It's March... but feels like Summer! Time for picnics and al fresco living

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I can't believe how great the weather has been this week. It's only March, but today the temperature went up to 20 degrees Celsius at least. It's the North East of Scotland here, folks, so that IS extraordinary. July last year saw temperatures drop closer to 10 degrees. Climate change? It might be - which is bad - but I can't help but having really enjoyed a bit of warmth and the idea of living somewhere hot for once.

All this sunshine has really got me in the mood for outdoor living, picnics and generally lounging about in the garden, beach or park. I thought therefore today I collect some great images that give us some ideas to do it in style. Think lanterns...vintage picnic cases, retro table cloths...lovely tea sets.

I love these lanterns in the tree... http://thevintagehome.net/2012/03/02/its-picnic-time

Some great colourful vintage tablecloths...would love those in my drawer! http://www.flickriver.com/groups/51414710@N00/pool/interesting/

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Pies in vintage scarves! http://pinterest.com/pin/133700682657613381/

No picnic without a proper blanket  http://pinterest.com/pin/269582727664674991/

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All I can say is...aaaaahhhhhh.... http://pinterest.com/pin/166562886188014802/

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Urban picnic http://pinterest.com/pin/244812929713570983/

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Long may it last... Enjoy the weather everyone!

Our patio makeover. Where natural stone meets lavender.

Maybe some of you remember my post from last year about our patio project? Well, I am pleased to let you all know that it has now been FINISHED! Well, at least, as far as the actual patio area goes. The edge from patio to rest of the garden is still another little bit of work that we need to look at later. Yes, later. Like, next year. But gosh, am I happy that it is done, even though Summer is almost over! It's only been ten months! Still, it's been worth the wait and all the hard work.

Here are some before shots to refresh your memory...

 

And....here is the finished patio:

The outer ring of pebbles we did ourselves and took absolutely forever, preparing the ground, placing cement, deciding on the pattern, tapping them all in and making sure they're  level. And you can't do these things in rainy weather!

As for the planting I choose bamboo plants for the top bed (as we'd like them to give us some more privacy in the future and bamboo is meant to grow fast!) and lots of alpine plants and sedums for the top of the wall. I choose lavender for pots and the lower beds to match the purple slate. The small tree in the pot is an olive tree (that only gets put out for a little while in Scotland!).

I love the old oak plank that has been built as a bench into the drystone wall:

Our patio certainly has a lot of creativity, love, blood, sweat, tears - and a hell of a lot of rocks - in it. I love the natural stone, the different textures, patterns, the purple shades and the way it looks like it's always been there. Concrete slabs may be quicker, but this patio will sure bring us (and the cats ;-) many years of joy.

How to create an eclectic...exterior! Rugs, seating, lanterns and other colourful patio ideas

April always seems to be one of the best months in the North East of Scotland and today we had tropical temperatures of 19 degrees Celsius! It was incredibly windy, but still, I managed to enjoy lunch 'al-fresco'. Each year I hope that we'll have great weather until at least August, but unfortunately we've had plenty of wetness and cold too.... Anyway, enough about our crappy Scottish Summers, let's talk sunshine! As I have recently been writing a couple of posts about how to create an eclectic interior, I thought it would be nice to focus on how to create inspirational outdoor areas today, since we'll all be walking around in our flip-flops soon.

As you may have seen in earlier posts my husband and I are still busy building our own patio area from beautiful natural stone, which hopefully will be finished before Summer. Can't wait to dress it up with furniture, cushions and pot plants. The rockery plants are in place already.

To give you and myself some inspiration, I selected some great images to get our creative thinking going...

I adore everything in this picture. Look at those tiles! Image: www.style-files.com

How romantic is this...! Image: La Belle Vie

How to create this eclectic garden chandelier, read it on www.sunset.com

And another wonderful alternative chandelier

Not exactly a patio area, but wouldn't you love to have your al-fresco Summer lunch here? Image: Modern Interior Design

I have a thing for colourful cushions, like necklaces, you just can't have enough of them! Image: My Deco

Even small balconies can be transformed into wonderful spaces. Image: Houzz

Indoor furniture doesn't have to stay indoors! Image: House to Home

Get your vintage linens out to create a wonderful country chic dinner table. Image: House to Home

Yup, told you so, get those vintage linens out. What a lovely French style patio! Image: House to Home

And of course...an example from Stockholm, where we'll be heading for our Summer holidays. Great use of a tiny roof terrace! Image: Pitut.com
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Don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to Summer now...hope you like this post.  How do you create that individual look on your outdoor area?
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Our patio project or Grand Design

BEFORE!

BEFORE!

Our patio in the back garden has been en eye sore ever since we moved in three years ago but we finally got around to improving it. Glenn was keen on getting a drystone wall, but I wasn't too sure about what this would look like on a patio area. What we did know was that we preferred real stone rather than concrete, man-made slabs for pavement and walling. By asking around on facebook I found Danny, a wonderful and very talented stone mason who not only came up with a great design (something far more 'organic' and beautiful than we had come up with), but has now almost finished making it a reality.

Danny's Grand Design

We ended up building with local sandstone, pebbles and some slate - all natural. Danny salvaged some oak planks from an allotment - now used as a gorgeous build-in bench within the walling. It has been such a great, creative process - and it's been a pleasure working with our stone mason - who is anything but your typical builder (more like a free spirited, traveling surfer dude! :-).

As I say, it's not finished yet - and work is becoming harder with colder weather and less light - but I thought I'd show you some pictures of the progress so far.  I will upload more pictures once it's all done (especially next Spring when we can start putting plants in and adding the finishing touches). Can't wait till next year....barbecues on our new patio! By the way, that ugly pink screen/fencing in the back will obviously go too!

My dad, me and Glenn on our patio three years ago

Aaaah! The sandstone has arrived!! Now what...?

 

Glenn and Danny

Quick! The light is going! November is not ideal for patio building ...

 

Another bit of patio!

An outer circle will be added made of pebbles. Other parts will be filled in with soil for planting

Happy me - supervising and making lots of cups of tea for the workers...!

Our 'upper' patio is finished.... yay! Can't wait to add some plants next year.

Stay tuned... to be continued....!

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