with today being the first official day of summer, S and i currently have our sights set on getting our backyard ready for the season. i personally can’t wait for afternoons on our back patio sipping a glass of cold brew coffee and soaking up the summer heat, dining on a feast veggies fresh off the grill, and of course, snuggling under the glow of the market lights around the pergola as the sun disappears in the west. we’ve waited for so long to have a backyard space of our own so we can’t wait to take full advantage of it this year.

but none of this is going to happen if we don’t have a proper place to sit and dine. so the first order of business for operation backyard makeover at casa de rivera is finding a functional patio furniture set. surprisingly, much like indoor furniture, there are a ton of options –more than i anticipated, actually. and in the same way, a ton of price ranges. 

we’re hoping to take advantage of some upcoming 4th of july sales so we won’t bite the bullet just yet, but here are a few sets we’re considering for the backyard, along with some corresponding decor to make the space feel warm and homey. as you can see above, the current set-up is cute but doesn’t really allow for entertaining. unless our guests want to BYOC -bring your own chair.