One Irish family have managed the boredom of lockdown by creating a wonderful outdoor space in their back garden that they will enjoy for years to come.
Alan and Laura Crowe of Clondalkin in Dublin have transformed their back garden pergola into a great chill-out space which offers them an alternative to the usual four walls of inside the home.
Many of us have found lockdown a frustrating and boring time with little or nothing to do to pass the time.
However, the Crowes proved that with a little bit of imagination and work, you can create something quite wonderful that will benefit you for years to come.
The family worked together to transform their back garden pergola into a comfortable and cosy living space that can be enjoyed in both the day and night.
They set it up with comfy chairs and coffee table and a television mounted to the wall.
Just beyond the living area is an outdoor hot-tub, which looks like the perfect spot to unwind and relax after another long day in lockdown.
Laura spoke to the Irish Mirror about the project. She said: “My husband Alan built it, he is a roofer so it was grand, he was able to do it all, so it actually wasn’t that expensive as we only had to buy the materials.
“He actually came up with the idea, I love Pinterest and I got some of my ideas off that.
“We had built an extension onto our house so we were not left with much off a garden, so I wanted to do something really nice with it.
“We would nearly use it all year around because of the hot-tub, the kids love it, especially this summer gone as we were in lockdown, the weather was fab and we were out there every day, we love the evening times, it’s lovely just to chill with a glass of wine, it’s actually quite relaxing sitting under it even if it’s raining, it can be quite warm in the summer but evenings are fab.”
The luxury spot has attracted plenty of praise and admiration on social media, after Laura posted pictures onto the popular Facebook page Make a House a Home.
The photos have received thousands of likes and many viewers have posted questions about how the family managed to create such a cool chill-out space.
Laura explained: “The timber was €300, fixing the roof was €200 with fixings, we built it four years ago and just did it bit by bit, it’s actually like another room in the house.
“We have artificial grass down, we got our hot-tub and chairs in B&Q, then my husband found the cable drum and I sanded it and painted it up, no expense and it looks great.
“I got an old bike wheel, painted it up and put flowers on it, so it can be done on a limited budget, we added the fire and television then to finish it off, we love it.”