Ris is This Home Tour Series: Backyard Makeover

As winter passes and outdoor weather becomes more agreeable, us Phoenician's have about 4.75 weeks to enjoy the patio scene before the under-boob sweat becomes a normal way of life till Fall. Despite most days between the months of June & September varying in temps from 95 to 120 degrees (not even slightly kidding), we are still insistent of having a baller outdoor setup at home to enjoy the inner layers of hell we've chosen to live in.

before

​Now if you've been reading my past posts, you'll know that this house was my man's pick, and there were some hearty bullet points on my wish-list that somehow didn't make the cut during the house hunting process. One of those was a pre-existing pool. This persuasion seems to be a reoccurring theme in my intros, so I can confirm that my man is, in fact, handsome and outrageously persuasive (aka he feeds me and tells me I'm pretty). ​

Like everything else in the house when we moved in, the outdoor entertaining space had potential, but it just wasn't quite there yet. Here's where my head was at:

PROS:

• Built-in Grill
• Wood Burning Fire Place
• Upgraded Outdoor Fan
• Enough Room for a Pool

CONS:

• No Existing Pool ($$$)
• Stained & Uneven Concrete
• Prison Grey Cinderblock 
• Patchy Killable Grass

This space was quite daunting to renovate at first, but we made a laundry list of our "wants" and started slowly chipping away at it from least to most expensive over a 2.5 year period:

• Paint & Retile Built-in Grill & Fireplace
• Paint Cinderblock Perimeter Wall
• Plant New Flower Bed Greenery
• Cover Existing Concrete Patio with Pavers
• Remove Grass & Replace with Pet-Proof Artificial Turf
• Remove 3 Large Sissoo Trees (they are ASSHOLES, don't ever plant them)
• Install Shade Screens for all Sun Exposed Windows
• Invest in Quality Patio Furniture with Sunbrella Cushions
• Install Pool
• Plant Italian Cypress Around Perimeter of Pool
• Drink Copious Amounts of Booze in & Around the Pool

Gettin' Deep & Dirty

To get the ball rolling on backyard updates, our first action item was to cover the concrete patio with pavers. The existing cement was heavily stained and noticeably uneven; just not pretty. I was SO happy to see it go bah-bye!

Next up, was painting and retiling the built-in grill & fireplace area. The original owners spent the money to build the structure, yet left it prison grey and finished it with what looked like leftover Craigslist pool tile. Great idea, bad execution. So we contacted the HOA for the paint color of our house and picked up some neutral colored tile to match. My man and one of our dear friends spent a whole weekend on this makeover and it really came out great! Blue tile be gone!

We took about a 6-8 month break after this to contemplate our sanity and save money for the pool & turf installation. We shopped around at several pool companies, but received the best customer service to price ratio with Presidential Pools in the Phoenix area. The design process was my favorite, and I made sure to make the pool layout as margarita friendly as possible. We decided on a large baja step & benching that extends the ENTIRE length of the pool so that we could have a gaggle of friends over to sit and enjoy a cocktail. Because unless you have kiddos, who REALLY "swims" in their pools? No one, that's who.

Once we committed to the design above, my man removed the asshole sissoo trees in the grass area himself, and then... it was DIG TIME! ​

AFTER - PATIO

Once the dirty construction was over and it was time to plan the pretty shiet, I wanted to go with a color scheme that reminded me of vacation. Coastal with a hint of vintage Palm Springs. Coral & turquoise for the win. 

**Furniture & accessory sources are linked at the bottom of this post**

This gas fire pit table is the shit. I love that the fire feature can be covered to be used as a full coffee table. And to boot, fire glass and weather-proof cover are included. 

AFTER - Extended Patio, BBQ & Fireplace

after - pool

Side note: my wiener turns into an otter each summer. Don't let those short little legs fool ya!

after - finishing touches

For All Those Pesky Pool Towels

Wall Art to Pretty Up the Wall Space Between the Two Windows Facing the Pool

This Deck Box is a Perfect Discrete Way to Store All of Our Furniture Covers

Furniture & accessory sources

• All Iron Furniture with Turquoise Sunbrella Cushions, Coral Patterned Throw Pillows & Weather Resistant Covers: Arizona Iron Furniture
• Gas Fire Pit Table: Sam's Club
• Turquoise Adirondack Chairs: Home Depot
• Coral Garden Stools: Ballard Designs
• Trellis Pattern Garden Stool: Home Goods, Similar Here
• Embroidered Turtle Pillow: Home Goods, Similar Here, Here, Here & Here
• Turquoise & Coral Paisley Outdoor Pillows: Marshalls, Similar Here & Here
• Turquoise Acrylic Wine Glasses: Home Goods, Similar Here
• Clear Acrylic Stemless Wine Glasses: Target, Similar Here​
• Galvanized Metal Lanterns: Home Goods, Similar Here
• Ivory Square Metal Wall Art, Kirkland's
• Round Iron Wall Art, Hobby Lobby
• Towel Hanger: Rod Works, Similar Here
• Hanging Planters: Home Depot
• Deck Box: Sam's Club