Did you think we spent the long weekend doing nothing but relaxing and eating burgers? Not quite. We did enjoy some grilling, but we also used the extra time to transform the back patio. We’d mentioned wanting a welcoming, functional outdoor room for grilling, relaxing with a good book (or a shelter magazine) and making melty s’mores — and we couldn’t wait any longer to turn that dream into a ready-for-summer reality. Here’s what the patio looked like before Memorial Day weekend: pretty lonely, with only an old Target table and chair set purchased a couple of years ago.
And here’s how it looked on Saturday morning after a few hours of assembling, potting, and even building a quick fire pit. We got it done fast so we had the rest of the long weekend to enjoy our new outdoor room. Below is how it all came together.
A few months ago we ordered two lounge chairs from Walmart (they’re sold out now) with birthday money from our families. We wanted a cozy place to read, watch Burger run around, and do some outdoor blogging. Although the chairs were on backorder for a while, they were worth the $277 price tag for the pair. We were so excited when they finally arrived that John assembled them on Friday night at dusk — we just couldn’t wait to try them out.
I’m not kidding — here I am testing one out that evening, in the dark. We’re total nerds about our little improvements.
We also built a simple fire pit by stacking heat-resistant pavers well away from the house and any low tree branches to keep things safe. It’s perfect for late-night marshmallow toasting and adds a cozy focal point to the patio.
To introduce more life and color, we added two black Ikea planters we’d bought earlier and planted inexpensive boxwoods in them. The green lumbar pillow on the lounge chair (borrowed from our porch makeover) brings a fresh pop of color. We like it so much we’re thinking about getting two more for the other chair and returning the original pillow to the front porch.
We already owned a fairly large stainless-steel grill — originally purchased for our backyard wedding when our dads cooked for guests — but it hadn’t seen much use because the rest of the patio didn’t feel inviting. Since the makeover, we’ve grilled at least four meals in three days. It’s great to finally use the grill instead of keeping it covered and unused.
We like that the layout offers plenty of room to move and supports multiple functions in a compact area. Creating multitasking spaces is a favorite trick of ours to ensure we actually use them — similar to how we moved our dining area into the seldom-used living room and started spending much more time there.
Of course Burger loves the new setup and has already claimed both lounge chairs — he alternates between them about every twenty minutes.
Every so often John and I can reclaim a chair to relax with a book and an ice-cold drink on a small side table. That “new” table is actually an old Ikea stool from the garage that got a coat of black exterior paint and a topcoat of outdoor polyurethane. It’s perfect for holding drinks, snacks, or a book.
If you ask Burger, life is great anywhere, but he looks particularly smug on those lounge chairs. His expression says it all.
We even tested the fire pit one night and made s’mores after a delicious dinner from — you guessed it — the grill. There’s something unbeatable about a scorched marshmallow squashed onto chocolate between graham crackers.
John thoroughly enjoyed his s’more while Burger watched from the shadows. It felt like the perfect, low-key end to a productive weekend.
Here’s a quick budget breakdown. We expected the project to exceed $500 given the patio’s size, but thanks to using some existing items and birthday gifts for the chairs, we kept costs much lower than anticipated:
- Lounge chair set: $277
- Two black Ikea planters: $30
- Two boxwoods for the planters: $12
- Side table: repurposed Ikea stool (free for this project; originally $19)
- Grand Total: $319.00
So what did you do over the long weekend? Tackle any home projects, escape the to-do list, or enjoy the simple miracle that is a s’more? We’d love to hear.