Sonoma County designer turns her patio into a winter wonderland

Petaluma designer and social media manager Heather Jennings knew this year there would be no warm Christmas gatherings indoors around the fireplace and tree. So she found a way to stay safe and still socialize on a micro scale by turning her back patio into a winter wonderland.

Using mostly things she had on hand, Jennings spent no more than several hundred dollars to deck her backyard with trees and lights and even a flurry of “snow,” creating a festive atmosphere for celebrating Christmas safely with close friends and family.

The term backyard living has taken on new meaning in the age of the coronavirus. With indoor entertaining off-limits, people have spent more time than ever socializing outside, an adaptation that has become increasingly more challenging as winter sets in.

“This is fun,” said Jennings, the mother of two boys, ages 14 and 10, of her outdoor holiday décor. “The kids wake up in the morning and they’re down here and they can see the trees. They were very excited about this, and think it’s pretty cool.”

People of course go crazy for outdoor decorations, trying to outdo their neighbors and themselves year after year. But holiday decorating is typically confined to the front yard where neighbors and passers-by can admire and enjoy the display.

Jennings didn’t go overboard with her backyard decorating. A former interior designer who for years shared tasteful design ideas and projects through her blog Make+Haus, Jennings knows that often, less is more.

The family had two weeks to enjoy the backyard setting before the latest stay-home order went into effect, halting any kind of gathering. In those two weeks, they hosted a few people, primarily family, who gathered around the fire pit with woolen blankets to catch up and enjoy the festive lights.

Jennings had hoped her small extended family would be able to celebrate in the space on Christmas Day with an outdoor crab feed. But it appears even that may not be allowed. Still, she enjoyed the “winter wonderland” while she was able and figures that she and her husband Adam and sons can still have some fun family time outside while the decorations are up.

She keeps her setup simple. Heat is an essential component of any outdoor entertaining space in cold weather. But outdoor heaters have become unicorns in the year of COVID-19. She landed her mushroom-head tower heater when her sister got word a shipment was arriving at Home Depot and alerted her. Jennings high-tailed it to the store and scored one before they were sold out.

“It throws out a lot of heat,” she said of the $150 unit, which sits to one side amid a grouping of Adirondack chairs set six feet apart. The chairs are stackable so they can be easily moved. The social distancing spot is set up in the middle of a new cement basketball court they installed for the boys this year.

Firepit focal point

As with any design concept, you need a focal point, even outside. For outdoor entertaining at night, particularly in winter, a firepit is also essential. Jennings scouted and found a modern stainless steel-footed pot, elevated onto a pedestal that consists of a wooden crate with concrete pavers on top. That way the heat comes into contact with concrete rather than wood.

It was one way the Jennings managed to create their outdoor living room without investing in expensive furnishings or paying for installations. Everything is off the shelf or something they already had. A teak bench that was used to store sports equipment is pushed into the arrangement and with cushions becomes a bench for grandma Carolyn Jennings, who lives nearby. She hasn’t been inside their house since the first stay-at-home order in March.

It was Carolyn who inspired the Jennings family to kick up their outdoor entertaining. The family had hoped to go to Italy in the summer, until the pandemic canceled their travel plans. So for Carolyn’s 70th birthday in September, they staged an outdoor Italian dinner for immediate family only. That includes two grandparents, a handful of adults and five grandchildren, all boys.

They reprised the setup for a backyard Thanksgiving feast, with long tables permitting everyone to sit at a safe distance under an overhang. The grandparents had their own table the farthest away, the kids had their own and the other adults had a third long table.

“It was a beautiful day. And it worked great,” Carolyn Jennings said.

Because it had all worked out so well, Heather, realizing Christmas was just around the corner, ordered several artificial trees on Black Friday through Target. She set them up in a line along the back fence with a border planting of lighted candy canes. The treehouse they built several years ago as a Christmas surprise for their boys also was strung with lights and serves as a secondary focal point, adding to the festive feeling.

The final touch is a snow machine of sorts — it throws light that appears like snowflakes onto the fence.

Comforting touches

To make the space functional, you need more than decorations. In addition to the outdoor heater and fire pit, Heather added a cute wooden box on wheels filled with beautiful woolen blankets to cut the chill. Opposite is a tray filled with mugs for warm drinks and a battery-operated LED camp light. She dressed the conversational area with artificial garlands.

A tall console table set against the wall of the house is a serve-yourself station for beverages and snacks. It is also outfitted with hand sanitizer from nearby McEvoy Ranch.

“We wanted to have a few little creature comforts for COVID-19,” Heather said. A few carefully placed candles add to the magical ambiance, even as the mercury dips.

Heather said setting up an outdoor entertaining area for COVID-19 needn’t be expensive or elaborate. And while she can’t use it now, she knows that when the latest stay-home order lifts, they can remove the Christmas lights and still have an attractive place for small-scale, safe socializing throughout the winter and spring.

“This might be something we’ll do again,” she said, even when the pandemic passes. “Now that we have all the stuff, it’s fun to be outside.”

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com. OnTwitter @megmcconahey.