Bookworm Cottage Style

Summer is beginning to wind down, and I’m already looking ahead to try and solidify plans and purchases for our backyard over the next year, so that we’ll be ready to greet summer 2025 with a beautiful outdoor oasis.

• Bistro Chairs: I have an old set of 4 black and white chevron bistro chairs (pictured above) indoors that I plan to move to our backyard patio. Eventually I want 6-8 chairs total, and since my exact chairs have been discontinued, I’m going to try to find a similar style to mix and match with. These Maison Midi chairs are beautiful but pricey. Safavieh makes a more affordable option. I’m also hoping these Beachcrest Home chairs come back in stock in black. This Ikea dupe is also a contender.
• New Umbrella: Can you believe that this scalloped umbrella is only $50 and is from Ocean State Job Lot? If I’m not able to track down this exact deal at my local store, Safavieh makes a similar $175 option, as does Birch Lane ($169).
• Firepit or Chiminea: This is my husband’s #1 request for the backyard so we’ll find a way to make it work. We may try looking on FB Marketplace, but in terms of the look, I lean towards pieces with clean lines, like this Wayfair option. 
• All-Season Adirondack Chairs: We’d like a couple of sturdy chairs to go around the firepit – the type of chairs we can leave outside during Boston winters and not have to fuss over. My mom has a set of Polywood chairs that have held up beautifully against nearly a decade of hurricanes and downpours, and Grace Start raves about these modern adirondack chairs that have held up well to her Michigan winters.
• String Lights: This will be the trickiest part of the backyard makeover, as we haven’t quite decided where to hang them from or if we’ll need any poles. In any case, I’ll be heavily leaning on CLJ’s tutorial, and plan to buy the exact string lights they recommend. (I cheaped out on our upstairs string lights and I regret it.)
• Rose garden: I hope to plant 2-3 rose bushes in the flower beds that line the backyard patio. The varieties I’m eyeing are the Rose David Austin Emily Bronte (soft peachy pink blooms), Rose David Austin Lady of Shalott (orange blooms), and Rose David Austin Princess Alexandria of Kent (large bright pink blooms). Each of these shrubs can handle partial shade and grow to about 4-5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide.
• Privacy Trees: We have a few but could use a few more.
• Ground cover: The small patch of backyard where we’d like to put the firepit is currently mulched over and being strangled by weeds, so we’re exploring other ground cover solutions that are a little more attractive. I think for now we are leaning towards something low-maintenance and easy-to-install, like clover or a clover/grass mix. If I wasn’t so concerned about drainage I would honestly consider turf. We might have considered pea gravel or checkerboard pavers (swoon!) if we had the patience/energy to deal with leveling, laying sand, tampering, etc. but alas that is not in the cards.