patio & dining room before & after

Knowing how much I LOVE seeing inside people’s houses (come on, tell me you don’t try to sneak a peak when you’re out for a walk and it gets dark…) I thought I would share mine with you. I’m pretty crazy about this place, and I’ve been slowly making it feel like home since we moved in this May.

First I’ll show you the inside dining room. It’s open to the kitchen, and I could have fit a bigger table, but I wanted a small one in here. We have a larger table outside. We’ll get to that in a minute.

It started out looking really hodge-podge with mismatched chairs, stools and a table, but I had a vision. Maybe you will like how it turned out, maybe you won’t, and that’s okay too 🙂 The light is nice to have, but I’m dreaming of replacing it with a fan that has a light. I’m obsessed with using the AC as little as possible.

And here it is now. It makes me happy. It has a restaurant patio kind of feel (in my humble opinion), which is exactly what I wanted. The tablecloth really makes it, and I bought two of them because I was so over-the-moon-psyched when I found it. And, ya know, kids… You know what I’m talkin’ about. Lets just say that one of the tablecloths may not live as long as the other 😉 On the wall I arranged the kids artwork, a couple of candid photos, and prints we’ve collected over the years by various artists.

I was also insanely jazzed when I found these cloth napkins that are on the small side (so hard to find small cloth napkins). They were a set of 10 for $14 at Home Goods. Score!!! The dishes are oven-safe, which is crucial since I don’t use the microwave, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you where the silverware is from—it’s so old. The succulent in the center is one of my favorite things. What is it about succulents that’s so yummy?

Here is the before photo of the patio, which is through a sliding glass door, directly to the left of the table you just saw. Maybe it’s common for patios in California to be big, but I was blown away by it. This is a very modestly-sized house, but the patio is huge. Like it’s 25 feet long. I took this before photo in the morning when it gets direct sun, but by noon it’s completely shaded, and the sun sets on the other side of the house. It’s also 2/3 covered, so we have enjoyed sitting out here in the rain.

It’s still a work-in-progress, but we love it out here. I think we spend more time outside than we do inside. We swing, I use this trampoline, the kids ride their scooters and use chalk. We work and eat at this table. I just got two Pink Bougainvilleas, my favorite plant in SoCal. I’ll plant them by each outer post, and I think they’ll climb them (right?). By the way, see that tree gorgeously hanging over the fence? It’s a lime tree. Loooove.

 More yummy succulents on the patio table. Had to.

Can you say, Ginger? Oh she cracks me up. This girl has loved dinosaurs from day one. So stinkin’ cute. In fact that reminds me of THIS Instagram photo I took yesterday. Hilarious.

I hope you enjoyed peaking into our home. I would love to share more rooms with you as they come together.

Lots a ♥, Kelly