Backyard Horrors and Optimistic Plans

THE RAVENNA HOUSE Oh the horror of our backyard...

It's like a scene from The Walking Dead, but worse.  Much, much worse!  A falling down garage, a wood pile, the chain link fence, a trash pile.  And dog poo everywhere.  Scary!

On the plus side, I hope you guys are getting a good dose of my-backyard-looks-amazing compared to this one right now.  I mean no one's backyard has ever looked worse, right?  And we haven't even talked about the garage.

You probably noticed that we share a driveway and garage with our neighbors.  Our neighbors are AWESOME but sharing is never ideal - just try to ask for one of Uncle Dougie's french fries.  As the garages stand (or rather lean) today, they're both too small to fit cars in, and out of courtesy, we try not to block the driveway, so we both end up on the street, fighting for a spot most nights.  If that wasn't bad enough, the garages may topple at any second.  The roof literally has more plants growing on it then our yard.  And the joists that aren't missing are rotted.  Since the neighbors and ourselves share what is essentially one two-car garage, our falling-down-garage problem is really both of our falling-down garage problem.  One we're hoping to fix with a giant dumpster and a couple sledge hammers this summer.

Our lot is less then 3000sf, so we aren't expecting some expansive yard, but there are a few things we want out of our limited outdoor space:

• Off-street parking: this is a must in our busy, parking-restricted location.  We hope to get 2 off-street spots when we demo the garage.  Not exactly sure how yet, but that's why they call it a goal.
• A fully-fenced backyard: this isn't too tricky since 2 of the 3 sides are already fenced.  But Bubba will be so thankful for a spot to bask in the sun.
• An urban-oasis/brownstone-yard feel: this is where a little pinterest inspiration comes in.  I gathered a few photos of backyards that call to me.  One or more elements or maybe just the feel seem to fit the Ravenna House yard.  Anyway, here's what we're I'm thinking:

All pictures via Pinterest. Top row: Decor 8, viva Full House, Sulia | Center row: Design Spounge, Lonny Magazine, Unknown | Bottom Row: Unknown, Coco+Kelly, Unknown

Wouldn't that be nice?!  As you can see, I'm a little heavy on inspiration and a little light on progress right now.  But that too shall come...as long as we don't buy another house;)  I plan to draw up our space with 2 parking spots, a patio, outdoor dining, and a little patch of grass, any day now.  Wish me luck.

I will be SO excited to have an outdoor space to relax and bbq and eat outdoors.  And I'll be more then a little excited if our place turns out one-sixteeth as nice as those inspiration images.  Plus, I'm pretty sure that these two are excited to do some bird-watching from outside:

xoxo

p.s. This 1700's Connecticut house takes the prize of the most amazing country house. Ever.

p.p.s. If you're in Seattle and have a spare $3 million (and the exterior paint doesn't bug you), this Victorian may just suit your fancy.

p.p.p.s. I'm stalking some great renovations lately.  Check out Sarah's beautiful foyer and stair transformation and Nicole's exciting hallway progress.