Our next big project is happening and I can not wait for it to be done!
For the longest time we have said that we want to do SOMETHING with our outdoor court. Something other than willfully neglect it and treat it like the redheaded stepchild. It is important to us….it’s one of the reasons we fell in love with this house in the first place. And over the years we have had so many sweet memories here….my sister’s wedding reception, countless birthday parties, it is even where Will rode his bike for the first time. Quick someone hand me a wet/dry vac because my tears are a flowing!
The point is – the court is an asset that we love and cherish and we want to have many more memories here. We also just found out that our neighbors sold their house and for the first time ever we are gonna have new neighbors. And they have a little boy. So we want all the kiddos to congregate at OUR house. Hence – time for Operation Make it FUN.
But first – the before. Our court is not quite the size of a tennis court….but it does have the holes for the tennis net posts. And we don’t play tennis anyway. It’s actually closer to the size of a pickle ball court….which we also don’t play but we are wanting to learn. Apparently it’s all the rage. On one side of the court is a retaining wall with a half moon shape that the kids park their toys on.
We also have the trampoline over here temporarily. It is the traveling tramp that we move every few months to different locations….I wouldn’t be surprised if it was next to the mailbox next.
The trampoline doesn’t really scare me….I know some people are probably LOSING THEIR MINDS right now that it is on concrete. But the kids have the net and they don’t fall…..yet. What does scare me is the retaining wall. The kids have ridden their bikes down here a couple times and come very close to going over that wall. So yeah. Terrified. I want to plant ALL the bushes at the top to create a buffer zone.
On the other side of the court is the fence. You know that it no longer looks like this. We attached fence panels on the chainlink fence and now it looks REALLY good. But that light? Yeah – it needs to be changed because we want this court to be a basketball court. That is right! We would like it be a basketball court and also have lines for other activities like four-square, shuffle board and pickle ball! That means we need good lighting for when the sun goes down.
And also we are getting rid of the old hoop. We actually got this when a local church was getting rid of it….it doesn’t stay up unless that giant rock is on it….and it isn’t adjustable so my little guys that are playing rec basketball are TRYING to launch it up there but we really want them to love basketball. I say we…but really it’s me. My dad was a basketball coach for many years and we all played growing up. So the idea of having all my kiddos play ball in the back yard is as natural as breathing.
That being said – we donated this bad boy and are ready for some serious hoops.
And speaking of playing….we need to redo the actual court. The concrete is a very pale pink that turns brown when it’s dirty so we would love to change that color to something a bit more cohesive with the color of our house. We went through a ton of options and we are considering a product specifically created for concrete. I like grays and greens. Jeremy is a bit more color minded. We will see how that pans out.
We also would LOVE to work in some storage and seating somewhere. We have those two adirondack chairs that are down there from our fence makeover and love those but we were thinking maybe something more? It would be nice to also have enough for four people to sit. Also we need storage for all the balls, toys, bikes, scooters and such. We have a large lidded storage tub down there but it can’t hold everything so we need to brainstorm a solution there.
I put together a moodboard just for some direction and inspiration…
storage shed – 4 piece seating set – basketball hoop – our current storage box
And here is the list of the things we would want to get done for the makeover….
- cover up the ugly chainlink fence (DONE!)
- pressure wash the court
- relocate trampoline to permanent location
- install basketball hoops (this is in progress!)
- redo the court surface
- build shade/small pergola over half moon area
- landscape above retaining wall
- purchase storage shed for bikes/balls
- give storage shed makeover
- purchase additional toy/cushion storage
- buy additional seating
So what do you guys think? I am excited to get this done and I think that fall is the perfect time to tackle outdoor areas because the temperature and humidity is finally dropping. Also the kids go back to school next week so we are excited to have a little more time to tackle projects.
Why don’t you do bleachers?
You need bleachers!!! 🙂
hey–redheaded stepchild? are you dissing all us gingers out there? just kidding–i know you have your own gingers 🙂
I can’t wait to see how this project unfolds. We are always looking for more outdoor toy storage.
I would love a post someday with a map of your lot so I could get a sense of how it all fits together!
Great plans!! Could you remind me what the power washer attachments you have? I remember they were amazing!
Ok, I have to know – how has that trampoline not blown away in a storm? I am in Michigan and we have to anchor those suckers to the ground or a storm will just pick one up and send it sailing. I’ve seen it happen twice. The first time, our neighbor’s trampoline ended up on their own ROOF. ROOF! Of a two story with a walkout. It was freaking hilarious (they got lucky and no damage was done)! Several years later the neighbor’s (same house, new people, new trampoline) came bouncing across our yard and did several hundreds $$$ damage to our property (blew our ice rink apart – hey, Winter is brutal, gotta do something to enjoy that shit) and they never even apologized, let alone helped with repairs! So yeah – “some people are probably LOSING THEIR MINDS right now that it is on concrete”… Yup. My brain is screaming ANCHOR THAT B*****! 😉
Try to partner up with Sport Courts!!! They could do awesome things with that space!!
It all sounds great! It would be helpful if you could take some pics maybe from an upstairs window for us to piece together the backyard layout. We readers only see each area separately. Like where is the garden in relation to the court? Anyway, it will be a great place for the kids to gather and the adults to hang out. Good luck!
Did you see how The Sunny Side Up blog did her trampoline? It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2015/04/backyard-progress/
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2013/06/give-and-take-new-house-pics/
I’ve followed your blog since pre-Weston and am thankful for you sharing your story with the world! I had some medical work done today and apparently I’m a little loopy because I thought this post was about your plans for your outdoor CAT. Literally cry-laughing over here. I got … I don’t know, 40% through the post before I was like… what about the cat??? 🙂 So, thanks for the chuckle on what’s been a rough day. The court sounds awesome. If you end up with an outdoor cat too, please do update us. 🙂
Yes – it’s a really common thing to have an in ground trampoline but it just isn’t great for our yard because it is a slope and our soil isn’t great for it. I love the look though!
xo – kb
Hahahaha! That sounds crazy! It only got windy enough here one time and that was during a tropical storm. I think because of where our house is located, it doesn’t get a whole lot of wind and we have big trees on either side of our property that would block a lot if we did.
xo – kb
I LOVE me some gingers. Honestly everyone always tells me that red-headed stepchild joke and they follow it with “everyone is just jealous of that hair!” 🙂
xo – kb
OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THAT IDEA!
xo – kb
BEST IDEA YET!
xo – kb
We have a water broom attachment and then an EZ Clean!
xo – kb
I really like the idea of the pergola/shelter type thing above/behind (that extended over) the half moon area and put the seating under it (on the concrete)? Then you could add a decorative fence attached to it, or bushes to keep anyone from falling over the edge (EEEEK!). Also, going along with the bleacher idea. You could have those under there, but make them storage benches/bleachers :). Two birds with one stone.
I was just going to comment about putting in bleachers! So count me as vote #3! 🙂
Storage benches bleachers sounds amazing!
xo – kb