#yardstyle Archives - Northern California Style

Hello, today a quick post about yards and gardens..I hope you all are enjoying spring. I’ve got gardens and outdoor spaces on the brain and I thought I’d share a few things that dropped on my radar the past week or so. Maybe you’re thinking that way too as we edge closer to summer? A few photos of the yard from last year…I have so many plants to still work on after replacing the back fence two years ago.

Yards and plants were something that has always been a big thing in my family. I grew up in a small tract house in San Jose, and my parents always took a lot of pride in the outdoor spaces making them beautiful. In 1972 my dad scraped together $5,000 to put in a big kidney shaped pool that he surrounded with cool plants and a meandering green yard of walled ivy. My mom would repaint and freshen up our wood chaise lounges each summer and dad would make sure to have her favorite impatiens and roses looking beautiful. My parents absolutely used the yard as an extension of the house and most weekends we were outdoors all day. So you see I naturally have an excitement that comes with the springtime and also a bit of anxiety about getting my yard pretty and tended to in time! I always want an inviting spot outdoors. Every year I have plant goals – to get more in, and furniture pieces I want to add..and others that need to go and are looking a bit worn.

As a Californian, it’s a given that we have and use our outside spaces as part of our homes. Nor more so than the past year as we were all grounded with the pandemic. As people are weary of being inside, the garden has sparked a lot of interest for those who previously had no interest and thought they had no skill. Many have also extended their spaces outside, as we did with our front patio.. We also have three neighbors who did the same! We could not have been more grateful to have done those things with the four of us being mostly home the past year. This was back when we first put the front patio in..

And now you can see the plants have taken off..

Many people have now created spaces for flowers and gardens where they previously had none. Some have found the ease of vegetable gardening- even from patio containers. It’s rewarding and also calming to garden! I also believe it’s good for your health. Gardeners seem to live long lives! I have another post with some gardening tips I have learned from my dad coming soon. I also know there is more inspiration on this wildly popular BBC series, Gardener’s World. Some is available free on Amazon with Prime. Newer seasons you need the BritBox which is $6.99 through Amazon I think. ( I can just see my husband complaining about yet another subscription, but so much to enjoy here.) I want to watch all of these episodes..

As it’s spring there is a whole lot of cool garden inspired items lately..

Target has a great collection for gardeners by Smith & Hawkins. I finally got myself a pair of proper garden boots..I like the low boots and pretty lining for mucking about and watering.

I also bought these great garden gloves– and I like the kneeler which I should have gotten.

Of course with the florals in mind, I LOVE these hand block-printed garden cushions at Terrain. They are meant to scatter about on benches or wherever. They aren’t sun resistant, so you need to have them in covered spaces or bring in when not in use as they are pricier, but have that vintage English garden feel. Gorgeous prints!

Also lovely are these Perennials (sun resistant) Rosemont Pillow from Serena & Lily which come in three colors!

And these Serena Perennials Palm Pillows which come in four colors.I think it’s not easy to find sun resistant pillows in lighter tones. They tend to be pretty bright.

Serena & Lily has new patio chairs and I love the shape. They come in white and natural. Great look with the small table. I’d like to have this little set for my front patio. The blue West Beach Pillow Cover on the chair is also outdoor friendly…Even the wall sconces match here! My white couch and chair on the top picture are S&L Pacifica.

I love, love, love wicker and rattan in any form. My husband likes to taunt me and say ‘wicker makes him sicker.’ MEN! I also just got the Rattan book and it’s 100/ 10..Great inspiration and historical photos. Plus the dust jacket has a rattan bit that will look fabulous on your coffee table.

If you’re into more colorful pillows these Vera for Anthropologie are cute..

The whole Vera line at Anthropologie is retro cool from outdoor tableware to dresses and handbags..Check it out here.

I’ve also ordered a few garden books. There are so many good one out now to inspire.. Under Western Skies is out in May and it looks wonderful with different new landscapes and yards that mix modern and traditionally pretty. There’s something for everyone in this book..

I love The Flower Yard for the smaller spaces and those who want gorgeous containers…

Arthur also has a beautiful Instagram to follow…

This book also is a good primer for those most interested in a kitchen garden.

If you are looking for living outdoor space inspiration, The Art of Outdoor Living by Scott Shrader is the absolute best. So many gorgeous spaces…

His garden spaces feel like real rooms. Mirrors are a wonderful outdoor addition…Love the walls!

Don’t be afraid to drag indoor furniture outside when you entertain. Do you ever do that? We like to bring out throws, poufs and pillows from the indoors out with us. I even have a vintage marble table as my outdoor coffee table. It’s been awesome. I just cover the wood parts with a tarp during the winter months. Bring the indoor pieces out and do what you can to create the feeling of real rooms outside!

One night where we dragged indoor chairs and blankets out..A bit messy, but you get the feeling.

I also ordered this California book..Lush Life, Food & Drinks from the Garden. I read about Valerie in Santa Barbara Magazine. She also has an Instagram EatDrinkGarden. It looks perfect for summer entertaining. Let’s think positive there will be more gatherings for us all this year!

I hope this was a little motivating for your spring yard and gardens. I know this weekend we will be working in the yard more and also helping my oldest Jackson move to his first solo apartment! It’s a big deal and he’s very excited. I am happy for him after finishing college and working a job from his bedroom for the past year. I am also slightly sad we are one step closer to being empty nesters. The years sure flew by fast.

Happy weekend !

Kim

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Today I’m joining eight other bloggers and sharing my outdoor space with you. In the past few months, I’ve felt very fortunate to have it as it has become an extension of the house during the pandemic with both adult boys home and my husband working here also!

In the evenings, it’s been great to get outside after being in and working all day. We really use the extra space to for all of us to spread out right now. With four adults in one house, we need it. I’ve tried to create a few cozy spots so there is always a place to hang out and work, do a call, or just chill out here.

If you have visited here before, you know we just remodeled our 1965 home after being here for ten years. When we remodeled, I wanted to extend the living space with fold away doors to the back and French doors and a patio in front. These things have made the house more spacious though we didn’t really add any square feet. Our yard is tight with a pool that wraps around the yard and a funky lap lane… And a LOT of brick. Replacing it would be a small fortune so we’ve chosen to love it and its old school look. I like it with the new white stucco of the house even more now.

The yard is divided with an Ipe deck in the center that feels like it floats above the pool. It’s tight though and our main door to the yard was previously through the dining room, not ideal. We changed how the house flowed so we could see the pool and instead come out to the deck from the living room via a folding door. We now see the yard in a way that makes it seem much more expansive and makes the house feel larger too.

The yard once was surrounded by a wall of green – A new owner on the left took the hedge down and the fence needed replacing in the upper yard, so it all was taken out right before the remodel two years ago along with all the mature plants. We started fresh almost, so I am waiting for both fences to be someday again be covered by vines, creeping fig and citrus, but it’s slow going and looks so bare to me right now.

The set above is the Pacifica Serena & Lily couch and chairs in driftwood color. We always knew we wanted a sofa out here and we are very happy with this with the two chairs. It’s an easy brush off Sunbrella fabric and the woven white driftwood color surprisingly doesn’t show dirt. I do like to cover it when we are getting a lot of wind and fall leaves though.

Our round table is from my neighbor Graces’s estate sale. It’s an indoor marble table and so I cover it during rainy days, but it has been perfect out here with this set! We can do a whole lot of appetizers on this baby.

I recently changed all the cushions to black and white to keep things consistent with the house. The two with graphic leave motif pillows are from my January Hawaii trip to the Big Island and one of my favorite shops, SoHa Living.

Below is my rickety teak table I’ve had way too long. It is due to be replaced, but I found these white metal chairs last year and they kind of pulled the yard together, so we are making it work. I will sometimes use a tablecloth or runner to dress it up a bit when we dine out here.

Once we moved in, we removed all the old terra-cotta and colored pots and added these resin/ceramic ones with boxwood. Here in a photo from my Instagram stories..

I have this old bar stand I turned into my herb garden/potting table. I’m hoping to move this to the side yard when I get the French teak console table of my dreams from RH someday…

Our vegetable garden that I wrote about in this post is going great! My oldest son Jackson does most of the work on it with my dad. They are garden nerds. I’m so excited we just got our first heirloom tomato! This year we have tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers and cantaloupe. We are so fortunate that my dad starts all the tomatoes himself by seed, and they are really good.

Our front is another outdoor space we use so much now that we remodeled and added a patio. I always wanted an area that we could hang out in front, chat with neighbors and enjoy the sunset view. This is another thing that has made our home feel so much bigger. The wall serves as extra seating and I still may order some bigger chairs, but for now it’s enough to eat lunch out here and hang with the cat during the winter months. With the western exposure, the front patio is a bit warm to use during the summer except at sunset and in evenings, but it’s super in the winter as it stays protected and warm. We love having coffee out here in winter and wine at night with friends in summer. If we open the French doors, the patio serves as a great spot for guests to grab some air and more seating when entertaining inside. (Will that will ever happen again?!!)

Last winter having my coffee with the cat..

Now we’ve placed pillows on the wall like a Greek hotel LOL.

We did native plants and decomposed granite in this front landscape. I used French Provencal gardens as my inspiration. I especially love the two non-fruiting olive trees and the agaves. Right now it’s busy with all the lavenders blooming we have butterflies, bees and birds all day. It’s very low maintenance, organic and pesticide free. All I have to do is occasionally weed so we don’t miss our old grass at all. It’s becoming more and more filled in as the bushes spread out and take up space.

I hope this wasn’t too rambling, but I did want to share how we made our smallish home feel a lot bigger by creating indoor/outdoor spots.

Here’s a few links to get the same look if you are interested:

I love these Quinn Stoneware pots at Pottery Barn. Right now they are living up to their name with a great assortment of modern and simple pots for inside and outside.

This black outdoor pillow from Target is my style. I think it’s hard to find outdoor pillows in black and white so I grab them when I find them.

The Target collab with Joanna Gaines is so good now in terms of quality and design! This pretty stripe throw is a great price at $29 and I don’t mind it being outside at that price. I like to have a big basket of throws for cool evenings. ( The table runner on my outdoor teak table is oversized and also well made thick linen from them!)

I don’t do melamine and instead prefer to use my everyday when entertaining outside. Theses stoneware plates are strong enough to hold up to outdoor use and dishwashing by young men too.

A few years ago I replaced my motley group of umbrellas with three Ballard Design Auto-Tilt Sunbrella 11 foot umbrellas with black poles in the black/sand combo. I also bought the 50 pound extra weight to prevent them from falling over in storms. It’s been three years and they are still looking like new and working great. Excellent quality.

I also need to order an outdoor rug for the deck and I love the Seaview Rug from Serena & Lily. I already have it in my kitchen and it’s indestructible. The new rose color would be pretty out here.

Now please go enjoy all these amazing women and their versions of outdoor living. I am excited as I always learn so much from everyone’s blogs and ideas..
ROUGH LUXE
CLASSIC CASUAL HOME
MOST LOVELY THINGS
EDB DESIGNS
KELLEY & CO HOME
MODERN GLAM
SHABBYFUFU

Also joining us in this collaboration is the talented Brooke Giannetti! She is author of the beautiful Patina Farm series of books about the oasis she and her husband Steve have created in Ojai, one of the most beautiful towns in California. Their home is so lovely and inspiring the way in brings the outdoors in!