I just realized that my Fire feature posts in honor of Guy Fawkes Day on Friday (nov. 5th) didn’t go live as planned. Ugh. WordPress.
Did you celebrate bonfire night?….we did. It was the last hurrah in the garden. The last night of fires in the fireplace with chairs pulled up close. Kids eating gooey cheesy noodles from deep bowls, and adults enjoying $5.00 a bottle expensive British beer. Moth ball smelly wool blankets all around. At least the name of the beer was ‘Welcome Winter’ brew. I am a sucker for a perfect name for a perfect night so I laid down the cash. It was wonderful.
The garden chairs that were meant to get painted all summer are now in the garage waiting to be moved to the new found project room in the basement (created recently when the behemoth furnace was replaced with a much more efficient and petite version) . They will get their makeover this winter instead.
So here was the jist of this post….some before and after pictures of the summer’s work in my little patio area where the fire feature is…it is far from done…so we will rather call this ‘before’, ‘during’….and ‘progress’…’after’ will be at least another summer or two….
The cobblestones that I used in my garden are hand me downs from a client. Not sure how long they graced the streets of Worcester, MA, or what their complete vintage is, but in the spirit of city revitalization, they didn’t have a place anymore, so they came home with me.
I have to include this picture as documentation that I really built this myself. My husband – very late in the game – moved a few cobbles for me from the pile to path — and he says he wants complete co-credit for the project — I think not…proof right here.
And finally late in the summer — and up until this last Friday night we have been enjoying this. It is many plants short of complete — and there is a whole additional section with a pergola to built another summer….but for now, Del Boca Vista (phase one) is done, and Del Boca Vista Phase 2 (as we refer to it) is in planning stages.
I planted sedum (Sedum requieni “Miniature Stonecrop”) between the cobbles and also left a few stones out of the path to create patches of green softness along the route. I am excited to see how it will all grow in over the next couple years. The tree, well, say a little prayer for it. It was a beautiful – but non-blooming redbud – it was moved here and didn’t take well to the whole idea….it might just be a dead-bud, but maybe in the spring it will show some signs of life — if not, well I am considering my options.
Out Coffee/ drinks table (the little one in the center) is the remnants of the enormous birch tree that once stood outside my bedroom window, but in the ice storm of Nov. 2008, it laid down on top of my bedroom and decided never to stand again…. We honor it’s place in the garden by re-purposing the part that was too big for the wood splitter as a table.
So I would love your opinions on the chairs….I kind of adore the one Blue chair color (kind of a vintage tiffany/teal/baby blue) but am also considering a pale green, or a butter yellow color….or perhaps even orange…though I think with all the other orange color accents in my garden and on my house, this might be a bit too much. As I designer I find it so hard to be objective about my house….What do you think? Any Color opinions?
I think butter yellow chairs would look wonderful in that setting. I absolutely love that fireplace. What a great place you have created to relax in. Nice work.
That blue nicely compliments both the fall yellows and the rust of the chimney structure.
Your cobblestones! I remember you talking about those! I’m glad they finally got put to use, and I’m impressed too. We need a fireplace like yours — did the patio this year, but no fireplace yet.
I’m a little obsessed with that blue color myself, and I tend to gravitate to anything that’s a close approximation of it. A butter yellow would look nice in that setting, though. I think with the right yellow, it might be possible to do the other two chairs yellow and leave the blue one.
leaning toward the tealy-blue color myself but then that’s my favorite…wondering if you plan to paint or have them powdercoated? I have a similar collection of old chairs and (once they get closer to the top of the ‘to do’ list) wil have to make that decision myself.
Lurk here a lot – love your blog!
That pale blue would look great with other chairs painted a celery green or even a medium purple/lavender. I like orange but wouldn’t be inclined to go with that next to your rust-red firebox.
Your cobblestone patio and path are to-die-for. Great job!
Super duper mega awesome. GO BLUE!
Love the fireplace!
Agreed Butter yellow and that teal is the way to go.
Try adding a wooden daybed with celery-teal-butter yellow cushiony things to soften and provide an inviting element of comfort. and soften the rustic. Gorgeous spot, would love this in my garden. My style of doing things too, my hubby is better at making me dinner and cups of tea than constructing!
I’d say hot poker orange with an antiquing of the teal from the other chair..kinda sandpaper it in!!..it will look cool with the fire flame colors of blue orange and yellow..good luck
I Love the intimate feel! great chairs- I have them in a turquoise-y blue and I love it but a goldenrod yellow would be a nice pop of color against that awesome fireplace.
what a great fire place/feature!
where did you get the garden fireplace? i love it!
I designed had it made by a local metal worker -(who did a fantastic job!)- I had seen something very similar in europe, but it was smaller and it didn’t have all the custom drawer heights that we developed that let me adjust for cooking over coals, wood or just plain having a fire. I love how it came out too!