Saturday Spot: The Inside/Outside Room…

I know most people reading this blog will think back yard as a kind of garden space at the back of your house but when I say back yard, think courtyard… and safe haven for short people to play… but still aesthetically pleasing for the adults that live here.

We had this yawning yard at the back of our home… old cracked concrete, mud, sand, wet, drippy, a hideous drain and just generally not the sort of place you would want to spend time… so we tiled it and closed it in and now we have a wonderful inside/outside room.

There are windows all around, which makes it perfect for me to spy on little hoods (I know most mothers do not need to spy, but I really wish I had been to spy school before I had kids): Who is jumping on the table instead of doing school? Who is pouring shampoo all over the bedroom? Who has scurried off to eat some cream cake?

Let’s start with the aesthetically pleasing part:

It is a great place to store paintbrushes and driftwood collected on the beach…

Not to mention Hood #3’s hanging gardens to catch the plumbers left over project drip…

It has two old bread ovens that are perfect for displaying works of art: you know the odd owl and spider…

And endless clay projects, that I can’t stand to part with and can’t stand to have in my house.

We put our old kitchen sink in at knee height, under the garden tap. And now it is a great spot for boating and dishwashing.

For water play (these guys filled the chair with water and didn’t want me to know, hence the less than happy faces as they sit oh so calmly in an icy puddle)…

And the great achievement, that is now under the sink, was the vile open drain that was a broken leg waiting to happen… we filled it with river pebbles, the water flows through and no broken legs.

Meanwhile the courtyard is a great place for parties…

for crafting…

for playing…

for serious science…

for concerts…

for rock climbing…

and especially late suppers on hot summer nights.

It’s just a great place.

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