The biggest addition to our new patio is the canopy and it's contents. We have created a second living room, which our cat, Nicolette, thinks is all hers. She has asserted her squatters rights on one of the chairs. As I have previously mentioned, the patio has spent the last thirty-five years as a huge wasted space. When my mom passed, I wanted to buy a canopy and decorate the patio, but with all of the other repairs I made, the patio fell to the bottom of the list.

The impending visit of Dan's parents kicked our home renovations in high gear. We had wanted to do the patio and with their visit and end of summer sales, it was perfect timing. Our Smart Cars are fantastic, but could not do the type of large hauling that we needed to get the new patio stuff home. We went to Uhaul and rented a small moving truck. Even with the small truck, we had to empty our load to get all of our new things home from both Lowes and Ikea.

Lowes in Burbank was great, especially after all of our problems with Home Depot. The Lowes staff was helpful and easy to track down. They approached us to see if we needed help, rather than the employee hide and seek game that you play at Home Depot. Lowes also had a much better selection of both canopies and garden furniture.

We found a canopy and furniture that we both loved within ten minutes. Easy. The hard part was getting it home, as I was zero help with carrying the heavy boxes up to the patio. Dan put a lot of muscle and sweat into getting the patio all set up.

Here is a picture that I took of the canopy parts.

Before we can have a canopy, we have to create a huge mess.

There were lots of bits and pieces. Luckily, Dan was very patient with me as I tried to help him with the set up. I may have accidentally unscrewed some bolts and slowed down our efforts. Although, once I got the hang of things, I think that I was a help. It took us several hours, but it great team work activity. I actually thought it was fun to build it together.

Here is the finished frame.

The frame.

And here it is completed. In the picture you can also see our fire-pit to the right and our giant waterproof box to the left, for storing the cushions and gardening tools.

Finally, all finished and furnished.

Here are a few snaps of the furniture.

Nicolette is enjoying her outdoor living room.

Outdoor living room.

All of the corners have shelves that will eventually be filled with plants.

Another sunny day in Glendale.

Lastly, Dan put garden lights around the interior of the canopy. So pretty at night! The good move is that the lights are mostly on the inside, so that bright lights don't disturb the neighbors.

Pretty lights.

This new addition to the house has really made a huge difference. I can't help but smile each time I walk by the patio and see how pretty it looks. It has been a little too hot to comfortably sit out during the day, but I think as fall sets in, the patio will be used often.