We’ve had our historic townhome for about 1.5 years now, and have finally made some headway in the backyard!  It had some qualities that we really liked from the beginning – the giant tree in the middle, the existing shrubs, and its size (it’s larger than average for the neighborhood).  It felt like an escape, even as-is, and we saw lots of potential.  Here’s what it looked like when we bought it in February.

The thing about buying a house in the winter is that we didn’t really know how the yard would fill in when spring/summer rolled around.  In this case, it just became more green, especially the vine on the structure in the back (which we love!).  Here’s what it looked like last summer after we got some furniture back there & did some clean up.

This summer, our home was featured on the annual home tour in German Village, so we had an excuse to get it looking pretty.  We worked with a local company that added a mix of annuals and perennials, and made our backyard feel like a real escape.  The fun pops of color in the flowers, hammock (from Amazon), Afton chairs (from Target), and string lights bring everything to life.

Our favorite spot is the little table & chairs under the vine.  It feels so romantic, doesn’t it?

We hung string lights above the table and added some flameless candles to the chandelier.

We love the character that the worn thermometer and rusty old clothes line post add.

Lights, flowers, and color never seem to fail to add character to a space – especially outdoors.  We typically stick to neutrals in the interiors we design, but the outdoors encourage us to incorporate color – lots of it.

Other than landscaping, we power washed every surface we could.  It was crazy to see the difference between the old and new concrete – it was definitely covered with a layer of grime that made the concrete look dirty.  After power washing, the concrete lightened up and looked clean & new.

Have you done any outdoor projects this summer? Do share!