Today I wanted to share one more post on our trip to New Orleans, this time on a project I’ve done a lot of work on over the years. Today we are visiting my mom and dad’s house, well actually their back yard. You may remember I shared some work we were doing in her living room a few months back. If you do these outdoor photos may shock you a bit since the interior of the house is almost all white. On outside however its full color and lots of fun as are most things in New Orleans.
Years ago the back yard oasis began with the addition of a “She Shed” and the checkered pavers. These additions also served to camouflage some of the less desirable features of the yard with requiring demolition. You see the house was actually once two houses that were later joined together by a center room. There was originally a driveway that ran between the houses to the back yard and a garage sat where the shed now sits. The concrete was old and damaged and not very attractive so rather than remove all this concrete we decided to go right over it with a checkerboard of pavers.
The most recent addition has been the expansion of the back deck which used to be much smaller and had only an arbor above. The deck has now doubled in size and has a solid roof which makes for great space to sit and enjoy the evening, or the day like Scarlet here does.
This trip I helped Mom add a little color to the porch area with new cushions from Kirkland’s and throw pillows from World Market and Walmart.
With flowers from the yard 
and a fresh coat of Krylon Mambo Pink on the storage cabinet
we are ready for a party on the porch.
and for seating you can choose the porch swing…
or comfy seating…
where you can sit and enjoy all the yard’s quirky fun.
and for when the party goes late into the night my dad stung this outdoor lighting across the yard.
The thing I love most about a New Orleans yards is the lush vegetation, living in temperatures and humidity that are like an everyday greenhouse means happy plants.
and when there is vegetation pouring out of everything you can get pretty creative.
We found this guy for $1 at an estate sale just before I left but we knew this cool cat would be the perrrfect addition to an already happening party.
this is simply beautiful. And, just think, you get to visit whenever you want.
Maggie, I’m so glad you shared your parent’s backyard! My lot in Bridge City is very similar with the long driveway to the back and a concrete pad from the former garage. I’ve been resisting building a shed because I don’t want to block the view of the very back, but a cute design like this would make it worth it.
How are the pavers laid, on a sand base first or right down on the concrete?
Megan this shed is a built on site shed my parents bought thru Home Depot so you can pretty much get whatever you want . This one is 12×24 and has a wall down the middle with a barn door to the back half for storage. The pavers have a sand base where needed just for leveling ( concrete was old and cracked) and we used metal garden borders along the straight edges to keep them from shifting and swept sand over the top at the end to fill the gaps.
I love this garden – such a happy place!
What a happy porch and backyard space!!! The pillows and painted furniture on the porch added so much life. Love the lush landscape and all the “quirky” moments you injected in the yard. The pavers were a great idea. I like the checkerboard pattern.