It is just starting to get into the really good season for Palm Springs so I am ecstatic to take full advantage of all the outdoor space at the A-frame and I am equally thrilled to be able to share the full exterior tour today! We worked on the landscaping of the a-frame bit by bit over the last couple years so while I was going through old photos it made me realize just how far we’ve come. You may recognize the photo above if you subscribe to Sunset Magazine. We were completely honored to be September’s cover story!!

BEFORE

Here is a reminder of how it looked when we first purchased it. The yard was incredibly overgrown with so many weird, broken, and downright scary features like a human sized bird cage (one of multiple cages actually), a cess pit (basically a giant open hole in the ground that all the sewage dumps into), and dead trees that were due to fall over at any time. The first thing we did was clean it up, we had to rent a big construction dumpster to get rid of everything (twice).  But eventually, after all of the clean up, tree and miscellaneous shed and cage removal, paint, and more paint, adding plants, crushed rock, and some furniture, filling in a non functional koi pond, taking out a bridge that literally led to no where, a large broken fountain, two defunct hot tubs and a swamp cooler, and replacing the entire roof, we made it to here…

AFTER

A while back I posted about a few of my outdoor plans and shared how Wayfair really helped to deck out the exterior rooms. We created the dining area in the front of the house (which took the place of an old fountain) using their concrete stools as seating, paired with an Ikea dining table and Target chairs. I found these cushions on H&M which were the perfect size for the stools.

The only thing left on my list to do is to replace that zig zag patterned board below the window but lets pretend it is not there for now.

Product Sources:
Front Dining Area: Concrete Stools from Wayfair // Dining Table from Ikea // Seat Cushions from H&M // Side Chairs from Target (no longer available find similar here)

BEFORE

If you continue around to the side of the house we come to the patio off the bedroom. I wanted to make this into a relaxing spot for morning coffee and mountain views so we added some lounge chairs and an umbrella.

AFTER

BEFORE

Just off the patio, looking towards the mountains, is a big open space that was begging for a gathering area. Shortly after we bought the property a big storm came through and blew down the fence you see here. After replacing the fence and cleaning up the landscaping, we added this beautiful fire pit and butterfly chair grouping from Wayfair (inspired by The Parker, one of our favorite PS spots) which is just calling for some late night chats.

AFTER

Product Sources:
Fire Pit and Bedroom Patio Area: Butterfly Chair from Wayfair // Fire Pit from Wayfair // Lounge Chairs and cushions from Ikea // Umbrella from Hayneedle

BEFORE

Back around to the front of the house is the main entrance where there was a pergola on its’ last legs. We tore it down and built a new one to match, and extended the living area out onto the patio with some outdoor furniture.

AFTER

I couldn’t find an outdoor rug large enough for the space that I liked so I ended up buying four 5’x7′ ones of these from Target and layering them. I also couldn’t find a large outdoor coffee table that I loved that didn’t cost an arm and a leg so I DIY’ed this one out of an Ikea dining table top and used three stoneware planter pots as the feet (do you want to see this in a separate post? this one is already the longest one ever!).

The modern lines of this outdoor sofa had me at first glance. Last weekend we all sat out here on it in the early early hours and it was SO quiet and still and peaceful. I never wanted to leave. You can see above how we filled in the dysfunctional koi pond, turning it into a plant bed and filled out the rest of the rocks with more plants as well.

This was a shot from our Sunset magazine shoot, in my dreams I am right here, always… and maybe Archie is playing quietly to the side while I sip my cucumber water and read a really good book.  Ok but in reality it was 110 degrees and shortly after this shot Archie ran into the frame, grabbed an entire brick of cheese off the plate and took a big bite of bree, rind and all and I was off to set up the next photo. Buuut I do have to say, now that the weather is cooling down, I intend to get some real reading time in that chair even if it is limited to Archie’s nap time.

Product Sources:
Main Patio Area: Sofa from Wayfair // Rugs from Target // Hanging Chairs from Candelabra // Coffee Table DIY // Butterfly Chair from Wayfair // Cement Side Table from Wayfair // Side Table from Ikea // Woven Floor Cushions from CB2 // My Dress by Doen // Sandals by Kyma 

BEFORE

AFTER

We always wanted to put a pool in this spot but once we got a 45K quote for the one I wanted I quickly came up with plan B and used a stock water tank as a little plunge pool to cool us down. I’ve seen a few of these around, Morgan from The Brick House painted hers white and since she lives in the desert as well, I figured she was on to something, plus I love the more finished look. Ours is still a work in progress as it still needs another coat of paint and we plan to hook it up to a small sand filter to keep the water clean but for now we have been just filling it up enough for Archie to splash around and then switching it out when needed but its just what we were looking for.

And that is pretty much the full tour! Somehow I forgot to shoot the clawfoot tub which is our outdoor shower, we have cleaned it up and it is one of my favorite features but I am claiming pregnancy brain because it is a real thing and the more pregnant I get the more I am forgetting.

Product Sources:
Pool Area: Stock Water Tank // Outdoor Chairs from HD Buttercup (find similar here)

Images by Sarah Sherman Samuel // Except the ones I am in, those are by Thomas Story for Sunset Magazine (which you can tell because he is the real pro)

Special thanks to Wayfair for gifting some of the product that made my outdoor dreams possible.