Tag: home improvement

I love to hang out with my kids in the pool.. And their friends and so on.. For hours and hours. And, as you may know, I’m the “pool gal”. So I deleaf, de green and in general try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to keep my pool beautiful.

I decided that the pool area was missing a little something…. It lacked that feeling of “oasis”. It was plain Jane. Now nothing takes “oasis” from me faster than the thought of paying someone to renovate, so I tried to come up with less expensive concept. I settled on re arranging existing furniture to de clutter the patio and creation of an accent wall with bright paints and Mexican tiles.

Step 1 Choose the Color

I decided to go bright blue… Like the color of painters tape… At first it seemed too drastic, but by morning, I was in love!

Boring! well nothing like a blank canvas to start with!

ok.. it didnt look this blue in the can… iI told myself it would be ok since i live in Miami , and we paint walls lime green here.

one coat done, one to go… at this point i honestly thought i had heatstroke…

Step 2- How do you Tile?

Well I went on line… And as I only wanted an accent line, this was easy. Choose tile, grout and go!

I got beautiful tile from “Direct from Mexico” with free shipping and great customer service.

a 20$ tile cutter will cut tile pretty easily.. if you just need to cut a few

leftover patio tile in the back and the mexican tile in the front

this tile from Direct From Mexico is so pretty!!! happy, happy, happy!

Step 3- Decorate

I repurposed a bench and painted it the same blue as the wall with a little accent paint.

ok… it needs some “refreshing”

i didnt have red or pink paint… but I’m a Florida Gator.. so the orange stays!

I found some large clay pots at HomeDepot for less than 20$ each and added some pretty plants.

big clay pots with the extra tiles stuck to the front

Finally, I moved around the furniture to provide seating in the shady areas around the pool.

comfy, relaxing, practical and ahhhh… it feels like home and I’m happy!

Step 4- celebrate!

It’s time to enjoy the oasis! Little changes can have big effects!

❤️

Dreaming of an Outdoor Oasis…..

By GlutenFreeHolly

On March 28, 2015

In Gluten free, Home organization

its it such a pleasure to have an outdoor space to relax in! It doesn’t have to be big. A small balcony, a large backyard, or even an urban yard with a zero lot line can all be converted into a nice space for relaxing, dining or entertaining! I started today with some pretty lofty goals, and I finished the day with exactly what I wanted… My Coral Gables Oasis….and an upgraded balcony at my boyfriends apartment to boot!

We started out at IKEA, Friday night… Where we got a patio set for the apartment and some lighting (solar powered!) www.ikea.com, then we dropped by Home Depot for some drought hardy, sun tolerant flowers….watering plants is definitely not my strong suit, and I have a plant graveyard to prove it!

Mission #1 – apartment oasis

We headed to downtown early, before Ultra traffic became a problem and set up the Grunnet IKEA patio set. With such a great view, it was really a shame not to have an outdoor space to sit and enjoy it! This set was not the easiest IKEA set that I’ve put together, but the table is sturdy and the seats very comfy, and for the price of $269 for the table & 4 chairs, it’s a great deal, too!

this is a NOasis

what a view! this needs high table seating to allow dining & relaxation without compromising the view

imagine coffee here every day? Definitely OASIS

Mission #1 accomplished! We head back home for some more hard work!

Break! I’m HUNGRY!

First, a yummy omlet! I made this with left over black beans from taco night, and cheddar cheese! Gluten free and SO DELICIOUS!

lunch break! black bean & cheddar omlet

Mission #2 – backyard lighting & color!

I started out last year with the IKEA Äpplarö outdoor set. storage benches ($70) with wall panels ($35) really created an relaxing seating area with adequate storage, but today, I want to add some lighting and color! I started out with trimming of all the hibiscus ($ = i buned that omlet) that were peeking out above the fence line. Once done, we installed LED solar powered pendants and lighting chains (Solvinden ($5-9.99) with Solarvet ($12.99 for 24 LED lights). I also found some beautiful indoor/outdoor solar powered stars by “threshold” at Target ($11). These were both super easy to install, and really worth it. I used small clear cable ties (like in 50 shades of my-yard-is-about-to-be-awesome!!!) to secure the light chains. My patio looks so good….and these lights with the wood panels could really turn even a zero lot line yard with a view of a cement wall into a peaceful garden!

We added some drought resistant flowers to an IKEA socker ($39.99) plant stand, and used electrical tape wrapped just below each pot bracket to improve performance & reduce slippage. Socker flower boxes were filled and hung over fence ($14.99)… Final result… The oasis I was dreaming of! Happy 🙂