Radio silence on the blog means, I'm in deep project mode. Until I have some after and progress to share, lets talk my small patio planning. If you been a long time reader of Chic Little House [ thank you! ] You may remember, when we re-built our home in 2013, one of the additions we was enlarging our bedroom to include a walk-in closet, master bedroom which meant french doors in our bedroom were a must. A must, I tell you. I love the ease of access our home now has to our backyard, though laundry room door to our larger patio and our french doors for our more intimate patio. 

The patio off our french doors isn't on the large size, but its got so much potential to be stunning and cozy. I snapped this picture the other day, to help me nail down and execute the plans. First up is cleaning up, the tree in our backyard has tiny leaves are they are such a pain to keep up, plus they're left a fun residue of gunk our patio. We're going to clean the the concrete and then use a power washer if necessary.  Along with cleaning our patio doors, light fixtures. I'm envisioning lots of plants in containers on our patio and in the garden beds.  

We would love the build a small pergola above our french doors. I've looked at several pergolas that reside just above the door and have an overhang from roof line and it looks so good. I'm picturing something similar in design to the one below. 

via Pinterest

For the planters, I'm building (the wood is all bought! yay!) I love the idea of growing evergreen vines, that will bloom Spring though Fall and stay green and lush all year long. I'm still researching what will work best in my area and also be drought tolerant. I love the look of the vine below and how a trellis casually rests against the house. 

via Pinterest

via Williams Sonoma

I'm also envisioning lots of plants in containers on our patio and in the garden beds. I love   the layered look of pots in various sizes grouped together on a patio. 

via Sunset Magazine 

via Iced Coffee & Poenies 

Along the fence line, I would love to have vines, either attached to the fence or growing on a trellis placed in front of the fence. I love how vines create intimacy and help sound proof years. Plus, if you have a flowering one, the smell is amazing.  

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect small patio set for my space, right now I'm leaning towards a cozy love seat paired with some garden stools for drinks. As we make progress on the space, I'll share updates. 

Artful Addition

One of my favorite places to look/dream/buy artwork from is Minted.com, check out Avery's gallery wall to see some of the darling prints from Minted I've used. I'm been slowing adding a touch of orange into our living room and wanted to add some artwork in that colorway. I had some Minted credit, and found the perfect artwork on there for my living room. Are is always a happy addition to a blank wall. 

The print, I ordered is called Meander by Betty Hatchett, in the 16x16 print size. I love that when you order artwork from Minted, you have the option to have it framed and choose what type of frame you want to use. For the artwork, I choose a white premium wood frame. 

The pretty print, is such a happy update to my living room and just the right amount of orange I've been looking for to inject more color in my living room though artwork. 

Have you ordered any artwork from Minted. 

DIY Vertical Planter

Hi friends, last week I shared with you my partnering with The Home Depot in co-hosting in store DIY Workshops. Join me this Saturday April 11, 2015 at the Daly City #1092 from 10:00 am to 11:30am. I'll show you step by step how to build a DIY Vertical Planter for your backyard fence or patio! Check out my customized version of a vertical planter, I built over the weekend, more details below. 

In addition to building a DIY Vertical planter in store, I also built a customized version of a vertical planter for my backyard. For my customized version of the DIY Vertical Planter, I took the plans and created a scaled down version thats perfect for a smaller space that could fit on a patio / front porch or small backyard or provide a focal point. Below is the DIY Vertical planter I built for my backyard. 

For my customized version of the DIY Vertical Planter boxes, I made one full size planter box from the plans and two smaller size planter boxes stacked vertical. I pre-drilled the holes into the into the wood and used deck screws to build the planter boxes. Pre-drilling holes is a life saver and gets the ob done faster, trust me. Since my planter will stay outdoors uncovered, I plan to stain the vertical planter a weather grey to help weather-proof my project. I'll share an update once their stained. 

I lined the two smaller wood planter boxes with 30inch planter liners I bought from The Home Depot for $7.99. Using liners to line my planter boxes, will make changing out annual plants much easier. 

I love how my project turned out, the vertical planter adds so much color on our fence line and was easy to build in an afternoon and affordable. 

Quick reminder:

Join Me! Saturday April 11, 2015 at 10:00 - 11:30am

Daly City Store #1092

303 E. Lake Merced, Daly City, California 94015

Please click here to register for the FREE DIY Workshop. Looking forward to seeing all my bay area friends there!

Not local to SF Bay Area? Please click here and register to for a DIY Workshop near you. Also follow along on my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook on April 11 and use the following #DIYWorkshop to see the workshop.  

Sponsored Post: I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in this Workshops Program. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting TheHome Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. This post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.