New fence & new/old chairs.
Look! It’s a fence! We knew we couldn’t do it ourselves, so we broke down and paid someone to come and install a fence for us. It makes a massive difference, despite the rest of the garden still being no more than a few clumps of grass on a plot of dirt. I can’t even describe how wonderful it is to go back there and not have to look at anyone else’s plots of dirt and patches of grass, and to just be limited to our own.
I know it’s not some incredible modernist construction, but it’s a little bit of privacy and containment. Fences are expensive to have installed (much more so than you’d think), so there was no way we could do a great horizontal cedar one or anything like that. This one will go gray eventually, since we’re not going to treat it with any preservatives. I’ll like it more when it’s gray.
This is the other side of the yard, warts and all. The cement that I want to cover with pea gravel, the too-small (yet also too large) fake-old porch, the awful white door with the fake muntins (oh, how I loathe fake muntins!), etc. Gross. This needs a lot of work, I know. It’ll get there.
We also drove out to Westchester to pick up a couple of original Knoll Hardoy/BFK butterfly chairs that I found on Craigslist. They have new covers made out of Mechoshade that’s safe to keep outside. The cloth has a really nice weave that reads as a light gray from a distance. I love these chairs! They’re going to look great with our new table.
A little at a time…
Wow! What an amazing difference!!!!! I can totally understand your glee.
And those chairs are fabulous. Good luck with the rest of the yard.
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I can’t believe the difference since when I last saw it! It looks so much better, and is only going to improve. I spent my whole vacation doing lawn work, rather than coming to visit you. I’m thinking possibly when school gets out at the end of June. Let me know what you think.
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Nice! I know it still feels ages away, but it really will come together now that you’ve limited your view to….um, your space. And the chairs are great–you’ve got all the chairs from that dream Domino plan now, right?
I have to say, I spent this weekend around the Hudson River Valley and completely fell for it. I’d been to Rhinebeck once ages ago, but this weekend we were at Bard and then in Hudson and driving around and it was AWESOME. I can see why you’d move up there; we were ready to move on the spot. Plus I bought a “Good Form” aluminum side chair for my office for $30. Sweet.
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wow, that fence really does make a difference!
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Adam: June is fine! Just let me know when you’re coming, and I’ll lay some blankets down in the clawfoot for you. ;)
Kate: I love the Hudson Valley! I grew up in Rhinebeck, and though the city I live in now is a VERY different place (quite far south of Bard/Hudson, and on the other side of the river), seeing the Hudson River from my window makes me happy every day.
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I just couldn’t believe he architecture and the views! What a whimsical area.
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the fence looks great & makes such a difference. slowly, little by little….the best way to go!.
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Did you see the Modular Garden post at Desire to Inspire on Sunday? Smacked of your dream-yard post a while back… Looking good!
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Sara: I did not see it (I am woefully behind on my blog-reading), but I’m off to take a look now. Thank you!!
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Woah. The photos that desire to inspire posted from modular garden? You must be swooning over them, just like I am. GORGEOUS.
I love your new fence – horizontal planks and cedar fences are beautiful, but I know how expensive they are and your fence looks great.
I love checking in on your progress because we’re working on the outside too! My limited gardening attempts have not made much of a difference yet.
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WOW!!!! What a difference. It looks great!
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The yard looks great so far, and I know it will only get better. Do you know if your fence was installed using the existing posts from the chainlink fence? We have a chainlink and I have been wanting to put up something less “porous”, without the extra work of digging post holes and setting cement…
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I just did the same thing!
We then used smoothed stones for a patio area and are planning to sod the rest in a few weeks so the puppies have something to run on.
This is my first yard so I’m super excited, too.
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Great chairs & slings! I must ask… what are muntins??
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Nicole: Yes, I’ve favorited half of those modular gardens! Amazing. I’ll be watching what you do with your gardn. You have a great space!
Vicki: Yes, we had it attached to the existing chain link fence, but the guy did have to dig a few holes and set new posts for extra stability due to the extra height, as well as on either side of the new gate.
read me: Muntins are the strips of wood that divide multi-pane windows.
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The fence was a GREAT idea, and the chairs are a fabulous start in the yard.
I recently saw a photo of a very clean, modern backyard made of a small grid of walk/pathways composed of small stones (loose, not set into the earth) with sections of plants in the resulting in-between squares. Sorry for the vague description – I wish I’d bookmarked it for you as I thought of your yard immediately when I saw it.
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