It’s Week One of the One Room Challenge Spring 2023 and if you are new here, welcome, I’m Leah. This is going to be my 2nd time doing the One Room Challenge, and I really excited about this project. We love spending time outside, and as soon as those temps hit 50 in Ohio you’d think we were on a tropical island. We have one patio attached to our home that we hired out when we first bought out home. It’s gorgeous, and it gets plenty of use, but it’s not big enough for dining and relaxing. We love having our friends and neighbors over, and we’d really love to have space for everyone which is no easy task in our small backyards.
So, our biggest goal when completing this project is to provide a seating area that fits all the adults comfortably, and 2 dining areas so the kids and adults can have their own space. Next up, is having an area that provides shade. Our current patio has the sun on it until almost 7pm. Even with an umbrella it’s just not enjoyable to sit our for hours.
WHAT IS THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE
The One Room Challenge or the ORC is a challenge where participants get to show how they transform a space in a few weeks. Apartment Therapy is the media partner for the ORC. It is a bi-yearly challenge that will last 8 weeks.
WHERE WE ARE STARTING FROM
Well, not much. I want to start by saying we do not have a huge yard, it’s just the reality of most homes in my town. Our total lot size is 8,712 sq ft. which makes our backyard usable space around 2,500 sq ft. A patio attached to our home, a kids raised playhouse, and 6 raised garden beds take up the space, so what is left isn’t much. We are going to be building the new patio off our detached garage in a spot that gets shade almost all day, grass doesn’t grow well, and in 7 years of being here, we have found no use for it…until now!
Here is the view from our current patio that is attached to our home. The new patio will be going right off the side of our garage. I love this space because it’s in the shade almost all day so we will be able to finally sit outside out of the sun!
Usually this is the spot of our hammock by mid summer is just a giant area of dead grass. The patio will extend out almost to that soccer ball.
THE DESIGN BOARD
It all starts with an idea! Let’s see how this comes to life. Anything is better than the dead grass patch we’re currently looking at.
I do get to work with some great brands on this project so quick shout out to them (we’ll chat more about them during their weeks)
One of my favorite things is definitely going to be the Pergola, and i’ll be working with Toja Grid who has provided me with one of their kits. I cannot wait to get started on this part!
I also get to work with a local furniture company, Sheely’s! They have provided me with some of the outdoor furniture in the design board.
I have worked with Ruggable in the past, and so excited to again! A washable rug outdoors is just what this space needs! I know some wine will probably get spilled out here a time or two.
ARE THERE ANY DIY PROJECTS?
Sure are! The entire patio is a DIY project, the pergola though it does come with a KIT is also a DIY project. I also will probably DIY an outdoor dining table, or a concrete coffee table. We’ll see how much time we end up with, and how well the weather works in my favor! It is Spring in Ohio after all.
See you next week!
This is going to be a project that is going to get so much use for us so I already cannot wait to be at week 8 enjoying everything. Be sure to check out my stories on instagram and follow along there as I’ll more than likely have almost daily updates.
Be sure to also check out all the other amazing accounts participating here. I cannot wait to see what everyone does with their makeovers!
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