By combining old & new outdoor furnishings with a new pool addition, we expanded our living area !
How the Lanai Looked When We First Purchased the House in Feb 2018
A little bit of background : when we first purchased our Florida home from my Great Aunt in February 2018, the house had a screened in lanai that measured 10 x 16. Our original plan was to use the home as a vacation home and to continue living in Illinois. About a year and a half into this plan, I changed my mind and we started the process of moving to Florida full time.
We moved to Florida full time in the Fall of 2019. Below is some of what I brought along to use in our screened in lanai.
Fortunately we also had a small screened in area in the front of the house, so a few pieces ended up in there. A few pieces had to “live” outside until we had more room in the lanai. I was able to set up a few pieces of my vintage wrought iron furniture. More about the original lanai can be found here:
One of the major perks of living in Southwest Florida is the ability to enjoy the outdoors almost year round. We knew that once we were living in Florida full time, we would want to add a swimming pool to our backyard. However, we weren’t prepared for all the decisions that went into adding a swimming pool! Shape, size, material, salt water vs chlorine…. the list of choices was overwhelming!
Dave & I started seriously talking about adding the pool in the Spring of 2020. The subdivision we live in has certain rules regarding pools and pool enclosures that we knew we would have to abide by. The pool would need to be an inground pool with an enclosure over it called a pool cage. We knew this would be a major investment but since the Florida home was to be our forever home, we were willing to make the investment.
More about the decision process can be found here:
The Final Drawing From the Pool Company
We approved the drawing for the pool/lanai/outdoor kitchen addition almost a year ago. We chose Superior Pools of Southwest Florida to do the work. They started in mid December and the project was completed by the end of March. We had sod put in early in the summer . I still haven’t decided whether I want mulch or rock around the perimeter of the area.
The lanai faces north. If you are wondering what the difference is between a lanai and a sunroom, please check out this post!
A Few In Process Photos
and finally…. almost finished!
How It Actually Turned Out (Picture Taken Looking East)
It isn’t Just a Pool, It is An Outdoor Addition
Early on in the researching process, I decided that we needed an outdoor kitchen in addition to the pool. Well, actually I just wanted a fancy brick pizza oven. I thought I didn’t need a grill or a sink or storage…. just the pizza oven, please. it wasn’t long before I discovered that my dream pizza oven cost over $12,000. So, I found something that would work for about 1/10th the price! And then we found something that would do several cooking jobs for almost as much as the 2nd choice pizza oven! More about the discovery of the Big Green Egg is in this blog post!
If you are just starting to follow my blog, you may be curious as to why I need a pizza oven. I was a pizzeria owner before I became a Floridian! More about my pizza exploits can be found here:
The Outdoor Kitchen Area
From the original 10 x 16 footprint of the lanai, we expanded the deck another 14 feet out and had a composite roof put over it to make the outdoor kitchen. Technically it isn’t a real kitchen since it doesn’t have a sink but I still refer to it as an outdoor kitchen.
You may have realized by now that I like my “stuff” and I needed somewhere to put all my “stuff” like craft supplies and entertaining accessories. Because we live in a hot, humid area, wood cabinets weren’t really an option. After a lot of research, I found these amazing cabinets.
These cabinets are Made In The USA by Challenger Designs, located in Indiana. I ordered them from Family Hardware in Cape Coral, FL. They are available in several different color combinations. I chose Cappuccino for the frame and Copper Vein for the top. Each unit is 48″W x 35″H x 24.875″ D. Now I have plenty of room to work on projects and for storage!
Ideally, I would have centered them under the window. However, that would have blocked the outlet so I have to live with them placed the way they are.
The Copper Vein top reflects the light from this battery operated hanging lantern at night. The color is just perfect!
Let’s Celebrate!
I was trying to cover up the outlet with the architectural piece! Wasn’t quite successful! The wire basket that the candle arrangement is sitting in is actually the front off of an old fan! It makes a great basket!
Our First Guests
Back in late March, my friend Glo Ann and her Dad came to visit. You might have heard of Glo Ann…. I have a table I call the Glo Ann table because she was going to paint it and I threw such a fit about it, she gave it to me for Christmas one year. All the details are here:
While we were relaxing in the pool, we were discussing how to decorate the lanai. This picture was before the walls had been power washed. We still need to paint and do some spackling to cover up where the existing lanai was taken down.
Vintage Wrought Iron on the Lanai
This is a wrought iron chaise lounge that I found on my parents’ deck when I was working on the downsizing/moving project. I have no idea where it came from! It was green and now it is painted black.
I have two of these settees. My dear friend , Lisa , hand painted the flower detail on them before we moved to Florida in the fall of 2019. The paint has held up amazing well!
I may have a pillow addiction! I have so many pillows, I have two deck boxes to store them in when they aren’t in use.
These vintage wrought iron ice cream chairs belonged to my Mom. I paired them with this wicker coffee table to make a sweet area to drink my coffee in the morning.
In the evening, we can break out the tabletop fire pit and roast some marshmallows for s’mores!
Dining Area
I made this European Dish Garden in a square dough bowl . I love the bright yellow mums combined with the red and yellow petunias.
I plan to use it with this runner .
I inherited my Mom’s California Farmhouse dishes. I think this condiment holder is just the cutest thing!
I recently added even more pillows to my every growing pillow collection! Feel free to check it out here!
Save This Pin For Later!
Now It Is Thyme To Relax & Enjoy!
To see how the lanai went from Autumn to Holiday in the blink of an eye , please see this post:Let’s Refresh The Lanai for the Holidays with a Retro Feel
[…] We recently completed an outdoor addition to our home which has helped with my storage challenges and giving me a place to spread out and design. […]