ISSUE 49: a backyard before & after

Notes from the hot tub, the difference between men & women, a backyard transformation and 5 things from the week.

The Debrief is a weekly newsletter - because the post life event chats are (almost) always better than the event itself. Forever honest and aesthetic driven.

We were sitting in the hot tub last night (the one we bought on impulse earlier this spring after spending one day together at Spa Nordic in Chealsea, Quebec, and realizing that a hot tub might actually make our lives better) when Andrew dropped this bomb on me - “I’d much rather design and build something like this than clean anything.”

The “this” he was referring to was in fact possibly his greatest build to date. Because after last year’s deck overhaul that I am finally about to share with you - he went ahead and topped it this year with a custom built hot tub surround (which I promise to share with you very soon).

“Do you think I enjoy cleaning??” I scoffed, totally horrified that somehow the wires must have been crossed if my husband of 16 years thought that cleaning was an enjoyable task for me.

“Well you keep going around saying how much happier you are with a clean house!” he responded - not at all helping his case.

So I ranted a little bit just to give him a hard time because I know him enough to know that he doesn’t actually think I love cleaning, but he was more so trying to profess how deeply satisfying being creative and bringing your design to life feels.

This - this I understand. I’ve made a career out of understanding how much I need this feeling. And in the first half of 2024 my business has grown more than it has in a long time.

So maybe we debated the ins and outs of hiring a cleaning service last night, maybe I again tried to convince my husband that he too could have a wildly successful creative business.

But for now I’ll take the at home creations and I’ll try not to take that comment personally.

In case you’re not glued to my once monthly Instagram posting schedule and missed it Andrew made over our deck last year.

I know I am treading in dangerous waters by sharing this adorable picture of our daughter Isla from nine years ago, but it’s the only real original before that could be located of the deck situation when we first moved in. It’s crazy to think that we’ve been here for almost ten years and also to go through all of the subtle and not so subtle iterations of our backyard.

“I don’t remember your backyard being this nice.” We had friends visit last week from Chicago who hadn’t been here since Ben was in my belly and this was one of the first things they said this week. And I love it because lately I look around and I just appreciate our backyard so incredibly much.

This was two summers ago pre pergola and mid upper deck rebuild.

Last year’s deck upgrade was brought on by an email in my inbox from Toja asking whether we had any summer projects planned. So naturally I asked Andrew if he felt like taking on anything in the backyard that could involve a Toja grid product and he came back with an elaborate pergola design that then necessitated the rebuilding of the entire lower deck (note to anyone putting wood decking on top of dirt - it will end in rot and that’s what he found when he lifted a few deck boards).

I worked with Dufresne to furnish the new deck after working with them back in 2019 on our living room makeover (and still loving all of the pieces we selected).

The furniture is from their Sandy Bloom collection (links below) and everyone who sits on it wants to stay late into the night. The pillow covers were from H&M and I found them last year.

One year in and the furniture still looks brand new. This year I added a couple new tropical plants and the usual pots of flowers.

The vase was thrifted. The pants are new, and I’ve been living in them, and the drinkware was a gift from my mom for mother’s day.

Backyard Deck Sources:

Sandy Bloom Outdoor Lounge Chair with Cushion - Beige: Dufresne
Sandy Bloom Outdoor Sofa with Cushion - Beige (Not currently available but the loveseat is): Dufresne
Fire table (Not currently available)
Gerianne Outdoor Coffee Table - Grayish Brown: Dufresne
Jasper Area Rug - 8'x10': Dufresne
Pergola Kit: Toja Grid
Solar Outdoor String Lights (we have 3 sets): Amazon
Outdoor Pillow Covers: HM similar

Okay 5 things from the week:

1 | Good Face just launched. Ash Izsak Studio worked with owner Hannah to reimagine the brand, all digital and print assets and design a new website.

2 | Amanda Thirkill just launched her new website. Ash Izsak Studio worked with Amanda to bring fresh new copy and a fresh new digital home for her beautiful commercial, portrait and headshot, active and lifestyle photography based in Ottawa, Toronto, and Sudbury.

3 | On my want list

4 | A fun fashion account to follow

5 | A pink portal

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Want more of this? Send me a DM on Instagram, hire me to design your brand or website.

Thank you for reading. I used to write a lot so this feels good. — Ashley.