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Spot of Tea Designs

Spot of Tea Designs

Home Tour | Front Yard Updates

in Home Decor & Landscaping, Outdoors

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links, which come at no cost to you. Know that I only promote products I personally use and stand behind. To learn more about my affiliates, please review my disclosure policy here.

Only one year into owning our home, we’ve already made some big changes, inside and out. This September we focused on the outdoor space, making some minor updates on our own, finding a new play space for the kids and working with a local hardscape professional to add a patio and updated front walkway. Today’s post shares part 1 of these hardscapes updates, with the front yard update including a new patio walkway and stairs that were resurfaced.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

Before seeing any updates, it’s best to start at the beginning. Oh and before you ask, all resources on the company we worked with and paver stones we used are at the bottom of this post!

Front yard updates - what the front yard looked like before | spotofteadesigns.com

This was our home in July after getting the keys. While the house was covered in white vinyl, there were red brick stairs on the front, which always bothered me. There were also large, overgrown trees on the right side which blocked the light in that bay window and two large bushes in the front had deep root systems that were keeping water up near the house.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

We had the pleasure of working with Groundmasters Inc, a local hardscape company, which helped to transform the front curb appeal of our house and the usage space of our backyard.  Before going any further, as much as I would love it to be so, this is NOT a sponsored post by any means. I’m just always happy to share if I have a positive experience with a local company for the benefits of other locals.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

We worked with the team at Groundmasters to have new underground drainage pipes added to all 6 downspouts that end in a pop up further down in the yard, away from the new patio and walkway. This will help to keep the water away from the home during little and big rainstorms. We also chose to have this front walkway further away from the home to allow a larger flower bed.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

And here’s the after! Edge stone along the left side of the walkway now helps keep the mulch (and possibly down the road, river stone) from coming out of place. Ground Master installed these Holly Steeds at a few key points along the route and the girls and I added the mums for fall.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

We plan to have the driveway redone in a year or two but love the new curved opening that flows from the pavement to the pavers.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

For the front steps, they ended up having to rebuild the bottom steps, going from 3 to 4. We were able to keep the larger base on top to add the new cast stone wall pattern and paver stones on top.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

The red brick stairs have now been covered in these pewter grey paver stones and charcoal bullnose to update the look that matches the home’s color palette.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

A circle pattern was added to the front for more visual appeal and a Kousa Dogwood tree was planted further away from the home to add greenery without covering the front window.

Fall front yard updates - stairs before the resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

Just to reiterate the point, here were the stairs last Halloween with the red brick and overgrown bushes.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

And here’s what they look liked at the beginning of October with their new resurfaced look.

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

Rose bushes that used to be in the back of the house are now on the side and since the large tree and ugly, half fence was removed from the front, our whole backyard and side yard has opened up! I hope the roses will continue to thrive as they did this past year, as they bloomed about 4 times this spring and summer with big yellow blooms!

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

This summer we also noticed carpenter bees eating away at our mailbox, which scared the girls every time they went to grab the mail. Derek was able to remove the old post mailbox and replace it with this newer style that is fresh, clean, and matches our house!

Front yard updates - after photos with new walkway and stair resurfacing | spotofteadesigns.com

We are SO happy on the front yard updates that were made, both for visual appeal with a modern look, and for function, to help our drainage issues inside. We look forward to continuing to grow more green grass in all the bare spots and plant new bushes and greenery next spring!

fall backyard updates - new paver patio | spotofteadesigns.com

UPDATE: Check out what we did in the backyard!

RESOURCES:

Walkway

  • EP Henry Bristol Stone with ColorTech Pewter Blend, random installation. Cube 1 and 2
  • EP Henry Old Towne Cobble 6×9 Pavers with charcoal border.
  • EP Henry Edge stone in concrete base

Front Steps

  • EP Henry Bristol Stone with ColorTech Pewter Blend, random installation.
  • EP Henry Cast Stone Wall in Adirondack
  • EP Henry Bullnose in charcoal

Other

  • Playset – Backyard Discover Skyfort II Cedar Swing Set/Play Set
  • Mailbox – Gibraltar Franklin Medium Galvanized Steel Post-Mount Mailbox in Black
  • Mailbox Post – Postal Pro 4 x 4 White Polymer Mailbox Post, Model # PP200PWH
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in Home Decor & Landscaping, Outdoors # Nehil Home Tour

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LATEST GRAMS

Some highlights of what my yard produced this year Some highlights of what my yard produced this year:
🎃 Gourds - currently 42 harvested and drying, but tons more coming!
🌞 Yellow Roses - these 2 plants bloom at least 4 times in spring and summer!
🍅 Tomatoes - tons of Roma and Supersweet 100 breeds used for appetizers, sauces and salads. Happy to grow and to gift these away!
🧄 Garlic - planted last fall and harvested in June. Doing this again this October! Should I also do onions?
💜 Lavender - The bees love them. I missed the window to dry them but putting that on my list to try next year. Would you want a little satchel of lavender? 
🥒 Cucumbers - slice it up and add some sea salt. Yum!
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#spotofteadesigns #gardening #vegetables #vegetablegarden #homegrown #backyard
Visit the aerial park @treetopquestphilly for a gr Visit the aerial park @treetopquestphilly for a great adventure! #AD
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Our group of 2 adults and 5 kids were hosted by TreeTopQuestPhilly and enjoyed a sunny Saturday exploring obstacles, climbing and ziplining and we'd highly recommend this park! 
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Here some key details to know before you go:
- The staff is super knowledgable, friendly and patient with climbers of all abilities, but it is self paced where you are in control of your own equipment. 
- You attend an equipment fitting, safety instruction and practice course before you climb 
- Expect to spend the full 2.5 hours of your reservation and you likely won't need sunglasses in this shady spot
- Gloves are an optional purchase, but we didn't get them and no one got any blisters
- There are 4 levels of courses with Level 4 being for those 12+ only. It's HIGH but thrilling to those willing to check it out! 
- Porta potties and lockers are available at the check in area and there are plenty of benches and picnic tables to sit at in the park. Spectators are free to watch from below. 
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PROMO CODE: Use code SPOTOFTEADESIGNS for 15% off your online ticket order to climb!
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#spotofteadesigns #treetopquestphilly #treetopquest #ziplining #getoutside #familytravel #philadelphia #philly #njmom #kidsactivities
Cardstock pennant banner tip - create the separate Cardstock pennant banner tip - create the separate piece shown on the video and add it to the back of your pennant to help it hang more securely, hide the ribbon and not move as much when hung. 
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Special thanks to @wildercrafting who shared this tip YEARS ago, and I still use it when creating my simple banners.
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If you're on a fence about creating a garden next If you're on a fence about creating a garden next year.... do it! While I personally don't eat everything we grow (not a pepper fan!), I do enjoy being outside, caring for the plants, and feeding friends and family! 
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You can start this fall with garlic! You start planting them in the fall, and you'll enjoy them by summer. 
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#spotofteadesigns #gardening #garden #tomatoes #cucumbers #bruschetta  #homegrown #vegetables #vegetablegarden
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#spotofteadesigns #happybirthday #tweens #thisis10 #doubledigits #thisis12 #birthdaytwins
Want to know how to celebrate National Potato Day Want to know how to celebrate National Potato Day thanks to @fairfieldworld AD ?
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Craft a giant baked potato out of recycled goods and filled with fluffy Poly-Fil! This fun craft material can be used inside and outside of crafts! Whether it's to make an oversized starch filled vegetable statement piece or you use it to make a baked potato costume, this fluffy stuff should be a staple material in your craft closet!
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#FairfieldWorld #PolyFil #PolyfilwithJoy #bakedpotato #giantfood #recycled #upcycled #nationalpotatoday #craftersgonnacraft #makersgonnamake
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