Home Improvement

We’ve been slowly fixing up our house in Florida whenever we visit, and on my last stay earlier this month I gave the patio seating area a makeover. Anyone who’s lived in Florida is familiar with the weather patterns there: winters are sunny and mild, spring is perfection, summers are hot and humid, and it rains a ton in the fall. I didn’t want to tackle this project in high heat and humidity so I planned this outdoor update during the best time of year for it, and gave this corner of our patio a makeover while temperatures were in the mid 70s.

I wrote about pale pebble landscape design ideas last year in anticipation of just this kind of makeover. These kinds of low maintenance rock beds with tropical plantings are common in the area, they also complement the style of our older home so I refreshed our sitting area landscaping in a similar style.

Here’s what the patio looked like when I started, you can see there wasn’t much that was exciting going on in that corner. I also didn’t like the shade of cornflower blue the patio had been painted before so I decided to change that too.

This makeover required I dig out and haul away the old rock before I replaced the new. It was a lot of manual labor for me but with the help of a shovel and wheelbarrow I was able to remove the dingy old rocks and blackened edging blocks and start fresh.

After 95% of the old rock was gone we brought in some sand to support new 24″ pavers I bought for a trio of potted plants to fill the space with greenery. I used extra sand to cover most of the existing landscape sheeting, hoping that will hold it in place.

We bought 15 bags of white rock from Lowe’s and layered over the the sand for a fresher look. The last part of the makeover was to paint the patio. I power washed it, then used a cleaning solution to scrub and clean the surface.

I allowed the patio to dry a full 24 hours then painted the patio with Valspar Porch & Patio paint in the color Beach Dune. I painted the edges first then the entire patio with a roller on a pole. I used one gallon for each coat allowing it to dry a full 24 hours between coats.

I’m so happy with the fresh new patio space. This is where I drink coffee every morning now. 🙂

We only have the two vintage patio chairs and table for now, but I’ll be shopping for an outdoor sofa set to complete the space.

I’m also thinking about painting a pattern on the patio instead of using outdoor rugs since it’s plain to me, it needs something more. More progress on this space to come this summer!

Anyone else looking forward to more time outdoors in warmer weather? Spring is coming soon, time to start planning!

I was looking at flights for a trip I have in mind in May and reminded that last year in May I was lucky to travel to the east coast of Spain where my travel companion and I ended our trip in Seville. After spending four days there it quickly rose to the top of my all time favorite cities in Europe.

We traveled at the perfect time, when the jacaranda trees were in bloom and the streets less crowded with tourists than they often are in the summertime. It also gets hot and a little humid there so we we’re lucky to have visited when the weather was warm and sunny throughout the day but not uncomfortable, and balmy at night which allowed for even more time to explore.

Seville is one of the most charming cities I’ve ever been to, it truly has everything that makes a city great: incredible architecture, a lovely riverwalk, markets, cafes, and plazas to sit and sip sangria. It offers the best of flamenco and an old town to stroll around and the exquisitely beautiful Plaza de Espana with staircases, terraces, and lamposts covered in the most beautiful Spanish tile. I’m sure I took a hundred pictures of all the wrought iron balconies, doors, and architectural details that caught my eye around every bend of every street.

How about a virtual vacation to the city of Seville? Below are a few snapshots from the sunny streets in the south of Spain.

While staying in Seville, we rented this central apartment in the old town, it was accessed through a lovely courtyard and very comfortable, I recommend it if you’re visiting!

Who else has been to Seville? What experience did you have?