The newest swing pergola....

One of the first things I did before moving in was paint all my doors black. It just made our new house feel like “home.”

One thing about my old house I have aways missed…the swing pergolas.

I had one in my front yard and one in the back. I loved them and I used them all the time!

Working on my neighbor’s deck gave me a “bug.” I have wanted another swing pergola and now I want to do a little manual labor outside.

Okay, so I didn’t REALLY want to do manual labor. My poor old body was still recovering from the deck build. But like everything else, I want what I want and I know to get it I have to put in a little time and labor…and sweat and tears and pain and agony.

HERE I posted a pretty good tutorial for building a swing pergola. And as I said HERE, if you want one, JUST DO IT!!!

I have built a few of these so for me it was a labor intensive breeze. I will say I use to be able to build these for around $200…thanks to inflation, this one cost upwards of $350 (not including the swing). And it was 8x4 vs the 8x6 I usually build.

But again, I wanted it, so I built it.

And if you want one, I know you can build it!

So a few pictures…..

I just love it…THIS is a link to the swing. Super comfy, perfect for napping!

One major change from my other swings.

Usually I put flagstone under the swing. Quite an expense…roughly $150-200 just for this little space.

Last year the City of Lowell tore out an old one-lane bridge near a house I built and we lived in when my boys were young. They removed HUGE 2” thick 16’ wood planks. My son managed to wrangle a few of them, cut them down to manageable (relative term) 8’ lengths and brought me a few. They have been stacked behind my shop…just waiting on inspiration.

And “inspired” I was. I used the planks to create a “deck” beneath the swing.

I put it down just like I would rock. I excavated about 4” of soil, put down a 2” sand base, then cut and laid the boards just like I would rock. I filled the gaps with sand and soil.. The boards are “rough” and that is okay…gives it character.

The flower pots are ones I have had for eons…they use to be “teal” when teal was all the rage. I spray painted them black and filled them with flowers. Lovely.

i am contemplating staining the pergola black. I have seen a few pictures of black pergolas and I really like the look. Fortunately treated wood needs time to “dry out” before you stain or seal, so I have a few months to mull that over.

In the meantime I have a perfect spot to sit and ponder!

That was last week’s project…this week’s was my living room fireplace. I mention HERE that I wanted to make changes. The changes are made and I am very happy with it. I had to make a few “design changes” due to issues I’ll discuss in the reveal.

So until next week when I HOPE to have the fireplace reveal….