Now that you’ve perused the interior of our new home {here and here}, I thought you might like to take a peek at some of the outside space.

Our old house didn’t have a garden. There was a tiny yard at the front with a raised deck and two flower beds that we were useless at tending to. The children frolicked happily enough out there and, as it was also safe to play in the street, we never felt particularly hard done by. That said, it does feel rather wonderful to have a little bit of private outdoor space to call our own. It might not look like much right now, but I’m really excited about transforming it next spring.As you can see, it’s not a garden in the traditional sense. There’s no grass and at the moment it is devoid of trees and plants too. We like to call it a yarden, an affectionate nickname we think captures the fact that it’s more than the yard we once had, but still not quite a garden. As we are resolutely black thumbed and not particularly interested in the upkeep of an expansive lawn, it’s perfect.

The French doors at the end of the dining room open out on to the space and another set on the left hand side lead into the small corridor between the kitchen and the utility room. The canopied area is kitted out with electrical sockets, lighting and outdoor heaters.

My vision is to treat the yarden as an extension of the downstairs living space. I can just picture us eating meals at the dining table in the summer with the doors thrown open and the children happily flitting in and out. The exposed portion of the deck provides ample space to play, while I’d like to transform the canopied area into an outdoor living room of sorts. I plan to sip many a cocktail out there next year! Here’s a little of the inspiration I have filed away for future use…

via Belle Maison

While we’re not exactly keen gardeners, we do want a little greenery to soften the space. We’ll be collecting pots and planters to line the deck and I’d really like to grow a climbing plant up the rather bare looking wall.

via House to Home

I’m itching to freshen up the yarden’s drab paintwork, but I can’t make any firm decisions until we’ve decided what we’re doing with the main property’s pebble dash exterior. We’re almost certain we’re going to have the entire house painted, so we’ll pick something complimentary once we’ve selected an overall shade. I’d really like to inject a little colour in this area though and I love the blue wall in the picture above.

via Mad About The House

Lighting will be key, this much I know. I think it would be wonderful to string some pretty festoon lighting across the deck. Eventually we’ll upgrade the sconces under the canopy too.

It’s all a little way off at the moment, but it’s certainly fun to daydream! Although, I do want to find a way to incorporate a pretty bird feeder out there soon as twitching is one of the children’s favourite winter activities. Any ideas?

Love Audrey xxx