them. and they were about 1/10 of the price of outdoor curtain rods... another bonus.

we weren't sure how we were going to hold back the curtains given that our posts are brick. again, we got a little creative. we found rope at home depot. steve knotted it using his boyscout skills from 35 years ago. way to go, honey. and we used metal clips to hold the curtain tiebacks.

i found these two green garden stools at ross (for $29 apiece!) when steve and i were out one night running errands.i knew they'd be perfect for the patio.

one day my neighbor rang my doorbell to let me know that another neighbor had these blue adirondacks out by her curb with a FREE sign on them. she said, i don't have room for them, but you do! SCORE! i plan on spray painting them when it cools off. still a blue, but maybe a little darker.

pretty blue lantern.

purslane.... my new favorite, mainly because it hasn't died yet... it actually thrives in the texas heat. it blooms pretty dark pink flowers all day long and then they go to sleep every night.

 

we found this tapioca tree at a local nursery. i love it.  the leaf stems are pink.

 

and there you have it.... the backyard reveal! we're gearing up for our first holiday weekend with the new backyard. we've got friends comng over saturday to swim and cook out. should be fun. have a great long weekend!