Fire Pit Gravel Patio- Finished

When we moved into our small home several years ago, there was no landscaping or gathering places on the property- a blank slate. We had a strangely warm day in February of 2018 and I started this back patio area in our backyard. I had bought several large sandstones to make a circular fire pit area but after running out of the stone- we didn't complete it until this summer of 2019.

You can view the entire "before" here. We do have a large screened-in porch on the front of our home but I wanted a space to gather with friends outside for fires.

After many hours and some hard work, we now have an outside area with our hammock for relaxation. I started by getting enough sandstone for the perimeter of the outside walls. Since the backyard gradually slopes downward, I knew the right side of the area would need to be built up higher for a level area.

Once we had the outside walls laid (we did not concrete the sandstone- however, I would suggest doing so) we were able to move onto the inside area which is roughly 8-9' diameter. We laid fill dirt to build up the right side of the patio for it to be more level and then laid a weed burier. Once the weed fabric was laid, we laid about 30 bags of river rock pebbles from Lowes (we bought an entire pallet when it was on sale for the best pricing).

My favorite part of the entire patio area is the hammock. I snagged this beautiful woven hammock on sale from Target last season and I love laying on it in the mornings and evenings. We took 2- 4x4 posts that were 10-12' tall. I post hole dug two holes (roughly 3' deep) to install them. I dropped the posts in their holes and finished them off with a bag of concrete mix.

I highly recommend installing a top post to help stabilize your two posts from caving in. We just used a piece of wood we had in the garage to help make everything solid and straight.

After planting flowers and hanging some of the landscaping string lights from Walmart (we used 3 packs), the space really came alive and felt more complete. I love turning the string lights on in the evening as it feels dreamy and whimsical. I even took an old galvanized animal trough and planted some ferns in it for more privacy.

This pebble rock was super easy to lay and move. One of the perks of getting the rock from Lowes was the plastic packaging (instead of getting a load from the local quarry) which made moving and laying easier. Instead of having to shovel loads as if it were dumped, we could pick up the small bags and put them into the right spot. The rock has beautiful color tones and matches our landscaping rock perfectly!

This space is now complete and a nice place to hang out. We live in a very wooded area so it feels very enchanting covered in the woods. Since our home is a yellow cream color, I decided to accent the flowers in burnt orange and white colors. I love how the orange blooms contrast against the green all around.

 

 Hopefully, this space inspired you for your own outside area. Between all the edge and pebble rocks, the project was easily under $300 to complete. I consider that a home run on the return of happiness that I find swinging in the hammock with my coffee in the mornings.

Alyssa