As the days grow shorter, and the wind grows colder, it is the perfect time to blog about a patio makeover. Of course.
This is for all you folks out there who procrastinate like me. If you are in anyway inspired by this for your own patio renovation, you have a whole WINTER to get your act together.
And then you have the WHOLE SUMMER to finally blog about it...we will chat in approx a year, cool?
Ok back to the point.
I have an addiction pinning home décor on pinterest. I seriously will need 10 bathrooms, 11 home offices, and at least 5 kitchens to get in all my favourites.But as much as I pin, and as much as my blog info says I am a DIYer..the most I have done in the past 2 years has been to buy some tiles for an ikea table in the kitchen.
One day though, when I have space and time, I will spray paint ALL the THINGS! In the mean time though, living in a tiny 600ish sqft rented apartment, the décor options are only so flexible. I can’t paint an accent wall, or hang a purple chandelier, but I can accessorize..with teal, teal and more teal.
One area that got badly overlooked was the patio. When we first moved in we got the IKEA cheapy Jeff Chairs and table, we had a little herb garden and some plants. Last year we rigged a safety harness thing for Moseby (we NEVER let him out if we weren’t there with him),
After going on vacation in August and spending so many hours outside, I decided I wanted to make my patio somewhere I actually wanted to spend time. And since I can’t do anything about the height and the gap, I decided to trick myself with nice décor.
After pinning some inspiration like here and here, one Sunday afternoon I hit the mall with my friend Katie. My goal was to find some things to make the patio more cozy and colourful…less terrifying and concrete. I also wanted to breakaway slightly from the teals and blues, so I went with teal bases and crimson/orange cheaper accessories, so I didn’t have to commit too much. I also mixed textures and metals to create an eclectic vibe, which doesn’t match the rest of my apartment, but I love the look of it.
Being the end of season I found some pretty good deals, and ended up with this result:
Lanterns and Baskets-Homesense
Plants- Home depot and Walmart
Seat Covers/random orange bits- Dollar Store
Candles- Target
The best find was the giant teal lantern/plant holder, that was at Homesense for an “Compare to” price of 200 dollars, for sale for 25.99. Plants were a little harder to find but I found the big basket (actually a hanging basket with the hanger broken off), and some indoor plants that spent the late summer outside. I think with gift certificates I was around 100 bucks for the whole makeover…which was a pretty good deal.
Now here is the keeping it real part, it is now October, and my vision of sitting out there with a book on a Sunday afternoon happened maybe 2 times. As from my last post, my weekends for the past couple months have been jam packed, so any free time was not spent relaxing on the patio. I still find it is too windy to actually have enjoyed it, and now that it is getting to be winter (NOOO!) I moved everything inside. Hopefully some of the plants will survive the winter!
I guess I enjoyed the process of decorating it more so than actually using it! One day I will have a lower patio, that faces south west, and can get all the light..and I will actually sit out there, and maybe even BBQ!
Even so, for the one day I did sit out there to review Mike’s thesis:
Totally worth it.
And then you have the WHOLE SUMMER to finally blog about it...we will chat in approx a year, cool?
Ok back to the point.
I have an addiction pinning home décor on pinterest. I seriously will need 10 bathrooms, 11 home offices, and at least 5 kitchens to get in all my favourites.But as much as I pin, and as much as my blog info says I am a DIYer..the most I have done in the past 2 years has been to buy some tiles for an ikea table in the kitchen.
One day though, when I have space and time, I will spray paint ALL the THINGS! In the mean time though, living in a tiny 600ish sqft rented apartment, the décor options are only so flexible. I can’t paint an accent wall, or hang a purple chandelier, but I can accessorize..with teal, teal and more teal.
One area that got badly overlooked was the patio. When we first moved in we got the IKEA cheapy Jeff Chairs and table, we had a little herb garden and some plants. Last year we rigged a safety harness thing for Moseby (we NEVER let him out if we weren’t there with him),
 |
| Not fall arrest! |
And this year somehow the chair and table got moved out and that was it. It is high up and windy, and has a big gap between the glass and the concrete which makes me scurred.
After going on vacation in August and spending so many hours outside, I decided I wanted to make my patio somewhere I actually wanted to spend time. And since I can’t do anything about the height and the gap, I decided to trick myself with nice décor.
After pinning some inspiration like here and here, one Sunday afternoon I hit the mall with my friend Katie. My goal was to find some things to make the patio more cozy and colourful…less terrifying and concrete. I also wanted to breakaway slightly from the teals and blues, so I went with teal bases and crimson/orange cheaper accessories, so I didn’t have to commit too much. I also mixed textures and metals to create an eclectic vibe, which doesn’t match the rest of my apartment, but I love the look of it.
Being the end of season I found some pretty good deals, and ended up with this result:
 |
| Ooo plants and stuff |
Plants- Home depot and Walmart
Seat Covers/random orange bits- Dollar Store
Candles- Target
The best find was the giant teal lantern/plant holder, that was at Homesense for an “Compare to” price of 200 dollars, for sale for 25.99. Plants were a little harder to find but I found the big basket (actually a hanging basket with the hanger broken off), and some indoor plants that spent the late summer outside. I think with gift certificates I was around 100 bucks for the whole makeover…which was a pretty good deal.
Now here is the keeping it real part, it is now October, and my vision of sitting out there with a book on a Sunday afternoon happened maybe 2 times. As from my last post, my weekends for the past couple months have been jam packed, so any free time was not spent relaxing on the patio. I still find it is too windy to actually have enjoyed it, and now that it is getting to be winter (NOOO!) I moved everything inside. Hopefully some of the plants will survive the winter!
I guess I enjoyed the process of decorating it more so than actually using it! One day I will have a lower patio, that faces south west, and can get all the light..and I will actually sit out there, and maybe even BBQ!
Even so, for the one day I did sit out there to review Mike’s thesis:
Totally worth it.
It turned out so well!! My favorite piece is a tie between the rug & the big blue lantern. So pretty!
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