After we scored some slate slabs on Craigslist last year, we made a walkway with them between the "big" house and the screen house. We liked it so much, we decided to keep our eyes out for more slate. Finally, one year later, Bill saw a listing for the same giant slabs (2' x 3') and we bought all ten for $100.
After a little scraping and moving dirt around, we put the slate in place. (OK, after a LOT of scraping and moving dirt around; it took all day.) With a rock wall at one end and the two houses on either side, it feels like an outdoor living room, furnished with our folding chairs and a few old tables. We found a great deal on an end-of-the-season fire pit, and we've enjoyed several evenings sitting around a fire with a beverage or two in hand. We still have the big, stone fire ring when we want a blazing campfire, but having this spot right outside the door is wonderful.
We've lived in our 250-square-foot house for more than two years now. I think it's all our outdoor rooms that make the space feel big for most of the year. Between the wrap-around deck, the screen house, the bench in the woods and, now, our new al fresco "room," we're living large.
After a little scraping and moving dirt around, we put the slate in place. (OK, after a LOT of scraping and moving dirt around; it took all day.) With a rock wall at one end and the two houses on either side, it feels like an outdoor living room, furnished with our folding chairs and a few old tables. We found a great deal on an end-of-the-season fire pit, and we've enjoyed several evenings sitting around a fire with a beverage or two in hand. We still have the big, stone fire ring when we want a blazing campfire, but having this spot right outside the door is wonderful.
We've lived in our 250-square-foot house for more than two years now. I think it's all our outdoor rooms that make the space feel big for most of the year. Between the wrap-around deck, the screen house, the bench in the woods and, now, our new al fresco "room," we're living large.