Looking for ideas for your outdoor living spaces? Wait until you see these cozy outdoor decorating ideas for summer.
This time of year, I’m outside enjoying my outdoor living spaces much more and tend to let the inside go.
Do you do that too?
Even more so for us, because we recently moved from our rustic farmhouse to a new-to-us 1850 farmhouse on a sprawling 10-acre property.
With everything so new, we are still learning the property and our home.
And we are enjoying every second of it!
As we get acclimated here, we are exploring the best ways to use the outdoor living spaces, because there are a lot of them and I can’t wait to share them with you!
So grab a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever you want really, and let’s tour my outdoor living spaces because there is SO MUCH I want to share with you.
These outdoor living spaces are to die for! I still can’t believe we moved here.
Oh and wait until you see the surrounding gardens too! GAH!
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About My New Outdoor Living Spaces
I haven’t shared much about them here yet on the blog because I’ve been busy working in my new gardens and renovating the inside of our home.
And we’ve done a lot so far!
There were lots of dark, faux finish on the walls, trim and ceiling in several rooms.
Like the sunroom renovation that was a lovely shade of yellow and green with lots of painted flowers.
Or the family room makeover that had a dark venetian plaster finish on the walls, trim, and ceiling.
I even painted the front entry hall to change it from a deep dark red to beautiful neutrals that opened up the space and enhanced the gorgeous moldings.
But the biggest renovation?
Was the dining room because it had upholstered walls that needed to be removed and a dark, textured faux finish on the ceiling that we covered up with paint.
And you won’t believe how much better it looks now!
I shared some pics of the new dining room in an Easter brunch post. The lightened space really brings out the shine in the incredible crystal chandelier that you have to see to believe.
But I digress.
Welcome to My 1850 Farmhouse!
Our home is nestled in north-central New Jersey in a sprawling suburban/farmland town.
We live less than an hour from New York City, an hour from the Jersey Shore, and an hour and half from the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.
It’s a great spot to live really because we have easy access to the best of things on the east coast.
While we weren’t planning on moving when we did, we were casually looking around and found this hidden gem.
The former homeowners loved this home, cultivating every square inch with great focus on all of the details.
It needed a little updating but there is so much character, interest, and uniqueness here, the opportunity to purchase it was too cool to pass up.
So we went for it.
And haven’t looked back since.
Life on the Front Porch
For the longest time, Chris and I wanted a front porch.
A covered front porch with gorgeous pillars, beautiful front porch rockers, a swing and a garden view.
A place where we could linger, enjoy a cup of coffee or an amazing glass of wine, and enjoy the outdoors.
Well we got that and more!
And we still pinch ourselves every day because we are in awe of how amazing this home and property are.
Since we are still pretty new here, our home is a work in progress, but I love where it’s going!
The porch had this beautiful white porch swing.
It’s one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy the front garden views.
I am out here every morning with my dogs and cup of coffee to start the day.
We bought these pretty porch rockers to use on the opposite side of the porch. It has a better view of the new potager garden and crabapple trees in the lower portion of the property.
I wanted to bring a little color to the porch swing and rockers so I purchased some outdoor pillow covers with pretty vintage flowers and love how they look!
These pillows bring out the colors in my pretty front door wreath and flagstone floor.
To create more seating options, I found this vintage bistro set that WE LOVE!
It’s a great spot to eat breakfast and can easily be moved around the property for some cozy dining.
Just above the bistro table set is this pretty vintage sign I found while thrifting at the flea market in Vermont.
I bought this last summer and had no idea where I was putting it in the old house.
Little did I know we would be moving and I’d have the perfect spot for it on the front porch.
Since I love to garden and outdoor planters are my jam, I potted up my black urns that flank the front door.
In these containers, I planted:
- Caladiums
- Euphorbia
- Begonias
- Sweet potato vine
- Bacopa
But the prettiest decor I added to the front porch is this adorable vintage stroller that I planted with scaveola.
Doesn’t it look so pretty?
To cozy up the porch with more flowers, I added more scaveola in hanging between each of the pillars.
As an aside, hanging baskets dry out SO EASILY so it’s important to water them daily, and sometimes even twice a day if it’s hot enough.
I add a drip system to make this task easier. We will paint them white so you can’t see them against the white pillars and beams.
The Front Porch Gardens
Since moving in, I’ve been keeping an eye on the gardens, focusing on their design as well as what’s coming up.
The area just outside the front porch was completely empty because the former homeowners used to plant annuals there each year.
Because I can’t leave a garden bed empty, I planted this area with some pretty annuals and perennials that will flower at different times throughout the growing season.
As an aside, when I plant my gardens, I design them with plants and flowers that will provide color, texture and blooms all season long.
And seek a preference for a higher level of deer resistant plants.
Perennial plants in this garden include:
- Salvia ‘May Night
- Nepeta ‘Cat’s Meow’
- Iceland Poppies
- Echinacea
- Yarrow
- Coreopsis
In addition to the perennials, I also tucked in some annuals that I started from seed and full grown plants from the garden nursery.
Annuals in this garden include:
- Superwave petunias ‘latte’
- Zinnias ‘Senora’
- Larkspur (a few different varieties)
- Snapdragons (a few different varieties)
I will plant bulbs in the fall so I can get the earliest color when early spring arrives next year.
The New Potager Garden
This outdoor garden room was a basketball court with pavers, boxwood shrubs, vines and a beautiful green fence that leads to the pond garden.
None of my girls play basketball and we would rarely use it for this purpose anytime soon, so it made more sense to turn it into a potager garden with raised garden beds and an outdoor dining space.
This area is a work in progress because there is so much I want to do out here!
Wait until you see it!
I added my self-watering raised garden beds to grow herbs and vegetables.
At some point, we will make a much larger vegetable garden somewhere else on the property, but I’m not sure where I want to do that just yet.
So we started small with the raised beds in the potager garden for now.
I also added a few planters with pretty annual flowers and plan to purchase more containers to help break up the boxwood greens next year.
There is only so much you can do in a year but I’m loving where it’s going.
Our property lacks a good spot for my outdoor farmhouse dining table and wicker chairs, so we decided to make the other portion of this garden an outdoor dining space.
In the future, we want to make an outdoor kitchen out here with a grill, smoker, pizza oven, and refrigerator. We have the electric, so it’s just a matter of building the space out.
But that will take some time and doing, so it’s not something we are taking on right away.
For now, we have the grill out here and enjoy evenings in the potager garden.
The Backyard Porch With Zen Garden
For the longest time, I wasn’t sure how to furnish the backyard porch because the decking has a unique shape.
It’s part of the zen garden design that the former homeowners created.
Isn’t it fabulous?
And let me tell you, this garden room is a wonderful place to hang! We are out here every single night listing to the sounds of the waterfall and enjoying the gardens.
We did not have a water feature at our former home, so we are loving having it here and were totally missing out!
There is nothing quite like listening to the sounds of running water so if you don’t have one, trust me, you need one. Even it is a small, inexpensive fountain that takes up very little space.
Although it’s just Chris and I most of the time out here on the back porch, we needed to purchase outdoor furniture that would accommodate our family of five.
It took several months of shopping around before landing on this outdoor conversation set.
And it’s the perfect fit for our family and then some when guests join us.
Originally, we wanted either a sofa and loveseat or a sectional, but the unique shape of the deck just didn’t allow the proper space for either.
So I went with this seating arrangement because the ottomans can be moved around to add more seating.
And it’s been great so far!
I’d love to add a sign or something above the sofa, but for now, I’m loving where the backyard porch going.
The Zen Garden
Since this area is completely hardscaped with river rocks and other stones, I wanted to soften the lines with lots of pretty container gardens of blooms and plants.
Originally, I thought it would be shaded enough to site my houseplants here for the summer, but it gets way too much sun for them.
The leaves will scorch.
So pretty annuals it will be!
I don’t own enough garden containers to completely fill the area just yet, but I’ll purchase a few more each year until I achieve the look I’m going for.
But I love the progress of the zen garden and I’m loving how the plants and flowers brighten up the space.
The flowers and plants you see include:
- Superwave petunias ‘bubblegum pink’ and ‘limoncello’
- Colocasia – Elephant Ears
- Bacopa
- Geraniums
- Coleus
- Lemongrass
- Mandevilla Vine
As the temps increase, the container gardens are starting to fill in beautifully and I’m loving the pinks!
They look great against the stone wall and green garden fence.
We recently hosted my daughters pre-prom party here and the zen garden made a beautiful backdrop for the photos.
It was fun to host them all before heading off to prom.
There are lots of beautiful specimen plants in the backyard too that bloom and provide interest so the back porch is an amazing spot to sit and enjoy the scenery.
We’ve got lots of birds that live in the gardens and frogs in the small pond that are fun to spot and watch.
And we recently added small koi fish that we are enjoying too. It’s fun to feed them and watch them swim around.
The pond garden has some beautiful plants around it that include:
- Japanese Maple
- Elderberry
- Hostas
- Astilbes
- Houseplants
- And some container gardens
And that’s it for today!
Thank you so much for joining me in my outdoor living spaces home tour. I’d love to have you back so you can see the changes we make to the property both inside and out.
Wait until you see her beautiful home!
Want to See More of My Home Tours Throughout the Seasons?
I love a good home tour, don’t you?
The best part about these home tours is they feature both my former and new homes. And the difference between my two homes is the decorating style. While both are geared toward farmhouse style, they have a different feel to them.
My former home had a rustic farmhouse vibe. But the new house?
We are moving towards rustic elegance and french country-style decorating.
Wait until you see my homes throughout the seasons with these inspiring house tours.
- Vintage Farmhouse Christmas Home Tour 2022
- Vintage Farmhouse Fall Home Tour 2022
- My New Outdoor Living Spaces Home Tour
- First Spring in My Vintage Farmhouse Tour
- My New Vintage Farmhouse Home Tour
- First Christmas in Our New Home Tour
- Last Christmas in Our Home Tour
- Rustic Farmhouse Fall Home Tour in 2021
- Outdoor Living in Summer Home Tour
- Spring Forward with my Rustic Farmhouse Home Tour
- Rustic Farmhouse Christmas Home Tour 2020
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
Today, I’m joining the Bloggers Best Summer Home Tour hosted by my good friend Kelly from the Tattered Pew, so be sure to check out the rest of the outdoor living and summer decorating inspiration at the end of this post.
Next up on the Bloggers Best Summer Home Tour is my good friend Amy Sadler from Amy Sadler Designs.
If you are visiting from my good friend Rachel’s at the Ponds Farmhouse, welcome to my home.
