If you follow along with my  Instagram then you’ve seen the sneak peeks I’ve been sharing on Lowes’ Instagram this past week of the progress on our backyard makeover!  But in case you haven’t I’ll start from the beginning!  Lou and I loved the backyard when we moved in, but the huge lawn (seen below) was expensive to maintain (SO MUCH WATER!!!) .  We also barely ever utilized the space.  So we decided, with the help of the fine folks at Lowes, to turn it into our TRUE dream backyard.  And I have to say, it’s so far beyond what I could have imagined and we are just pinching ourselves fifty times a day that we get to live here!!  Thank you so much Lowes for making this possible!

We planted Bougainvillea bushes in these cute pots I found at Lowes to add color and height to the yard while we wait for the plants to grow in!  Eventually we’ll move them to another part of the yard, wherever seems fitting once everything has grown!  The plant selection at Lowes is stellar- we made a dozen trips there to pick up plants and each time I found ten more I wanted!   #plantnerdproblems

When we fantasized about possibilities for the yard the first thing that came to mind was a designated space to hang a hammock (the one shown above available here!).  We knew that tearing out all of the grass and completing such a major overhaul on the yard would be well beyond our DIY skill level so we brought the incredible Falling Waters Landscape on board to help with the landscape design/install.  We also enlisted our incredible friend  Greg Coleman to design the structure.  Knowing when you’re in over your head is so important with home projects!   Both Falling Waters Landscape and Greg Coleman Designs are based in Southern CA and I couldn’t recommend either of them more, they made this project so much fun to work on and so far surpassed our expectations!!!   Greg came up with some brilliant ideas for the structure to keep it from overwhelming the yard.  The floating ceiling, thin white support beams and floating posts all help keep it visually light and modern!  We had those pieces fabricated, but all other parts of the structure were made from supplies we found at Lowes.  I realized during this process that they have EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER NEED.  Seriously.  One stop shop for home projects!

This before and after is pretty incredible, right?  Eventually the plants surrounding the hammock structure will grow in- some will be tall, some will just fill out and cover the ground.  We expect it to feel lush and full of life.  There have already been so many more butterflies and hummingbirds around the yard, I’m ecstatic!  Once the plants are established they’ll need way less water and we’ll be able to start really noticing the savings from having the grass removed!  Falling Waters Landscape did such an incredible job with the design-we’re so in love with all the concrete pathways and how they divided the space so perfectly.  They were our dream team.  AND, we’re now the proud parents of a pomegranate tree!  CANNOT WAIT TO PICK MY FIRST POMEGRANATE!   (There were so many fruit tree options at Lowes that I was tempted to scrap the whole hammock structure idea and plant an orchard instead!!)

I’m so in love with these pink flowers, and most especially because they attract hummingbirds like crazy!  I am so looking forward to next winter/spring when the yard comes into bloom!  Down the road we may take down the hammock and put a 12 person dining table under the structure.  There are walkways leading to it from the pool and the grill, so it would be perfect for outdoor entertaining!  But for now we’ll  be taking hammock naps every chance we get!!!

Our house feels like a resort!  SERIOUSLY, PINCH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  TEN TIMES!!!!!  Also, come over, let’s have a party!!!!!

There’s the handsome man of the house, Lou Mora.  You may not be able to tell but he’s bone tired and beaming with happiness!  Love him.  {See more of our Palm Springs home here}

This post was produced in partnership with Lowes.  Thank you for supporting our sponsors!  xx- Sarah