Back Patio Makeover
At the end of April, we got the orders to STAY HOME and quarantine because of the virus that was spreading like wild fire across the country. We were saddened because we had already planned and purchased our tickets to go on our first family cruise. We’ve never been on a cruise before so we were really looking forward to it. So, instead of being sad for too long, we decided, why not turn our back patio into a place that feels like an escape from our everyday lives. And since we work from home, we wanted to make sure that we were literally stepping into a space that embodies the tropics.
Our family sat together and we all discussed what we wanted our backyard to look like. Here is what we came up with:
1. Tropical Escape
2. Family Friendly
3. Instagrammable (I mean…I do need a place to take all kinds of pictures in. LOL!)
With that said, below are photos of what we started out with. This back patio was more of a storage area where my husband would store scraps of wood . It wasn’t really be used for anything. It was muddy and dark, so we never came back here.
The first thing we did was laying down the foundation. We hired someone to come lay down the concrete foundation. The process took about 2 days. It was pretty quick in my opinion. We purchased the concrete from a concrete company and hired someone to do the labor. We then went to Lowes and picked the tile. We were lucky enough to have found it on sale AND we were able to use my military discount. We chose a a white/gray marble porcelein tile. I LOVE the idea of light tile in this space because it brightens the area.
My family and I layed the tile. It took us nine days. It was, without a doubt the hardest part of this entire project. We agreed to NEVER do this again. LOL! It was ALOT of work. (My husband led the way in laying the tile. He doesn’t like taking pictures so you won’t see him in these pics.)
Next steps:
We got grass! found a pallet of sod at an extremely inexpensive on Facebook Marketplace. I would HIGHLY recommend this option if you are looking to fill some space in your yard. We wrapped the sod all the way around our back patio and had enough to stretch out to the middle of our yard. It was alot of sod!
We hung up a swing! This was a must have for me. I always see people taking the prettiest photos on this beautiful boho swings so I had to have one. No extra money was spent here since we had everything on hand. My favorite thing was the tassles I created simply by unraveling several pieces of rope and tying them together in a knot at the top, which hold the swing in place.
We covered the brick! This was truly a game changer. The brick darkened up the space so we covered it in artificial boxwood wall. This wall covering is UV protected, weatherproof; basically, its meant to be outdoors. This was quite easy to assemble. I would say to measure your space first and before trying to figure out the amount of boxes of this product you’ll need.
We hung lights! We bought a string of 100 ft lights and stapled them to the upper deck beams. This process went pretty fast. My husband stapled and I screwed in the lightbulbs. My husband is a neat freak so held the way in making sure that lights were as straight as possible.
We bought plants! We bought our plants at our local plant nursery. I looked through the clearance section first and found this huge Birds of Paradise tree for ONLY $10! This plant at this size retails for over $100. This was a steal. I bought the only two they had because why not. In the Winter, these plants will flourish in our home. For the rest of the plants, I purchased at Lowes. I always pick up random plants there that I love because the prices are pretty reasonable. For the planters, my favorite ones are the two black wicker ones. I was lucky to find these at Joanns Craft Stores. They paired well with our tropical vibe which we love.
Next Steps:
6. We built a couch! Yes, you heard that right. We built a couch from scratch! We have ZERO experience in building furniture, but we did our research and we are so proud of the outcome. My husband and I partnered well on this project. He took care of the frame of the couch. The workmanship was so clean and neat. I don’t expect anything less from him. I took over the cushions and I think I did a damn good job. I talk about it more HERE if you are interested.
7. We decorated! I bought my decor at several different places. We found amazing deals on everything.
Boxwood Panels
Stringlights- 25ft 50ft 100ft
Adapter to connect string lights to light socket
Wicker Chair, Rug, and Bar Cart: Target
Mirrors: Joann Stores, Ross, At Home
Candle Lanterns, Wicker Planters, Pllows: Joann Stores
Grey Planter: Cosco
Tall Clay Planter: Ikea
Gold/ Brass Tables: Big Lots
Black Chairs: Hobby Lobby
THE FINAL REVEAL
Interior Design is another passion of mine that I never share but I’m so happy that the Stay at Home order happened or else I would not have had this opportunity to do this. This has me excited to share more projects in my home. Hope you enjoyed this project and I hope it inspired you.
