About Us
A Little of This and a Little of That
A couple of years ago, we finally bought our forever house. It was a tough decision but a good one for us. Our little house was ideal for two adults, and we had it just the way we wanted it, but when our first child arrived, it was clear it wasn’t going to work past the crawling stage. So we looked and looked and found the right one and fell in love. Not only did it have room for us but Grandma was able to come live with us too (that was a good thing).
The only problem was that we bought in the winter and where we live that means the backyard was buried in snow so we could only guess what was under it all. When spring came, we were able to explore. The raspberries and strawberries and perennials were coming up and were very impressive. The layout, however, was for adults who like to sit on chairs as opposed to kids running around. The deck was huge, in disrepair, and slivers were happening every day.
So, we decided to gut the yard and start over. We used social media and offered the deck for free to someone who came and dismantled it and then took it away. We felt really good about not just throwing it all in a dumpster. We kept the berries but dug up and gave away the perennials. We built a smaller deck ourselves, moved some big items around and changed the grade of the land for better drainage.
Then came time for putting it together as we wanted. Lots of dirt and sod made for the best foundation for running around and sprinkler fun. As the big pieces came together, we found it more and more difficult to find the right pieces to add that extra touch. The big box stores seemed to each have the same products and where we live, if you are not buying summer items in February or buying fall items in July, you miss out on any selection.
So instead of feeling frustrated at the choice of either paying the high prices when the shelves were full or waiting for better prices but facing the scraps on nearly-empty shelves, we decided to look online. What a difference! There are no seasonal sections, no parking lots, and no lines to wait in which means the experience is more comfortable and more satisfying.
In fact, we liked the experience so much that we decided to make sure other people knew how easy it could be. We chose to create our own company and find products that we would use to enhance our little outdoor space. Having moved up from our starter home to our forever home, we love to encourage responsible upgrading just as we did for the old deck and plants. Together, we look for ideas and products that blend old with new so that our outdoor space is an inviting and comfortable home.
And so, UpBlend Outdoors was born. We look forward to continuing to design quality products and making them accessible to you!
Thank you for getting to know us,
Ryan and Andrea