Did you celebrate National S’Mores Day? We did and it was so nice to socially distance around the fire pit with a few friends, enjoying those ooeehy gooey marshmallows and warm chocolate..delish. Gathering anyway we can these days is precious to us. Outdoors offers, in our opinion, more safety because of space, sun, and breezes. We are more comfortable outside with our gatherings, allowing us to share more time with a few friends and family.
One thing we love the most through the year is having lingering evenings by the fire in the fall. Fall is heading our way and we are starting to prep – please join along.
Have you built outdoor DIY projects this year? We are ready to enhance our outdoor living spaces with cooler weather headed this way. As we start to pull together some inspiration, rearing to pull out the tools, we thought we would share our thoughts with you too.
Here is how we are gearing up for the fall weather, ready to retreat around the fire and enjoy crisp clear nights under the stars.
Photo was taken at Sandbrock Ranch
First, we want to add in heaps of comfy seating – enjoying our longer nights by the fire is going to require some DIY – We plan on building out two wooden sofa frames, see below, and line them with cushions in fall tones.
We are looking to Ana White for some AMAZING DIY tutorials including a list of materials and supplies. For step by step instructions to build her seating arrangement, click over here for full instructions.
Our plan includes two sectionals, facing each other. This layout will provide us with loads of room to spread out with our company or snuggle while we enjoy an intimate evening in the backyard, under the stars.
We will source the cushions from The Home Depot, we are loving the Arden Selection fabrics
Tip: Choose your cushions first. To us, choosing fabric and pattern is a difficult decision. You may be repurposing cushions you already own, either way, we suggest this choice comes first. Measure your cushion of choice. Build your sofa frame depth and width according to the number of cushions and the dimensions of cushions you are using for your seating arrangement.
Secondly, we will bring in the FIRE – Life feels so good on a brisk night in front of an outdoor firepit…a fire pit adds so much to the cozy factor, don’t you agree? With so many fire pit options out there, we loved how clean and timeless the concrete campfire area looks.
We are going to be creating a concrete fire pit so we can warm up when the sun goes down. Ben Uyeda’s Homemade Modern has the best design for us. His step by step instructions on building this concrete firepit are here – Check out his tutorial including tools and materials from the Ryobi Outdoor Living page.
Using concrete as a medium can have challenges, however, we think the end result is TOUGH, just what we need around here. There are plenty of options when it comes to adding the fire element to your fall outdoor entertainment space.
Not wanting to DIY a fire pit? The Home Depot has tons of options, here, that can be mailed straight to your home.
Thirdly, we will layer in lighting. We love the ambiance and to set the mood not just for us, our guests too. Several options include candles, lanterns, and lamps. Patio lights are a perfect way to add mood lighting and have control over the lighting in your outdoor dining or entertaining areas.
Tip: Unscrew a few lights sporadically on the string to give off a more dim light effect. You can adjust the number of bulbs to your lighting preferences.
A sprinkle of ambiance is important to creating a cozy space – See how @FrenchCountryCottage adds so much to her vignette here, Guess what? We are able to create this feel in our backyard as well, thanks to Ryobi’s new tool line.
RIGHT?! Ryobi to the RESCUE, they have a small power supply so you can have gorgeous lighting in your trees too! We are going to power up with a few of these winners! Just place them at the base of our tree trunks and light it up!
All the beauty around Instagram where folks have lined their trees with dripping lights, it all looks so magical – NOW WE CAN HAVE THIS TOO, here is where you can find the Ryobi power banks.
After a couple of weekends being weekend warriors, building projects using our Ryobi tools we will be all set for the fourth layer of our Fall Fire Retreat.
The finishing touches are important to creating a space you will want to relax, enjoy, and spend time with friends and family. Our final addition to our Fall Fire Living Area are touches of hospitality with color and texture. Adding blankets for guests, using non-breakable glassware and dishes adds comfort & reduces stress while also bringing in pops of color and texture for interest.
Changing things up with the seasons adds zest and whimsy to returning guests.
You can see here some of our FAVORITE Fall Outdoor Items:
Don’t you love how accessories full of color and texture add to the mood, finishing off the outdoor space? We sure do and this is what gets us up and motivated to pull out the tools, head to Home Depot, and get the projects started!
We found Ryobi’s Outdoor Living DIY projects here. If you want loads of tips and DIY tutorials full of material lists, this is a great resource.
Have you seen their new line of tools? We are crazy excited about using them for our outside DIY projects because of the extra battery life and better power –
you can see more about the new RYOBI ONE+ HP Tools here, if you like. So many handy improvements.
Are you getting excited about spending cooler evenings outside? We are so anxious for those glorious evenings outside, we thought you might be too and hope you enjoyed seeing our progress – we will be sharing more as we BUILD.
xoxo, The HAVEN team.
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