After:
- Built up the garden retaining walls to be one height the whole length
- Built a courtyard outside our bedroom window
- We ripped up the old deck and all the old paving
- Hired a Dingo Mini Loader and levelled the whole area
- Built a retaining wall and steps
- Built a raised garden bed and water feature along the side fence
- Filled in the area with dirt and ensured that the area sloped away from the house
- Removed old shed and built two new sheds
- Moved the carport beside the house
- Replaced the hot water storage system with a wall mounted instant gas heater
- Made our own pavers using a mould and concrete
- Paved the area behind the sheds
- Installed drainage along the garden wall
- Rendered all of the brick work
- Painted the fences
- Planted garden beds, including hedging along the fences
Before:
After:
Before:
After: 
Before:
After:
Still to do:
- Lots and lots unfortunately, the water feature above still needs to connected and attached properly including rendering the caps on top of the feature.
- Our path leading around the side of the house (including our little courtyard, pictured below) still needs drainage and paving.
- Our bedroom window will be replaced with french doors so we can walk out into our courtyard and enjoy morning coffee.
- The back veggie garden bed needs to be built up and new lattice placed across the whole back fence for climbing veggies
- The area with the black weed matting (pictured below) is to be paved using the old bricks stacked up in the foreground and a retaining wall will be built (and rendered) along three sides (the fence, the garden and the left hand side of the picture)
- Gazebo will be built over this courtyard
Still more to do includes:
- Replacing the existing pergola
- Rendering the whole house
- Painting all the gutters and trim on the house
- Putting lattice up in front of the sheds and around the water feature, growing a climbing plant like Chinese Star Jasmine
- Painting the chook house (old cubby), building a chicken run off the side and buying some chickens
- Moving the gates on the side of the house
- .... and lots more little things
We hope to finish a lot of this over the next year but at the moment home improvement has slowed right down due to Nick's work commitments and my lack of enthusiasm for digging!!!
Hope you all have a great week and thank you to everyone who visits and leaves comments, I really do appreciate all of the advice and encouragement! xx
wow..nice work..
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful transformation! I would want to be outside all the time with a backyard like yours! Your hard work really paid off, it's a lovely space!
ReplyDeleteKat :)
My gosh. You've already made such HUGE improvements and there's still more coming! Your to-do list is daunting, but I can't wait to see it when it's done. It's going to look like a Jamie Durie design!
ReplyDeleteWow Nellie, you guys have done so much work!! Your back garden is looking so gorgeous and I love the sound of what is to come, how lovely to have your own gazebo!! I am so envious as our back garden is an awful mess! Good luck with your still to-do list. ~ Tina xx
ReplyDeleteMy oh my you've accomplished so much. It's lovely and I would live out there for as long as the weather permits! Great job.
ReplyDeleteHi Nellie, your backyard is looking so good - you guys have done so much and it's such a great transformation. Your petunias looks so pretty - that's what I need for our backyard, some bursts of colour. Glad you had fun camping x
ReplyDeleteWhat a great change into a wonderful outdoor living space. Despite having things to do you have achieved so much! I know what it's like. We have been working outside lately as it's a bit cheaper than doing reno inside. I love looking back at photos and seeing the changes.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
wow!! so much work and still not done.. it looks amazing.. flows together so nicely..
ReplyDeleteNellie thank you for stopping by over at my blog, your are a dear the kinds words I will treasure.
ReplyDeleteYour yard is shaping up and looks soooo! inviting. You are going to have a perfect Vacation/Holiday place right there at home :)
Makes me want to tear into my back yard, I have a few ideas. Post some of what creative things you are doing inside, or some decorative things you are doing for outside :)
I am sure you have already started to entertain outside and everyone is I am sure loving it, keep up the great work.
G'day
"Dore"
Gosh Nellie, that is amazing work and I can't believe you even made your own pavers!!!! The backyard is looking fantastic. I love the rendered wall with the buxus hedges it's so effective. I will have to do a post on our front and backyard which aren't finished yet but have had major renos in the last year!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing,
Jxx
I know you have a lot left to do, but it really looks great already - and to know that you did it yourselves must be so satisfying!
ReplyDeleteThe french doors off of your bedroom will be so lovely - I;ve always wanted french doors in my bedroom :)
This is insanely awesome! Try to take a load off and jump on the trampoline in the middle of all that work, though!
ReplyDeleteYour backyard looks great, Nellie! And it also looks like you put in a lot of hard work! How nice it will be when you can step out of your french doors and enjoy your morning coffee!
ReplyDeleteYour backyard looks incredible! And it's HUGE! That's a lot of maintenance, but you're doing a great job. Can't wait til the weather gets nicer here so we can work outside too!
ReplyDelete