One Room Challenge: Outdoor Room Week Three

WEEK #3

Hi Peeps,

Hope this email finds you well and that in your neck of the woods the mask mandate is over. 

I am seeing graduation ceremonies, a lot, if not all kids back at school, more field sports games, a few celebrations here and there sprinkled throughout a few restaurant patios, so we are at the tail end of this pandemic and I am loving it.

In addition, I am also seeing increased prices everywhere, a lot of trades and professionals are super busy and manufacturers have extended ship dates. So, things are in flux still one way or another.

What are you noticing where you live? Are the current circumstances affecting you and if so, how is it affecting you or what you do?

 

Some things are in some ways going back to “normal”. But in other aspects are just a little nutty still.

We are busy, our products ship dates are extended way out, there is a shortage of foam, conductors for motorize window blinds, our partners such as workrooms, and other suppliers are experiencing extended timelines as well. Furthermore, we are coming across clients who resist these across-the-board issues and are requiring a lot more explaining in some instances. Like clients asking for firm ship dates. That is not going to happen right now.

Anyway, going back to the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, this past week we did not work on our OUTDOOR ROOM, so here it is.

 

For week #3 of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, we had to press pause and deal with some unexpected repairs at home and coordinate such repairs with the plumber, go and buy new fixtures all while doing our jobs and managing the household.   

I am going to share with you video clip 2 of 4 showing you what we are up against in our terrace. We have accomplished some things like putting together the furniture, but we have quite a bit to do, so I am glad that we still have four weeks left of the challenge. 

 

PART 2 OF WHAT WE ARE WORKING WITH

 

Since there was no progress with the OUTDOOR ROOM, I am going to use this opportunity to share with you some of the pieces, we have already and the budget we allocated for these pieces.

*PATIO TABLE AND CHAIRS SET – SQUARE TABLE FOUR ARMCHAIRS AND THE FINISH IS OUTDOOR “WICKER”. THE TABLE HAS A WICKER BASE AND A GLASS TOP. INTERESTINGLY, THE GLASS IS A BLACK GLASS.

 

This piece was our second choice our first selection and purchase never arrived and we cancelled the transaction. 

In this sort of flux we are in, I am finding a lot of items out of stock or sold out. So, I feel fortunate that all my goods have arrived.

@Wayfairprofessional $479.99 (Sadly is now of stock) – We set a $500 dollar limit. 

The only thing with this set is that the seat cushions are very poor quality foam, they are so thin and the foam has no structure to it at all. So, I will have those redone and also in a fun pattern or color.

 

*A SINGLE LARGER WICKER OUTDOOR CHAIR. THIS CHAIR IS IN THE CORNER OF THE PATIO/TERRACE WHERE WE ADDED SQUARE PAVERS SO THAT WE COULD USE THAT CORNER AS A RELAXING SPOT. A SPOT FOR READING, MEDITATING OR JUST CHILLING.

@Overstock $258.43 – We set a $200 to $250 dollar budget but we got really close.

The cushions on this one are much better, not great but we can live with these cushions for a while and then have them re-done.

 

Our new relaxation & meditation chair.

 

*AN OUTDOOR OTTOMAN – YES!  A BLOW-UP ROUND POOF AND THE COVER IS A GREAT TROPICAL LEAF OUTDOOR FABRIC. WHAT A GREAT IDEA, AND WHO KNEW?

This piece is going to be easy to wash the cover and it is noticeably light so easy to move around. The bottom of it is black and makes this outdoor OTTOMAN a great purchase.

@Wayfairprofessional $41.48 – This was a great find, most outdoor ottomans/poufs I was seeing were above $100 dollars and not what I wanted. Then I found this one and loved it. Price was great too.

 

 

Put your feet up and sip!

 

A GREAT OUTDOOR RUG THAT HAS THE PERFECT BLEND OF BLUE AND OFF WHITE. NuLOOM OUTDOOR ROBIN AREA RUG. @Walmart $83.69 I didn’t really have a set budget for the outdoor rug, but I did know I wanted it to be fun, not too much off white and easy to clean.  I did not want to spend $200, so under $100 was even better. When I saw this one and the price, I knew this one was the one. Once I received it, I liked it more. Easy to clean, great colors and lite. 

 

 

OUTDOOR RUG 

 

So far, we $863.59 dollars invested in our OUTDOOR ROOM so that we can enjoy our outside space. It is more than 200sf and we love seating out there, looking at our plants and all the birds that hang out – the chirping sounds are great when we have the slider open.

The great thing about this OUTDOOR ROOM is that we already have a healthy amount of plants and a couple of trees. So in the “horticultural” side of things the investment there is going to be minimal. 

We also have great lighting, replacing perhaps only the Xmas lights on the Ficus along the fence, because some are out. So, as far lighting goes I may only have to invest on a few shades as the Edison bulbs are quiet bright. 

My biggest concern is the concrete floor that is old and has some stubborn stains. If I had the time, patience and energy I would stencil the floor (which may happen at a later date) but honestly, with the rugs and my  future plan of adding a long Astro turf strip for stretching and yoga there may be little of the floor you can see. The other eye sore is my husbands Zero gravity chair…. it definitely severs a function but it does nothing for style.

Making this an OUTDOOR ROOM is going to extend our living space and give us an awesome place to hang out this summer. Honestly, here in SoCal we can enjoy this new OUTDOOR ROOM all year round. We will add a tabletop fireplace later in the “Winter”, (you know the tundra we experience in SoCal). For cooler temps over the spring, summer and fall I am are using Turkish towels as throws just because I like the look and they are so lite.

 

 

I will give you a list of accessories later, but this short list of the big ticket items shows how much you can accomplish with a small budget. If that is the case with you, it takes investing a fair amount of time, searching and sourcing items that are of a certain quality, look polished and are within your budget.

There is a big difference in purchasing and seeking quality items at a reasonable price, than it is to just buy something because it is cheap. That is why a lot of research and comparing needs to be done before you buy. This is the part that clients find hard to understand when working with a designer.  The process of sourcing is time consuming and to provide it as a service it costs what it costs- there is time and intellectual property invested in the process also.

Ok folks that is all I have this week and hope to show you a lot of progress and the list of accessories next time. Stay tuned, thanks for reading and Cheers to you until next time.