Here are some follow-up pictures from my Landscape Design post yesterday. As you can see, I have my work cut out for me.  I wish this part could be as easy as coming up with a plan.  I take some solace by telling myself that all the hard yard work I’ll be putting in this summer (and probably next summer, and maybe the summer after that too) will be worth it.  For some reason, outside work just seems harder than inside work.  Maybe, it’s because I love interior design.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do love gardening.  It is peaceful and relaxing to me.  It is also very gratifying to watch all the seeds and bulbs you’ve nourished bloom and beautify your yard.  But getting my yard to the point where I can even start to think about planting is hot, sweaty, dirty, and makes my muscles grumpy.

      So, my muscles and my disposition are grumpy after working on this little island in my front yard.  In the picture on the left, you can see the old fence in the background.  And in the foreground is an embarrassingly overgrown with weeds, and infested with snails, eyesore.  In the picture on the right you can see a bit of the new fence in the background and an eyesore that is well, still an eyesore.  I wanted to just start over in this spot, everything has to go including much of the soil.  I decided to flatten this spot and move the dirt to the backyard (top, right picture).  Hopefully, I will be able to share much prettier pictures with you soon.

     My Handy Hubby has been busy tearing down our old rotting fence and building us a brand new one.  The old fence just enclosed the back of our yard and not the side yard, leaving us with a lot of unused yard.  We wanted be able to use all of our yard so we took the new fence all the way to the sidewalk.  Our new backyard is now double what it was.  With so much new usable space, I had to come up with a plan to make sure everyone got what they wished for. There’s a space for Handy Hubby and his shop tools, a jungle gym (yeah, you caught me, I spelled it wrong on my plan ) for the little kids, a fire pit for the older kids, and a garden for me.  I know it will take some time and a whole lotta work to get from what I have to what I want.  But, as always, I have more time and energy than I have money.  So, I’m just gonna roll up my sleeves and get to work.  Tomorrow I will show some before pictures and some pictures of my progress.

I am always on the look out for fun and unique design elements.  I spotted these glass garage doors one day while visiting my brother and his family.  I’m not sure if glass is practical for a garage door but I thought they looked really cool.

Happy Friday Everyone!  For this week’s “Inspiration” I have an extra special post.  I am blessed with the best readers!  Linda is one of my lovely readers who is willing to share the rewards of her hard work and talent.

Here is a before picture of Linda’s piano.

Here is the stunning after.

Love, love the red paint with the black glaze.

The glaze gives the piano a little extra depth and dimension and a whole lot of character.

The glaze also helps define and highlight intricate details like above.

 It may take some time and elbow grease for this kind of transformation.  Linda said, “It was a lot of work, but so worth it!”  I agree!  Linda, you have done a gorgeous job!  I hope you have been as inspired as I have.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today has caught me in an exceptionally good mood.  I wanted to set a bright and happy table to reflect my perkiness.

Nothing here is new except for the square orange quatrefoil plates.  I picked them up at Hobby Lobby this week.  They were on the Spring clearance rack so I snagged the last two.

Here’s a little closer look.

Love this little dragon.

And a touch of my vintage Fiestaware is the last ingredient needed for my table.

Thank you for stopping by.  I appreciate you taking the time to visit.  Please come back and visit anytime.  I am linking this post to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.