Our Backyard

As previously mentioned, our family made a big cross-provincial move last summer. Looking for houses was a pain - especially in our reasonable to consider price bracket (which would have bought a mansion in our last town - not joking!) Since this was the largest city we've lived in and most definitely the most expensive place we've ever looked to purchase a house, many concessions had to be made.

So;

Buh-bye third bathroom, buh-bye newer kitchen, buh-bye money in the bank to do any upgrades for a very long time (except for the necessary furnace and electrical upgrades, everything else will remain as is for awhile).

The biggest thing we are feeling right now though is the yard. This by far is our smallest backyard with kids.

Our first house was on 2 acres - and our son was a baby, so he never really got the most out of that (a pain to mow though as it was all lawn!) Our second was 10 acres (mostly forest - so mowing wasn't as bad!) The next was in a small town and our backyard was huge! Loved that yard!!!! We were fixing & flipping at that stage of life though, so lots of moves. Later a yard backed onto a forest so anytime we felt the need to stretch (or look for blueberries) we had that flex space. I'm tired of moving!!

This is the house we want to stay put in! But as we moved into the big city after so many more rural settings, our yard (although average) feels teeny tiny.

Trampoline? In pieces still after the move, we can't figure where to put it. Swing set is assembled and gets soooo much daily use, but is showing its age & is definitely too small for the big boys that lift it off the ground when they swing (the idea is to dig the posts down - but if we did that, they'd be swinging on their butts).

I LOVE those shows where they create a backyard living room space. I love being outdoors & while I love being back in a bigger city, I miss my breathing room.

We've brainstormed & tried to discuss strategies to make the most of our space. I wonder if we'd qualify for one of those shows that would do it for us?? That would be nice!

How do you maximize your yard space? We've been spoiled in the past and I'm not at all complaining about the house we worked hard to get (house hunting post in the future!) Do you have the ability to find creative spatial solutions? We have the ability to do work/renos, but the brain to think through options does not reside in my head. I wish it did!!