Ocean Cottage Makeover Part 2: Outdoor Oasis

After doing some minimal interior renovations, my husband and I got to work on the exterior of the ocean cottage. While its curb appeal wasn’t altogether terrible, it sure needed some sprucing up!

Sprucing Up the Front

We started by removing all of the overgrown shrubberies and began painting the front of the house with Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray. There’s just something magical about a fresh coat of paint! Next, we installed a new front door and shutters and painted them in Sherwin Williams Gale Force.

We also added a new small front porch; we found a couple of interesting granite pieces for steps and created a cobblestone border for florals. With the exception of two beautiful hydrangeas, the plantings came from our very generous neighbor, Joanne, when she split her perennials that fall.

The Front Yard Patio

Living in a beach community is all about visiting with neighbors, sitting on each other's porches, and drinking coffee (or wine). We did not have enough room based on the town's setbacks to add a deep farmers’ porch, so we did the next best thing — we built a front yard patio using Cabot Hill Garden Path flagstone! 

We purchased two 1-ton pallets of this flagstone that is wildly irregular in shape, width, and height and went to work designing and building a patio. (Well, to be honest, my husband did the work; I supervised).

We built up the yard — front and back, added 75 tons of loam, planted grass, and also built a patio in the back yard, for which we hired a landscaper this time. In the front yard, we added beautiful deep blue Adirondack chairs to match the shutters and front door, along with a gas fire table for enjoying those chillier evenings.

The Backyard Oasis

For one of the backyard sitting/standing areas, we chose a high-top table and chairs.  For the firepit area, we chose a dark gray Adirondack chair (as the blue was no longer in stock) around a Solo Stove fire pit. And for additional seating in the back, we repurposed the living room furniture that was left in the house. This was a much bigger project than I anticipated! 

We sanded the polyurethaned wood, primed and then painted it in Sherwin Williams Porch and Floor Enamel paint, in Gale Force. We topped it all off with inexpensive outdoor cushions for comfort and to create a cozy sitting area.  We also added a new shed but kept the old one, which will soon become some sort of outdoor tiki bar next summer. I can’t wait to continue adding to our outdoor oasis!

Backyard Before

Backyard After

Want to Build Your Own Outdoor Oasis?

Do you have a dream for your outdoor space, but aren’t sure how to make it happen? Let’s chat!