The next project...

Whether we have the talent for it or not, we are dedicated do-it-yourselfers. Or at least I am. I think I tend to drag Mark into projects that we are way over our head in. Luckily he's really handy, and it always works out.

Our next project is the back yard. Last year we didn't use our patio furniture at all. This year it seemed like a waste, so we put it out on the grass. It was a major pain to move it before mowing, and it wasn't ideal, but it seemed a shame not to enjoy the outdoors.

So this year we got moving on the back patio. For a while it was going to be a deck. But that was one do-it-yourself project that was too ambitious for us. So we went with a patio.

The patio isn't truly a do-it-yourself project. The patio was poured and stamped for us by Artistry in Concrete. But the rest will be all us.
By next summer it will be partially surrounded by a knee wall. Not just a paver wall, but one with decorative cobblestone or slate.

We're still working out the details of exactly how that will work... but we'll get there. And then we'll do landscaping. And by this time next year, we'll really be enjoying the back yard.

As for the fall... I think the dining room would look great in a nice shade of blue. And some chair rail. And crown molding.

I can hear Mark's eyes rolling from here. Living with a creative person, the do-it-yourself projects never end.