We have been dreaming of a Lewicki L’Oasis ever since we bought our house! Then we finished our basement, and the FOMOP (fear of missing out on a patio) really set in! A beautiful paved space to walk out onto where we can eat, play, and make memories with our girls. The pool was put in a couple of years before we bought the house, but the entire backyard was lacking any sort of outdoor lounge space. This summer, we decided to make my husband’s outdoor vision a reality! We dug up our backyard and installed a patio as well as a firepit area. Keep reading to see the process and finished project of our new patio oasis!
What We Were Dealing With
This is a zoomed in photo of the deck, but you can tell it’s quite weathered. Last summer, Adam stained the entire thing with Cabot semi-transparent deck stain in Cedar to buy us an extra summer or two with the existing deck. Step 1 complete!
Planning
Adam actually designed the layout himself! He typically handles all the outside related projects while I handle the insides ones, lol. I knew he had a vision so I wanted him to run with it! The main goal was to get rid of those awful rocks laid under the deck and create a large area with pavers we could actually enjoy. Utilize that space, honey! Last summer, we laid down a large outdoor rug over those rocks, but let me tell you, it was not fun to walk on. Ouch! (Not ideal.) You can’t see it in the pictures, but the pool is completely closed off from the yard with only a small surrounding area of concrete to use for lounge chairs. By extending the useable space by the pool, us and our guests have much more room to gather and enjoy our Maine summers!
Construction
The whole process from start to finish took about a week. We hired a local company to dig the drainage, build a retaining wall, lay the pavers, and move the old rocks to what is now our new firepit area. (Next project on the docket!)
Time to Decorate!
After construction comes the fun part! We moved Adam’s grill and smoker to a paved area on the side of the pool. We also moved our existing outdoor dining set (no longer available but linking something similar) underneath the deck. That now means the top of our deck is completely bare, but it made sense to have the dining area set up down where the pool was for optimal grillin’ and chillin’. We will look for a small set to go up top on the deck. We bought this beautiful outdoor rug off Amazon, and I even made a cutie little ‘Welcome To Our Patio‘ sign (click here for a tutorial)!
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For the other side, we set up our existing patio furniture (no longer available but linking something similar) that used to be in a corner of the fenced in pool area. We added a coffee table, which I love because it’s round and soft, (and anything that lessens my anxiety with three plus kids running around is an A+ in my book). We also added a couple lanterns. The rattan one I snagged at Goodwill for $8, and the other is a Target find! We added a rug (another Target find), and that plant stand was a rusty one we had on the deck I just spray painted black. I am also happy to report all my flowers are still alive! *pats self on back* …for now.
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Before & After’s
We are so happy with how the patio turned out! We now have an amazing space to spend our days and nights! After we find some chairs for the firepit area, the next project to complete our outdoor oasis will be a new deck either next summer or the one after. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be here slathering on sunblock with a Yeti full of iced coffee (or margs, whatever) living my best life!
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I hope this inspires you with your own outdoor oasis at home! If so, please give me a tag on IG or email me a photo. I’d love to see your cozy space!
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Great job Amy! You have such an eye as to what looks good. What a transformation! You have added so much value to your home.
Thank you, Sue! Such a compliment ๐
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Did you install a ceiling under the deck to keep the rain and other things from pouring/falling through onto the items
furniture below?
Hi Mike, we did not. The boards are much closer together now than the old boards, so rain does go onto the patio below but not as bad. Plus all of our furniture below is made for the outside and is not affected. Hope that helps!