How to make a patio with mulch...

New patio area filled in and decorated... well you know how it is with me, today is day 1 of the decorating process and there is a good chance that I will wake up in the middle of the night and come up with a new plan! First up is this birdcage planter, I can't take the credit for this my sister Molly made one first and then I rushed home and turned one of my birdcages upsidedown and waalaa! It has a coco liner cut to fit inside of it and then some packing peanuts in the bottom to keep the weight light. Right now it is really just "holding" some violets they aren't planted in there, it's still too early for planting here so I picked up a 6 pack to show off the birdcage. I hung it with twine and a shepards hook. and ofcourse a little bling on the bottom courtesy of a crystal from a chandi!
Wide shot of the area I just mulched... I created this spot 3 years ago for Johns graduation party and we loved it, it was directly under a huge pine tree but this year I expanded the area and so now its half and half. There are 2 chandis with tealight candles in them hanging from the tree, they hang over the couch and chairs, if I could find a way to hang them over the dining table I would have more! They look so pretty lit at night! In the past I have hung them from shepherds hooks around the yard for awhile there it took me 20 min. to light all of the candles around the house! yes, a little extreme! :)

I was trying to show you how big this area really is, it took 2 yards of mulch but still cheaper than bricking the whole thing... that is my dream patio and maybe one day we can do that back here but this works great for now. It gives a defined space and a cozy place to relax together. I just layed landscape cloth and actually some tarps down and mulch on top. The tarp has held up for 3 years and I'm hoping the landscape cloth lasts even longer.

I lined the top shelf of the 'hutch' with insulators and iron stars that we used for swag hooks in our last house.

A couple of old crocks and restaurant plates and the toolbox picnic holder I showed a while back.

Strike a yoga pose!!!

I know I can't really leave the plates and everything for eating out here all of the time so it's nice that I can just carry them inside in the box. It's not light by any means though, this box was already heavy without a set of dishes and whatnot in it... but I love it!!!

This couch is a future project, hence the draping... the back of it is coming apart and so I have plans for it soon! I actually put it in the firepit once and then my brilliant plan (well I hope it's brilliant) came to me so I pulled it out of there-quick! It's super comfy and right under that tree in the summer it's the perfect place to relax!

Chandi one, hanging from twine and a branch... The laundry tub will be filled with flowers as soon as possible.

Canning jars filled with more candles, can you ever have too many candles?

Another shot of the planter, I can't wait to have flowers in it that will trail down, I love, love, love flowers everywhere! Now to hire someone to do the watering ;) GET REAL! I am the bonafide waterer around here! So that is 'patio' #1 onto #2 later this week, Cam and I already moved the picnic table that my dad made us a while back to that area so I'll dress it up and see what I can dig out of the barn to decorate with!

I'm linking this up to Tutorial Tuesday and White Wednesday stop by those parties if you get a chance, they're great fun!

Thanks for stopping by, Theresa xoxo