Week 6 is here. Unbelievable. The last month and a half flew by. I want to start out by saying how incredibly happy I am that I chose to remake our side yard in to a garden. I loved designing it and then watching it come to life. It went from an eyesore to one of my favorite places to relax. In fact, I’m relaxing in the garden, drinking a cup of coffee and writing this post. I love that all of our kids not only have fun picking fruits and veggies from it, but they play with their toys, lounge on the furniture and read books there too.

I’d like to remind you where we started:

before picture of the side yard we turned into a kitchen garden and secret oasis.
Forgotten and neglected this side yard needed some help

And how far we’ve come:

pull away view into the kitchen garden. framed with hibiscus and a white picket fence.
The pool and a/c equipment was creatively hidden behind this diy lattice enclosure with a diy barn door entry
Swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, marigolds and tomatoes are just a few of the plantings we have in our kitchen garden.
By next spring the White Lady Banks climbing roses will be all over the equipment wall
Marigolds in the raised beds and pull away image with diy barn door and garden lights.
Marigolds in the raised beds help ward off pests, as well as the 1500 lady bugs we released
cozy corner seating area with kiwi vines and succulents in the kitchen garden.
The vine growing in the corner is a male/female kiwi plant and will eventually span the entire privacy screen

Artichokes, thornless boysenberries and a pomegranate tree fill in the cut out along with aloe and strawberry plants for groundcover.

Tucked up in the corner of the pergola you might be able to see some vines growing. That is a tall Chinese Wisteria plant that I hope will eventually work its way along the top of the pergola.

gottorp pendant light hack seating area with wisteria and pendants in the kitchen garden.
When you first walk in to the left storage/seating area. There is a planter in the corner of the storage box and right now potatoes are growing in it.
ikea hack turning an ikea pendant with a solar light.
Solar pendant light hack hung from a pulley
close up of faux succulents and pots and garden decor in home kitchen garden
diy storage boxes and seating area for garden and close up of lettuce and chard being grown in the garden.
This storage bench is to the right when you walk in.

We were not only able to create three different seating areas in the garden but a potting bench area as well.

potting bench storage area of inexpensive items from ikea and target for the garden.
This is the Ikea Fjallbo Shelf and storage unit, I sealed the wood with an exterior polyurethane to protect it.
potting bench storage area.
close up view of ikea pots and clips on an ikea hack potting bench.
So much to love here: the knee pad and tools I found at Target, as well as the clips on the wall from Ikea.
potting bench with tons of storage made from an ikea hack sit opposite of a potted bay leaf tree - a great tree to have for any cook in a kitchen garden.
I love how it tucks secretly behind the equipment wall.
basil, lavender and tomatoes are grown together in our diy raised garden beds in our kitchen garden.
I’m looking forward to pesto from this basil, lavender oil from the lavender, and salsa from the fresh tomatoes and cilantro.
brass nameplates used to tag common herbs and vegetables in our kitchen garden. This one is of cilantro.
Beautiful garden details, like these metal herb name plates are a great juxtaposition to the rustic wood of the raised beds.
scaffolding planks were repurposed as raised garden beds. very inexpensive and time worn wood that will continue to last in the heat and weather we have.
Artisan, a subtle nod to who I am and a great way to add homage to my dad, who for many years ran a stucco business. Captain Artisan, the name of his company was stamped into the side of all the scaffolding planks and painted his signature red color.

This garden is a great escape any time of the day. The pergola creates shade in the pendant seating area most of the day, the potting bench/table sitting area is the perfect spot in the mornings for coffee or in the evenings with a glass of wine. We extended the use of the garden into the nights by draping lights across the raised beds. It’s so magical and inviting.

view of the diy barn door and diy equipment wall next to our kitchen garden and diy raised garden beds from reclaimed wood
A view from the chairs when the lights go on. The small lights on the wall are solar lights, I also placed them on the ends of the raised beds to light the walkway.
sunset view over the raised garden beds in our kitchen garden.
Sunset.

If you’d like to read more about this One Room Challenge, here’s links to the last five weeks for you to check out!
Week 1 – focuses on plans and detailed drawings of the space as well as before pictures.

Week 2 – Raised planter bed tutorial and the plants we chose for our kitchen garden

Week 3 – Storage Bench tutorial and garden build/life update

Week 4 – Diy build of the equipment surround

Week 5 – DIY GIANT Barn Door, Ikea hacks and diy solar pendant lights on a pulley

A special thank you to Linda, from Calling it Home, who created the One Room Challenge, Better Homes and Gardens, the official media sponsor of the ORC. Great job to all the other Guest Participants and the 20 Featured Designers!

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44 Comments

  1. Absolutely beautiful and inviting! Such intricacy, for all the sense, of your body and mind. Love it!

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  4. This is beautiful Joannie!! You are very talented with ideas and follow thru! Love it!!!❤️

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  8. Stunning work. I love all the greenery. What a clever pool equipment enclosure plus multi use garden center. The sitting area looks inviting. Great job!

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  11. Joannie, this is simply amazing! Love the seating area you’re created. I’m sure you will enjoy this space for years to come.

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  15. Amazing, and so creative!! Such a beautiful and inviting space. Way to go you two! Can’t wait to see your next project! ?

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  19. That doesn’t even look like the same yard!! It’s such a lovely serene space now. That wall surrounding the pool equipment is genius! There are so many fantastic details to love in this space. Fantastic job!

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  20. What a beautiful & dramatic transformation, Joannie!! This is soooo perfect for the upcoming summer. Enjoy this lovely space! I had fun following along!

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  21. Oh my gosh, how cool! Love your vegetable area and that little bistro table at the end of it! Perfect little morning spot!

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  23. This is fantastic! I’ve loved following along and the space looks wonderful! Great call planting everything early enough that they would fill out all the beds. Really makes the transformation impressive!

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  26. This is so fantastic, you utilized every bit of the space and your garden looks amazing. It’s such a lovely space.

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  30. This is one of the best uses of a side yard I’ve ever seen! Thank you for showing us how easy it can be (or looks) to combine function and beauty in an otherwise overlooked space. Bravo!

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  31. I am so in love with the amazing job you’ve done with this space! It’s way cooler than I was thinking it would look when you first announced the plans. Not that I doubted you, I just couldn’t see the full vision. I am inspired to get working on parts of my yard now.

    Reply
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