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Motherhood Simplified.

Backyard Patio Makeover

July 22, 2016 | 1 Comment

At the beginning of the summer, I sought out to overhaul our patio a bit and make it more of a livable space.

Over the years, the Mr. and I have had lots of talks about extending our living area by creating outdoor spaces to hang out. We love the idea of a smaller house with more areas outside in which to “live,” and our big backyard patio gave us the perfect opportunity to do this.

Our patio hasn’t had much going on since we moved in a year ago. I’ve longed for a pergola so I could hang some lights and because I desperately wanted to use it to create a bit of a privacy fence. Our house is on a corner and you can see directly onto our patio from the street. It makes things a bit awkward when you’re eating dinner in front of the entire neighborhood… I figured a small privacy fence along the patio railing would help create a space that we felt more comfortable hanging out in.

But knowing that pergola construction wasn’t really in our budget this summer, I started researching other ideas that would allow for privacy and lighting. I stumbled upon an idea that used 2×2 poles attached to deck railing with hooks in the top for stringing lights. Bingo! An idea is born.

patio-renovation-fence-close

DIY Patio Privacy Fence

So we bought 4 2x2s to use as our posts and a bunch of 1x3s to create a privacy fence. We bought the common boards that are only a couple of dollars for each 8’ board (just be sure you try and find the straightest and least damaged ones you can because some of these boards are gnarly). I wanted to keep the wood raw instead of staining it the same red as the deck (which I hate, by the way, but ain’t no way am I feeling like sanding and re-staining my deck right now), so we just sanded the boards and sprayed them with polyurethane.

patio-renovation-full1

We screwed each of the four posts into our existing deck railing at the top and bottom using 4″ decking screws. We had to use small 2×2″ spacers along the bottom of the railing in order for the posts to sit flush, but as you can tell, they aren’t even noticeable. To create privacy, we just nailed the 1x3s into place along the posts with a nail gun. We created sort of a pallet design with some boards on the inside of the poles and some on the outside and alternated one board and then two. It ends up allowing us to still see through, but gives us a lot more privacy than before.

We kept the privacy fence shorter on the left side because I wanted to still be able to see into our kids’ play area over there from our patio door, and privacy from the street isn’t as much of an issue on that side. Plus, I like that it has some variation in height.

I hung some planters and other goodies on our new privacy fence from Michaels to jazz it up a bit. Eventually I would like to go back and stain the bottom half of the posts the same color as the deck so they are less noticeable… you know, when I get the chance (i.e. that will never happen).

patio-renovation-fence-close-succulents

patio-renovation-fence-close-succulents2

patio-renovation-fence-close-plants

But my favorite part about our new privacy fence by far are the lights that we strung from the top of it.

patio-renovation-full-with-lights

DIY suspension lights

I’ve hung lights outside in the past, never used a suspension wire to clip them to even though I knew it looked classier. But they often came apart at the plugs and fell down and broke a ton of expensive little bulbs, so this time around, I decided to suck it up and do it right.

patio-renovation-full-with-lights3

I checked in stores and online for wire suspension kits and guess what? They run anywhere from $40 – $60. I figured I could do better. So I went to Home Depot and found the parts contained in these kits on their own for way less money. And THEN I went to Walmart and found the same items for EVEN LESS money! Can you feel my excitement?? 30 feet of thin suspension wire from Walmart is $5 (it includes clamps for creating the loops at the end). I bought two of them, along with some eye hooks for attaching the lights to the side of our house. What should have cost me $60, ended up costing me about $20; and since I bought these cool Edison bulb lights on clearance after Christmas last year, this was a super budget-friendly lighting project.

patio-renovation-full-with-lights2

patio-renovation-lights-on-house

We screwed some small hooks in the top of two of our posts to string the lights through and then figured out the right placement for the eye hooks that we screwed into the side of the house. And that was it! It took about 30 minutes in the rain (that was unfortunate) and we had fancy looking lighting on our patio. The best part is that when winter rolls around, we can unclip the lights and store them away and the wire will still be there ready and waiting come summer.

Re-painted patio furniture

I also overhauled our patio set, which was given to us by a friend. It was one of those plain ol’ black metal sets that you can buy here.

It was getting rusty so I decided to give it a face lift by spray painting it yellow. This is not for the faint of heart. It took nearly 8 cans of spray paint (Rustoleum in Summer Squash) and several days to complete. But the end result is pretty fantastic. Because I’m obsessed with chippy paint, I kind of can’t wait for it to get a bit weathered and have the black show though in spots.

patio-renovation-table-close2

patio-renovation-table-close1

I already owned a couple of blue ikat print outdoor pillows from World Market (this is their second year outside and they still look great), and I picked up two more from Walmart at the start of summer. They are slightly smaller in size, but they were only $5!

patio-redo-pillows2

patio-redo-pillows1

This post is starting to sound like an ad for Walmart, but I swear they had nothing to do it… besides, my blue outdoor rug is from Target, so I don’t discriminate.

After I filled some of my planters with flowers and placed them on my old ladder that I bought at the flea market for $20, this patio started feeling pretty homey.

patio-renovation-full-ladder

And I have to say, every since this patio renovation, we’ve spent quite a bit of time outside. It’s perfect in the afternoon because the house shades the patio as the sun is setting, and the kids love playing in their play area while the Mr. and I sip a drink or two. And the neighbors aren’t all up in our business.

patio-renovation-street-view

Ah, summer. Don’t ever go away!

Related posts:

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  2. Front Door Fix: Fresh Paint
  3. Ikea Hack: DIY Mudroom Benches
  4. Our Antique Farmhouse Table & Chairs

Filed Under: crafting, home Tagged With: DIY, home, home tour, outdoors

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HI! I'M AMY.

I'M A BLOGGER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MOM, COFFEE ADDICT, DIYER, CHRONIC MULTITASKER AND STRESSCASE, A COOK AND A LOVER OF A GOOD GLASS OF WINE.
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I get it. It's a little weird. But the girls I've I get it. It's a little weird.
But the girls I've seen do it best, look adorable.

I think it looks best with an oversized tee or sweatshirt, tennies or slides, and a small crossbody bag.

You can't argue with comfort.

For the record, these are women's sleep shorts that I've had a couple of years from Old Navy. If you buy actual men's boxers, you might consider sewing up the pee pocket 😜

Don't spend a lot on this trend; these shorts are made from the thinnest of fabric and shouldn't cost much. Don't be fooled by a retailer that wants you to spend just because it's trendy.

But if you see some cute boxers and want to give it a go - then do! Bonus - if/when the trend ends, you'll have pajamas on the ready 👏

It's solid weekend wear, but I'm not going out to dinner in it...

#boxershortsforgirls #boxershort #ootd #womensfashion #styleinspiration
Another project down in my son's room! I knew I w Another project down in my son's room!

I knew I wanted some sort of built-in feature in this bedroom, but it was hard to figure out what, because we turned it into an active space where he could run and play and needed a lot of room.

So I settled on a built-in bookcase with the slatted design feature, which I'm in love with!

The best part about it is that if he ever decides to upgrade his bed, the space will also accommodate a full or queen size bed going in the opposite direction. It adds so much interest to this room and hopefully will be here for a long time!

One of the things I love most about DIY projects is figuring out how to make something - it's like a giant puzzle. I saw photos of these slotted wall room dividers on Pinterest and just figured it out as I went. All in all, I had very few hiccups and it only took me a few hours to put together. I think I only cursed once?!? And so I call that an extreme DIY win...

Now that the sports wall, the climbing wall, and the built-in feature are complete, the last thing to do in here is some additional painting. I'm thinking of using a contrasting blue color for the closet doors and back side of the built-in, and perhaps trimming out the window with it as well. Then I need to switch out the light for a fan and this.room.is done 🙌

Details: I used two IKEA billy bookshelves, screwed together and secured to the wall. Then wrapped them in white oak plywood. I ripped down 2x4s into 1.5x1.5" square dowels (heavily sanded!) and used pocket holes on the back side of each to secure to the bookshelf and the 1x4 in the ceiling. It's very sturdy!

Go back in my reels to see the other projects from this room! 

#diy #boysroom #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom #builtins #bedroomredo #girlswhobuild
This climbing wall took half a day and cost under This climbing wall took half a day and cost under $100!

We are lucky enough to have 13' ceilings in our bedrooms, so a climbing wall seemed to make sense in my son's room as we worked on the remodel.

He is a super active kid with #ADHD, so his room redo has involved lots of activity spaces! Go back in my reels to see past projects and follow to see me finish this up!

#diy #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom
Another to-do checked off my list for spring break Another to-do checked off my list for spring break room makeover!

I added very subtle striping to the wall to mimic a soccer field and keep things classy. ⚽

Stick around to see the next project - a climbing wall!

(And go back in my reels to see the sports wall)

#roommakeover #soccer #kidsroom

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