In the time of COVID-19 and staying home, Matt and I took on a bunch of what I’m going to affectionately dub “quarantine projects.” This was perhaps one of Matt’s favorites — but also one that turned into a bit of a bigger project because I’m a tad bit extra (unapologetically so).

Essentially, the conversation went something like this:

Matt: We should make a fire pit out back, just a small one.

Me: *shrugs* Sure, like buy one?

Matt: No, I’m going to build one.

Me: Okay, what are you thinking?

Matt: *shows me pictures of very simple fire pit*

Me: Sounds good.

A week later.

Me: So I went on Pinterest and we should 100% have a pavers around it and white rock and let’s stain the concrete and get cool chairs…

Matt: What have I done?

I won’t say he regretted it. I will say that he’ll really think hard on any future suggestions that he has for DIY projects.

99.9% of the credit for this project goes to Matt. He did most of the work, and I mostly just lifted dirt sometimes and complained. So really he should be writing this not me because I’m going to really gloss over how we did it.

Building Our DIY Fire Pit

We dug some dirt — yes, we. I did dig a little, although for the most part, I was just lifting grass patches and re-homing them in our dirt patch that we had from my failed garden.

Next, Matt built the actual fire pit, which involved a lot of leveling, a rubber mallet, paver sand, cement blocks, and some bricks that we had from the failed garden border. Also, fun fact about our townhouse, we are in a middle unit, which means no easy way to get around to the back. So we had to lug these blocks through the house, down the deck steps, and into the backyard.

This is where I had my Pinterest epiphany and needed to make things look pretty. We decided to stain the cement blocks black, leaving the bricks in their natural state to add some pizzazz. Matt really liked it when it was all over and done with — but he really just wanted a square of cement blocks and maybe some camping chairs in the grass.

Then I got really extra by wanting stones and pavers around it so I had somewhere to put all the new outdoor furniture that I had purchased. This involved some more digging on Matt’s part and a lot of lugging of stones. I did start to feel really, really bad since he finished this project during my surgery recovery, which meant that I was of no use to him other from moral support — and even that was limited since I slept most of the time.

The next step was furniture, and it felt amazing to see it all come together.

Target ended up getting most of my money on this project. After much searching for what I wanted, I ended up going with chairs from their Standish Collection because they were nice and deep. Having had them for a few months now, I do not regret the decision. The Standish loveseat is perfect for cuddling, and the club chairs are great for reading. Also, I’m loving how water-resistant these are. They’ve been in a few downpours now and all still looks good.