Home Tour Series: Downstairs Patio

On today’s Home Tour Series, I’m finally taking you on a tour of our downstairs patio!!! We had a LOT of inspiration when it came to this space … we wanted to have an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and a TV (see inspo photos below!) to name a few things … LOL … I had BIG dreams with this space!! But this ended up being the last area to be completed and for any of you who have gone through a reno like this will know that the last spaces to be completed get the least attention!

photo credit 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

At the time of completion we were over budget and severely over schedule and frankly, I just wanted our contractors and the trades to be gone so we could just live in our home and sadly the space never got finished the way I expected it to. However, I’m actually SO HAPPY with how this area turned out which goes to show just how far a little furniture and decor really go!!

It took me almost a year to get this space looking really good as it wasn’t really my main area of focus when it came to decorating!! By the time the contractors wrapped up, it was late summer and we knew we wouldn’t be using this space in the fall and winter so it took longer than I had expected to get things going down here!

In fact, Justin was actually the one that kept bringing up the downstairs patio to me by dropping subtle hints. He would mention that fact that it wasn’t really decorated … and how he thought I could do better with the space … LOL!! Well, he was right, I COULD do better with the space and even though it wasn’t the outdoor space that I originally wanted, it lit a fire under my ass to get it looking beautiful and transforming it into a space that was also functional.

We didn’t have much space for storage down on our patio so I found I was constantly running up two flights of stairs to get to the kitchen to bring down plates, cups, and snacks, etc. We knew we didn’t want to always be running up and down the stairs when we had people over so we decided to add some storage space to the patio.

Originally, on either side of the patio is where I envisioned our outdoor kitchen and built-in storage but when that didn’t go as planned I knew I still wanted some sort of storage units down there so I searched online for something that was the right depth and length but ultimately didn’t find exactly what I wanted. That was about the time I decided to reach out to Holly from The Shed Wood Co. to get pricing on some custom units!!

Holly and I worked together to design a couple of pieces that would work well on each side of our outdoor space. On the busy side of the patio, I really wanted to have enclosed storage! In one of the cabinets, I wanted to store towels, sunscreen, sunglasses and extra bathing suits. In the other two cabinets, I wanted to store things like cleaning supplies, plastic cups, plates, napkins, etc. Then finally, on the far right-hand side of the unit, I wanted to have a designated space for recycling and garbage! On the top of the unit, I had asked for two holes to be cut out so people could toss their items in either of the bins without having to open up a door and without having to look at them!! I learned this little trick during my restaurant design years!

On the other side of the patio, I have a unit with open storage which I filled with baskets that hold toys, life jackets, and items that people leave behind at our place, such as bathing suits! I really LOVE how both of these turned out, how functional they are and how they’ve enabled us to bring the indoors out! I decorated them with table lamps, faux topiaries, a mirror and other items I already had around the house, like my anchor marquee sign which fits perfectly out there!! I also finally found a designated “home” for my faux fiddle fig tree!

I already had the patio table and chairs from Canadian tire, I love this set as it’s so durable!! We left it out this past winter and it still looks brand new!! The club chairs, sofa, and coffee table are from Trex and they come in a variety of colours! I, of course, like the lighter options called Sand Castle and Bird’s Eye!

I actually left these outside over the winter months as well and the white covers looked like they were totally ruined but surprisingly I just hosed them off and they looked brand new again! I’m honestly so shocked over the durability of all of these items because here in Kelowna we have such drastic weather, we will have smoking hot summers and frigid winters so it’s unreal to find pieces like these that can stand up to everything Mother Nature throws their way!

I managed to pull everything together with two matching rugs from Wayfair! I really wanted to go with white, neutral rugs but I quickly realized that this is a very high traffic area, and also a spot where we would be eating lots and kids would be running around so I decided to go with a lighter blue option which I feel suits the space nicely!

The windows and doors are from Plygem, and they also did our siding! The exterior of our home is painted Oxford White by Benjamin Moore and our lights on either side of our sliding doors are from Barn Light Electric and the lights in our pot lights are thanks to Sylvania! You’ll also notice the big clock on the wall, I snagged this gem from Wayfair!! I was happy to grab this as it not only looks really great in this space but it’s handy for when you’re in the pool and want to keep track of time!!

Lastly, I should also mention the stunning planters we have outside!! When I first shared our outdoor space people were asking me where the greenery was and I also thought this space felt incomplete so I had decided to get a few planters made from the team at Bylands Garden Centre and I think they turned out beautifully!!

I’m also obsessed with my umbrellas from Wayfair, they come in a variety of colours and I LOVE how they look ruffled … and Nacho isn’t so bad either!! LOL!!

xo

Jilly

Source List

Photographed: Mackenzie Dempsey

Electrical: Bridge Energy

Pot Lights: Sylvania

Outdoor Area Rug: Wayfair

Table Lamps: Wayfair

Mirror: Anthropologie

Topiaries: Bylands Garden Centre

Planters: Bylands Garden Centre

Clock: Wayfair

Patio Table & Chairs: Canadian Tire

Umbrella: Wayfair

Loungers: Trex

Club Chair: Trex

Club Sofa: Trex

Club Coffee Table: Trex

Doors: Plygem

Windows: Plygem

Siding: Plygem

Paint: Benjamin Moore Kelowna

Justin and I are so excited to work with all of the above-mentioned companies throughout our renovation and we’re so grateful for partnering with some of them on this huge project of ours!!! Stay tuned for more updates!!