We slowly redo our Florida home each time we visit, and on my most recent visit earlier this month I gave the patio seating area a makeover. Anyone who’s lived in Florida is familiar with the weather patterns there: winters are sunny and mild, springs are perfect, summers are hot and humid, and it rains heavily in the fall. I didn’t want to tackle this project in high heat and humidity, so I planned this outdoor update during the best time of year, and re-nooked our patio when temperatures were in the mid-70s.
I wrote about the pale gravel landscape design idea last year in anticipation of a change like this. Low-maintenance rock beds like these with tropical plants are common in the area, they also complement the style of our older home, so I refreshed our sitting area landscaping in a similar style.
This is what the terrace looked like when I started, you can see there’s not much interesting going on in that corner. I also didn’t like the cornflower blue on the pre-painted porch so I decided to change that too.
This change required me to dig up and remove the old rock before replacing the new one. It was heavy manual labor for me, but with the help of a shovel and a wheelbarrow, I was able to remove the dirty old stones and blackened edge blocks and start fresh.
After 95% of the old rock was gone, we brought in sand to support the new 24″ pavers. I bought three plant pots to fill the space with greenery. I used extra sand to cover most of the existing landscape tarp, hoping it would hold it in place.
We bought 15 bags of white rock from Lowe’s and layered the sand to make it look fresher. The final part of the makeover is painting the porch. I wash it vigorously, then use cleaning solution to scrub and clean the surface.
I let the patio dry for a full 24 hours then painted the patio with Valspar Porch & Patio paint in Beach Dune. I painted the edges first then the rest of the patio with a roller over studs. I use a gallon for each coat allowing it to dry for a full 24 hours between coats.
I am very excited about the fresh new patio space. This is where I drink my coffee every morning now. 🙂
We only have two chairs and a vintage patio table for now, but I will be shopping for an outdoor sofa set to complete the room.
I also thought of painting a pattern on the patio instead of using an outside rug because that to me was clear, it needed something more. More advancements in this space to come this summer!
Anyone else looking forward to more time outdoors in warmer weather? Spring is coming soon, time to start planning!
