Yard Remodel for Kids and Parents

The last two weekends here in the Northwest have been gorgeous with sunshine and the upper 70's. With this beauty there is only one thing to do when you live somewhere that rains so much, GET OUTSIDE. My family and I spent the past two weekends finishing a project that has been in the works since we moved here a year ago. We assembled the kid's swing set.

This was no easy task but the results are fabulous. The biggest perk is that since the set has been put up the children come home from school and literally live on it or in the sandbox below. This means extra time for me to enjoy their giggles and get some things finished for myself.

My husband and I built this set from scratch so I was extremely excited when our house in Virginia was purchased that they did not want the swing set. At first we planned on leaving it but just like any project this was a labor of love and I didn't want to start again. The set is called the Fort Gemini and it WAS sold by B.Y.O. Swingset, www.byoswingset.com. The main reason we made this choice was we purchased a hardware kit with blue prints and that saved us a lot of money. At the time the hardware cost us around $300 (w/ slide) and then the wood came from the local Home Depot for around $700. What a steal! I noticed as I surfed the B.Y.O. website that a lot has changed in four years since we bought from them but I can honestly say they have a great product and amazing customer service. 

Would I do it again or just buy one from Costco (or some place similar)? As I say just buy one and assemble it (don't go through the labor of routing all the wood and drilling for all the bolts and setting for all the washers) we are simultaneously starting a fancy new tree house. As an FYI it took a lot of special tools to prepare the wood but my husband is an Industrial Designer so tools collecting is a hobby for him. Oh, the burden of being a designer.

After all of that what I really wanted to tell you about was the amazing transformation our yard and house are undergoing. We purchased a mid century modern home that was previously owned by an elderly woman and needs some definite updating but that has left us lots of room for personalization.

Gardening is a favorite hobby for me and what I really love to do is transform a space with very little money. I love to see it come alive by simply changing the layout or location of plants. Arranging in a way to create an outdoor room and living space and generally make a yard that is more suitable for outdoor living in a warm climate.

Here are some before pictures of how overgrown the yard was and then the process we went through in the back left corner for the swing set and the final results. As the summer continues we have wood chips to go, sod to be set, a patio to be jack hammered up, a retaining wall to build and a lot more. I'll keep you posted as I go. I'm always so excited to share what we do.