Our Cheap-o Patio Makeover
So did you guys think we spent the long weekend relaxing and eating burgers? Do you know us at all? Ok, so we did do our fair share of grillin’ out, but we also found the time to transform the back patio. Yep, we mentioned that we longed for a welcoming and functional outdoor room to grill stuff up, chillax with a good book (or glossy shelter mag) and whip up some melty s’mores… and we just couldn’t wait one minute longer to make our backyard dream a ready-for-summer reality. Here’s what our back patio looked like before Memorial Day weekend- all lonely except for an old Target table and chair set purchased about two years ago.
And here’s what it looked like Saturday morning after a bit of assembling, potting, and even a quick fire-pit-building project. We happily got ‘er done in a few hours so we had the rest of the long weekend to enjoy our newest room. Here’s how it all went down.
We actually ordered these two Walmart lounge chairs (which appear to be sold out now) a few months back with birthday money from our families. We were dying for a place to read, watch Burger run around, and maybe even do some outdoor blog stuff (and a friend with two lounge chairs totally inspired us to take the plunge). But although they were sadly on backorder for what seemed like forever, these matching loungers ended up being well worth the wait (and their $277 price tag for two). In fact we were so excited about finally getting our mitts on them that John assembled ‘em on Friday night at dusk- because neither of us could bear to wait another minute to enjoy them.
You think I’m kidding. Here I am taking one out for a spin that evening. In the dark. Yeah, we’re nerds.
And as for the new fire pit, that was 100% free. As in, we didn’t spend a single solitary penny on it. What we did do was move an old project from the back of our property up to the patio where we could really put it to good use a lot more often (without having to bushwack our way back to it). Here’s an old post about our little woodsy fire pit that we created in a dirt clearing in the waaay back of our property with $2 pavers from Lowe’s. And here’s how we moved it up to our newly transformed patio. First we laid down four stone pavers for the base (to keep our cobblestone patio protected from the soot and create the foundation for our mini fire pit project).
Then we used six of our previously purchased $2 garden edgers from Lowe’s to create the round fire pit shape.
Six more stone garden edgers topped things off for a place to roast s’mores to our heart’s content. It bears mentioning that fire safety is always super important (what’s a lovely house with a fire pit if it’s burned to the ground?) so we strongly urge you to check with your county’s minicipality to see what rules they have in place for outdoor fire pits (some areas have minimum distances that they have to be located from the house, etc). We also encourage you to purchase a good quality fire extinguisher to have on hand (we picked one up from Home Depot and love the peace of mind that it gives us). Update: this fire pit project is one that has worked safely for us over dozens of s’more roasts without incident, however, we have heard that extremely high heat could cause air bubbles in concrete to explode in rare occasions (which obviously would be baaad news). Using firesafe bricks to line the bottom and the sides of your DIY pit would help to prevent this.
We also brought in two simple black planters that we purchased at Ikea a few months back and popped some $6 boxwoods in ‘em for a bit more life and color on our newly spruced patio. You’ll also notice the green lumbar pillow (stolen from our porch makeover) on our lounge chair. We liked the pop of hue so much that we’re thinking about bringing home two more for our lounge chairs so this little green guy can go back to his former home on the front porch.
We already had our big-ish stainless steel grill (we actually purchased it for our backyard wedding where our dads grilled up grub for our guests) – but we found that we rarely used it since… probably because the rest of the patio left much to be desired. As a testiment to our new makeover, we’ve grilled up at least four meals in the past three days so we’re extremely excited to be using it instead of spending years keeping it covered and never even cracking it open.
Here’s another view of the brand-spankin-new set-up. We love that there’s more than enough room to move around and that we were able to create a few different functions in one not-that-huge area. Making a space multitask is definitely one of our favorite ways to force ourselves to use it more frequently (it’s why we moved our dining area into our hardly-ever-used living room and now we’re in there all the time).
Of course Burger loves the new set up and has already claimed both lounge chairs as his (he switches chairs every twenty minutes or so for good measure).
But every once in a while John and I actually get to steal them back and enjoy our lovely backyard with a book on our lap and an ice cold beverage on the “new” side table (an old Ikea stool in the garage got a coat of black exterior paint and a topcoat of outdoor poly). Life is good when you have the perfect little spot to drop a drink, a book or a snack.
And if you’re Burger, life is pretty good no matter where you are or what you’re doing… but it’s especially fabulous on those new lounge chairs. At least that’s the story his eyes are telling in this photo.
And speaking of the good life, we even got a chance to take our fire pit out for a spin yesterday night when we whipped up a few s’mores after a yummy dinner courtesy of – you guessed it- the grill.
Is there anything better than a scorched marshmallow smooshed onto a hunk of chocolate and sandwiched in a honey graham cracker? I think not.
And apparently I’m not alone in that sentiment. Here’s John loving his s’more to the max (as Burger lurks in the shadows).
And since we know you guys are figure-heads, here’s our fun little budget breakdown. Since our patio was a lot bigger than our front porch we figured it would run us well over $500 for the whole shebang, but we’re super excited to report that we did it on a whole lot less (especially since the money that went towards the lounge chairs was a b-day gift from both of our families).
- Lounge chair set: $277
- Two black Ikea planters: $30
- Two boxwoods for the planters: $12
- Firepit: repurposed materials from the backyard (aka: free, but it was only $28 originally)
- Side table: repurposed Ikea stool (aka: free, but it was only $19 originally)
- Grand Total: $319.00
So what did you guys do for your long weekend? Did you tackle any house projects? Did you flee your casa in an attempt to forget all the things on your to do list? Did you get to enjoy the miracle that is a s’more? Do tell.
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Comments
Hey guys,
I love the patio makeover! So guess what I did this weekend? I went to the home depot for something and while waiting for someone, I started flipping through magazines and guess who I saw in one of them??? :) The funniest is that first I saw a picture of your entryway, you kow that framed P? And my first thought was, hey, these guys totally copied from the petersiks…and then I turned back a couple of pages and there you were! I was so happy…too happy considering I dont even know you :p Btw I cant remember what magazine, probably a DIY better homes and gardens? and the spring 2009 issue. I am so excited for you guys :D Good going!
Hey Fatima,
That’s so funny! Yeah it was DIY magazine. We actually have another house story coming out in the next issue and then we have a regular column that we’re doing with them from then on… of course we can’t wait to spill the beans about that! We’re still pinching ourselves. Stay tuned…
xoxo,
Sherry
Ok, love what you did, but I always wonder – what do people do when it rains?!!?! It rains in the SE ALL the time, and we have an open porch (not a house we’ll be in forever or I’d cover/screen it in). We need new cushions for our chairs already and it’s b/c of the rain.
Just curious.
great job as always!!!
My friends have those exact loungers. They are super comfy, too. I love Burger lounging around. Too cute!
Hey Katie,
Hmm, I guess when it rains things just get wet. We’ve had the padded seat cushions on the Target table for about a year+ and they’ve faded a bit but we don’t mind it at all. You know us and light airy colors, hehe. Other than that they’re like new (still plush and not worn or ruined in any way from the elements). I guess we expect that the lounge cushions will fade a bit too, but they always dry out and are made to be in the rain and the cold so we imagine they’ll hold up well spring-fall and we’ll store them in the garage through the winter to protect them from the worst of things. Hope it helps!
xoxo,
Sherry
Hey Jay,
We actually just shoved it in the garage (it was metal, so covering it every time it rained was a bit more of a hassle than our new stone one) but we’ll probably get in on a little garage sale/craigslist action whenever we get around to it.
xo,
s
All these comments are great! But I guess *somebody* had to be the one to flee the casa in an attempt to forget the to-do list: me!
But the list was still here when I got back, so … I guess my mini-vacation didn’t given the home-improvement fairies time to come do their thing.
Alrighty, then … what’s first?
:-)
Love your detailed makeover posts. We’re still trying to decide what to do with the patio in our new house, which is basically a blank slate. At this point, we’ve briefly considered everything from a grill, table and chairs, umbrella set-up to a glider, swing, hammock… we’ll decide one of these days.
I love that you posted all the details and pictures galore! We have a teak patio table and chairs and I had been looking to find something that would “go” along with them but everything is so expensive! Your post inspired me to check out walmart.com and I actually found two loungers (not teak, but I love them all the same) that I think are perfect. Ordered them and had them shipped yesterday, can’t wait! I never would have thought to look at walmart, so thanks for that idea!
Here’s what I ordered – the “Terrace Resin Wicker Chaise Loungers”
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/04/89/70/13/94/0489701394031_500X500.jpg
Hey Juliet,
I love the cheerful yellow cushions! Great find. Happy lounging…
xo,
Sherry
Oh my goodness; I did not know you could make a fire pit so easily! Wow! I want to do it! Thanks for the great idea!
By the way, I totally would have done the same as you and tried out new furniture in the dark. Too funny! :)
nothing on such a grand scale but we finally planted some perennials found @ Lowe’s for $2.00 each. (the 5″ pots are cheap and they seem to be putting out different ones every week)
I can’t believe I haven’t discovered your blog before this! Where have I been? Love the patio reno — we spent Mem Day weekend installing wainscoting in our apartment’s hallway. I don’t think our downstairs neighbors were too pleased about the sawdust that kept blowing off our terrace onto their barbecue. Holidays are for projects, people.
The outdoor makeover looks so nice.
I really enjoy reading your inspiring blog!
It’s my first time commenting.
Have a wonderful weekend.
~Melissa :)
When it rains, do the ashes and soot from the fire pit leak all over your patio? We have the exact same patio pavers and would love to do a fire pit like yours, but for some reason I envision a lot of sooty run off after the rain. I’d love to hear how yours is working.
Hey Rebecca,
We’ve been making s’mores at least twice a week for the past two weeks and between that it’s been raining cats and dogs but the soot is either staying in the pit or dissolving in the rain because there’s nary an ash to be seen outside of it. We initially worried about the exact scenario you’ve described but we’ve used it so often and it has rained so frequently that we’re confident that once ash is dry and it rains it either completely dissolves or stays put right where it is. No stains or dark deposits to speak of. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
love the makeover – but I’m curious about the patio itself. Did you put it in? We are thinking of doing a paver patio and I was wondering if you have any tips…
love the patio renovation..esp the fire pit..right now we have a metal one which has to be kept covered…think that one will have to be for the beach fires…a stone fire pit works for me! would love to put this on my blog if thats ok?
Lisa- Just a few weeks before our backyard wedding we decided the old patio was a safety hazard and it would be too stressful to try to DIY something with such a tight schedule (and so much wedding work to do – we even catered it ourselves!). So we opted to use some wedding-present money towards replacing it. After a bunch of estimates we found someone who would demo the entire original patio, haul it away, level the ground, lay the new patio with cobblestone pavers (with custom-cut curves and a walkway to our back gate) and finish in TWO AMAZING DAYS! It ran us around $2300 but it was totally worth it for the stress-free installation (which we definitely needed right before our big day) and we’re sure you could get it for even cheaper these days now that times are tough. Hope it helps!
Sue- Cool beans about putting it on your blog. We’d love a link!
xo,
Sherry
How cute! I can’t wait to make a fire pit on our patio now! We were probably going to drop over $200 on one of those fancy ones…but why?! Also, and this is just an FYI — I can’t tell from the photo for sure, but your grill looks exactly like one I got for my husband for his birthday that ended up being recalled because of potentially explosive propane hose or something. We ended up taking it back to Lowes (or Home Depot…can’t remember) and they refunded the price. We had been grilling on it for awhile….but still. You don’t want to blow up….um…ever. It’s worth checking out. :)
Hey Jessica,
Thanks for the info! We actually got the grill in early 2007 but we’ll definitely check it out! Thanks!
xo,
s
Update: The recall is for a bunch of Perfect Flame 4-Burner grills (ours is a 3-burner) so anyone with a 4-Burner Perfect Flame grill should check things out and might need to take theirs back to Lowe’s for a full refund!
This is such a great idea! I love how the low cost of the fire pit means you could set one up last minute just about anywhere! I’ll be linking.
I just discovered your site a week or so ago and I LOVE it! We too have an old house and this is the perfect source of inspiration. I plan to surprise my husband this weekend with a replica of your firepit in our yard for Father’s Day. It’s perfect!
I love this backyard patio – so lovely!
Your fire pit is genius.
And I LOVE s’mores, but have you tried them backwards yet??
That is, chocolate graham crackers and a white chocolate bar inside. Do try it! :)
This doesn’t have anything to do with DIY (or maybe it does…), but my new favorite this when making s’mores is to use CHOCOLATE FROSTING instead of chocolate bars. It will blow your mind! BTW, the patio looks awesome :)
Wow! Thanks for the DIY fire pit idea. This would be much cheaper than buying one…well, they might be on sale now, but I think we have all the material to make one.
We bought a patio set from the very same series last summer. Super affordable and looks very nice. Just be warned that the fabric will fade-at least ours did. We just flipped them over for this summer, but I’m not sure what we’ll do next year. Also, the cushions soak up water so if you see a storm coming you might want to move the cushions inside or else you’ll be lounging in a water-logged loungers come the next day! Looks great!