Take It Outside with Brooklyn Limestone's Small Backyard | Beautiful Blogger Backyard Series

Today on Take it Outside I'm going to take you to my small backyard at Brooklyn Limestone otherwise known as "The Concrete Jungle".

Have you enjoyed all the backyard eye candy shared this week?  Huge thanks to Eclectically Vintage, DIY Playbook, That's My Letter and Life on Virginia Street for sharing their amazing backyards. Want more?  Yeah!  Because I have 5 more inspiring outdoor spaces for you coming up next week.

While our space is not in the same league as the lovely ladies above, the transformation from the "before" is pretty drastic so it's worth a mention.  Ok enough blabber...let's get down to it.

Let's start with this small backyard makeover before...

Our small backyard is tiny by most people standards but a good size for city life.  When we moved in it was an absolute disaster with a few feet of garbage hidden by a jungle of weeds. Yea, it was that bad! Our small backyard after our makeover...


We installed pavers, a small raised garden, and deck. To make it work best for us, we broke it up into unofficial zones. Starting with our raised deck, we make the most of the limited square footage by going vertical.  Then down the steps to street level, we have ample seating in one area, a playhouse, an outdoor chalkboard, a kids table and a potting bench that serves as a workbench/buffet tucked under the staircase.  And I can't forget those edison string lights I wanted for 7 years and finally hung last year (FYI I left them up all through the winter without any issues - knock on wood!) We've tried to squeeze as much use we can out of this small backyard area while also keeping it low maintenance  (and who am I kidding? I have a black thumb so a lush garden was never in the cards)

Making the most of your space in a small backyard

It's been a slow work in progress but we've been able to put a lot of living space in this small backyard. I'm happy with how it looks now.  Now if only the weather would cooperate so we could actually enjoy some quality time back here. It's too darn hot for me right now.  Autumn can't get here soon enough!



For the curious, here is a complete source list for our small backyard makeover:
Trestle Dining table & Bench from World Market
Playhouse by Kidkraft from Wayfair  (before being pimped out)
Outdoor Chalkboard is DIY
Children's Picnic Table by Ikea but now discontinued - this one is similar
String Lights by Birch Lane Marble Bistro Table scored secondhand
Wicker Chairs by World Market
Striped pillows by Lowes
Succulent planter DIY

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  See you back here next week with 5 more fabulous outdoor spaces to inspire!  Want to share your own beautiful backyard?  Drop me a line or tag your Instagram photos with #beautifulbloggerbackyard