Update! Our makeover was featured on Better Homes & Gardens! See the article here (#5).
Summer is finally here and we’re excited about it! Since the weather’s been so nice, we’ve been working on upgrading our backyard. Last year, we brought it to life by adding a deck and patio, planting grass and a garden, and building some low-cost furniture for eating and lounging. Pallets were our best friend, and worked perfectly for us and the occasional backyard BBQ.
Since then, we decided to put our house up on short-term vacation rental sites like Airbnb and HomeAway/VRBO to make some extra cash, and have had an amazing response. After several months of hosting guests from all over the country (and world!), we realized we had something going and decided it was worth it to invest a little more into making the backyard more guest-friendly. For this round of improvements, we:
- stained the fence,
- built benches onto the deck for extra seating,
- bought some new throw pillows and a rug from Target, and
- bought a new outdoor dining table from Ikea.
We still hope to buy a colorful umbrella for the dining table and stain the deck so everything matches. And grow more grass to fill in the patches! We’re glad our guests love it as much as we do.
PTM616@aol.com
June 27, 2014Yes, the makeover is a big success Congrats Dad
Cindy
May 1, 2018The floor pillows on the deck, did you make them yourself? If so, what did you use? They have such a nice shape.
Catherine
May 2, 2018Thanks Cindy! We did — they were actually accent chair cushions in their previous life (with a frame), and we wrapped new fabric around them. That’s why they have that great shape.
Jess Gregg
May 16, 2018Hi! Just came across your post on Home talk and paid your blog visit!! Great job on this stunning makeover! We’re currently working on our own “outdoor pool and patio renovations, makeover, improvements” and I was trying to explain to everyone about the built in benches I so desperately want when we build a floating step up (platform) deck off the pool area but I knew exactly what I wanted them to look like in my head but couldn’t convey it to my husband. These are what was in my head down to color, design and shape. Do they have storage as well? Do you have plans that you could sell me? Please! I’m so jealous for sure! Great job and you can see every little last detail and how much work, time and love… blood, sweat and tears… went into this project. Very nice!
Catherine
May 17, 2018Thank you! They do have storage! We don’t have plans, unfortunately, but if you find a good carpenter they should be able to build them for you based on a photo. We used pine, and just stained it to get the rich color.