outdoor dining {One Room Challenge} week two

After the first week of One Room Challenge, what do I have to show? Not much... it has been cold with snow/rain shower for a few days, far for ideal to work outside. So it left me time to refine my plan for the room "al fresco dining": fix the paint color of the house, install a wall light fixture and pretty string lights, purchase some new chairs, build a table (from the old deck wood), craft/build some accessories like lanterns and stands, add some soil and plants around the yard, technically not on the patio, but seen from it... So what did we actually tackle? dirt and plant, once the weather cooperated.

Right now, it does not look like much, but we made a new plant/flower bed in the shade of our neighbor's fence! We installed a simple brick border, planted about 2 dozens shade loving plants: hostas, lilies of the valley, and a few others whose name I forgot,  and covered everything with fresh mulch. Hopefully they will come out soon, and make this side of the yard much more pleasant to look at! Next to this new flower bed is the potting bench that I made last year  . We also took the brick border through the rest of the back yard, separating our trees and shrugs from the "grass" area, which we are trying to grow.... very hard with a young dog and a very shady yard... a work in progress, it does get better every year, or so we tell ourselves!

I did manage to built one little accent piece: a stand for a drink dispenser.

I followed loosely this tutorial from Being Brook, using boards I already had at home. It still needs to be sanded and stained. It fits perfectly our plastic dispenser (much safer for the outdoor than glass). Next week end should be nice and warm, so I hope I will be able to build that table I showed last week on my inspiration board. from Restoration Hardware, planning on using Ana White's plan.... Hope all goes well!