Tag: outdoor spaces

  • $1 Cash Bask with Ortho® Animal B Gon® Animal Repellent and Checkout 51

    $1 Cash Bask with Ortho® Animal B Gon® Animal Repellent and Checkout 51

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  • Outdoor Patio Set Redo – Creating a Work Zone near my kids

    Outdoor Patio Set Redo – Creating a Work Zone near my kids

    When we decided to rent this house before actually seeing it in person, one of the biggest sale points for me was the fenced in backyard and attached deck. The vision was real – a workplace outdoors where I could enjoy the sounds of nature and let the kids play in a safe area that wouldn’t make my heart pump with anxiety.

     
    We moved in on July 1st, and I started looking for a good patio set. We happened across a yard sale one saturday and found this 2 seater set for only $18. I had to double check with the owner that I wasn’t reading the price upside down and he really wanted $81. Nope $18 was correct! There was no way I could leave this behind, it was perfect!
     

    The first step in redoing this set was picking out colors. The whole family came with me to our trusty Walmart, and together we picked out a nice Dark Purple spray paint. There’s an excess of bugs around these parts, so we wanted a fun color, but not one that would attract the bees. After the purple was chosen, I found this pretty damask upholstery fabric on sale too! There was just enough left for our seats. 
     
     

    While the paint dried on the chairs and table frame, we got to work on the seat cushions. The original seats were so old, there was no salvageable parts. I picked up precut wood rounds from Menards, and the padding from Walmart.

    How to Reupholster patio seats. 

    What you need:
    Wood Rounds
    1-2inch foam padding
    fabric
    hot glue
    staple gun with staples

    Use the wood rounds to trace a circle on the foam padding. Using a razor blade, or sharp knife, carefully cut around the padding. Lay the padding on back side of fabric. I used a permanent marker to measure straight out and leave dots around the seat. I gave myself a good 2 inches extra fabric to attach to the underside.
    Connect the dots, then cut our the fabric. Place padding on the center of fabric, then wood round on top of the padding. At this point it is great to have a second pair of hands helping out. Really push down on the wood as you pull the fabric around, and attach in place with the hot glue. Now the fabric is attached, give it a second go around with the staple gun. Between the two, bugs and inclement weather should be kept out of the seat.

     
    I now have a fantastic colorful work zone outside! It’s also going to be a great place to relax with friends while the kids run around outside. If you’re ever in the area and want to join me on the patio, come on by!
     
     
    When I’m not using the table, I’ve found the kids enjoying it too. This week they were building bubble castles. My vision has come to life, and is now updated to see many many family memories being made around it. 
     
    Do you have an outdoor space to enjoy?
  • Cleaning up the outdoors + My new favorite gloves

    Cleaning up the outdoors + My new favorite gloves

    I received product for review. All opinions are my own. 

    As much as I didn’t want to move this last time, one thing that helped get me excited was the difference in climate. I love east coast climate with the humidity and all things green. You just don’t get that much green in the western US. However, it also comes with more outdoor work (which fyi, I actually prefer anyways). 

    The home we’re renting is actually pretty nice. It has just what we need inside without being too large, and came with a fenced in back yard – my must have for this move. While it’s a nice home, the yard and face of the home haven’t been taken care of too well. Weeds, bushes and trees have overgrown quite a bit. 
    Now admittedly, after I pulled some up, I realized they may have been an intentional ground cover – but they had to go to get to the real weeds anyways. Whatever was growing in the below picture, had snuck it’s way behind the hose faucet and pulled it away from the house – not good!
    With Mark gone for training, and boxes unpacked indoors, I really want to get out and get my hands dirty in the dirt. We’ve been getting a lot of bugs in the house (another big difference between coasts, I could do without all these pests!), and I thought for sure if I could remove the overgrowth around the house, it would not only look better, but also keep the inside more bug free. 
    I found these Pine Tree bamboo gloves on Amazon, and absolutely love them! Since I had no idea what kinds of plants I was pulling up, I wanted to avoid potentially grabbing something like poison ivy or oak – or touching the myriad of bugs I was working around as well. 
    Seriously, these gloves are the best thing ever! I’ve avoided gloves in the past because they never seemed to fit quite right, and when gloves don’t fit, garden work is infinitely more difficult. Since the Pine Tree gloves are made out of Bamboo they are also quite soft on my hands, and still allow me to feel what I’m doing in the garden. 
    Doesn’t it look so much better this way? Guess what, we’ve also seen less bugs inside! I still have a lot more to do, like cleaning out the gutters, and the driveway cracks, and cutting out some dead branches in the tree, but gosh I love outside work. 
    My sister in law and I have this theory that we like outside work more because it actually stays done for longer then the inside. You know like that never ending laundry, and the tornado kids that follow behind as you try to pick up the house? Yeah that doesn’t happen outside!
    Do you prefer outdoor work or inside cleaning?

  • Outdoor Living Spaces to Last the Whole Year Through

    Outdoor Living Spaces to Last the Whole Year Through

     

    Summertime brings a greater desire to be outside and spend time in our yards. Saturdays mornings are spent at home improvement stores and the afternoons are spent working on our many projects to make our yards a place to show off. But depending on where you live, these days quickly end and we are forced back inside, unable to enjoy our hard work until the backyard season returns. Here are some ideas for summer projects that can help you take advantage of your outdoor living space all year round!

     
    Tips for creating an outdoor living space that will last all year long.

    Fire Pit

    Whether you are roasting marshmallows under the stars or keeping warm on a crisp fall night, a fire pit is a perfect addition that will make you the talk of the neighborhood. Build it with seating options around such as stone, wood, or plastic benches. There is the option for a good, old fashion fire or you can make it natural gas fueled. The latter will give you the benefits of a fire without making you and all your guests smell like smoke every time you want to do some roasting.

     

    Grilling Caddy

    If you are a master of the grill, you probably want to be able to continue to show off your skills even when the weather cools down. Consider building a grilling caddy to keep your favorite grilling necessities close to the cooking station but safe from the elements. It can be used to store your tools, favorite seasonings, and even platters. Put wheels on the bottom for added ease of transport should you take your grilling to another location.

    Water Features

    Garden fountains are great additions to any yard that can add a sense of serenity and calm. Even if you are not able to use them in winter months, they can still add to the beauty of your yard. In the warmer months, misters are great to hang around decks, patios and anywhere else seating is available for a refreshing cool down.

     

    Outdoor Pizza Oven

    What better way to expand the culinary opportunities in your yard than to build your own outdoor pizza oven. These can be made from brick or stone. During the summer months, you can bake a pizza without heating up the house and during the winter, the fire is still covered, so you can continue to enjoy wood fired pizza year round regardless of poor weather.

    Waterproof TVs

    Whether you want to host an outdoor movie night or watch the big game without the fear of spilling salsa on the couch, waterproof TVs can give you the edge to be the most popular backyard on the street. Mount the TV on the outside of the house or create a weather resistant entertainment center to help add another level of protection for your technology. You might even consider mounting the TV into a window opening and using a cover to keep the television protected when not in use.  Waterproof TVs are made to withstand even the worst rain and snowstorms.

    Glow in the Dark Planters

    Potted plants can help you add variety to the foliage you may already have in your yard. One fun way to mix it up is to paint the planters with glow in the dark paint. This will allow you to enjoy the beauty of the plants in the daylight and as the sun goes down, your yard transforms with glowing night lights. You can even paint designs on the planters, creating patterns throughout your yard.

    Rope Lighting

    Especially once it starts to get darker earlier, you will want have lights set up to find your way safely through your yard. Use rope lighting to line paths in your yard or around your garden areas. These can be protected through waterproofing and can even be put on timers to keep your yard lit at the optimal times year round!

    The summer is more than half way over, but there is still plenty of time to get these projects into place before the weather takes a turn for the cooler. In the end, you will spend more time admiring your creations and have plenty of opportunities to have friends and family over to show off your hard work. If you need more encouragement, as this article explains, these types of projects also increase the value of your home. So what are you waiting for? You have work to do!
     
    About the Author: Alyssa Craig is a Salt Lake City native who loves hiking in the mountains, running, frozen yogurt, and quick wit. She is a professional writer and loves perusing the many posts in the blogosphere. In her free time, you can find her escaping the world on her hammock, or wathcing re-runs of “Friends”. 

     

  • Reupholstering a Patio Chair

    Reupholstering a Patio Chair

    Awhile back I shared with you my list of DIY projects for the year. One of them was going to be my first ever upholstery project. I was scared of killing these beautiful frames on the chair, but I could not live with the original fabric. 
    Mark thought the chairs were all together ugly, and just wanted me to get rid of them. I couldn’t do that either though. The metal frame, scroll detailing – these were my dream patio chairs that I knew I could never afford new. We got lucky and the previous owner of our home left the beauties behind. 
    The first thing you want to do when reupholstering something, is find out how it was put together. Turns out these chairs were a lot simpler than I imagined. The seat cushion simply sat inside the frame, no screws, nails or glue. The back also was simple with just four 1/2 inch screws holding it in. Although one chair was held together with wooden pegs…
    Next step, figure out the upholstery. A quick examination of the cushion found that the fabric was just stapled along the bottom of the seat. Since you never see the underside of the cushion, it made perfect sense. Using a flat head screwdriver I began prying out the millions of staples, only to discover the red was already a reupholstered job!
    I have to admit, the red definitely looked better than this orange fabric! Even without the rip in it.  Now I had to remove more staples from this layer of fabric, but thankfully this was the original, or at least last layer before the cushion. 
    Once I had the bare cushion to work with, I measured twice before cutting my fabric. We bought this yellow canvas material for some outside cushions years ago, but I never got around to making them. Since the chairs are going to be a permanent outdoors fixture, I wanted the material to be easy to clean, and hold up to harsh weather conditions. It really turned out perfect. The corners were a bit rough to get around, and the seat back was extremely tight pulling on, but in the end, I am very pleased. 
    Unfortunately I only had enough material to recover 2 of the 4 chairs. So my question is – should I find some similar yellow canvas, or something new for the other 2?  
     And by the way – Mark now loves the chairs and is pretty happy I held onto them. His reaction was really the best part for me – a nice pat on the back that even though he may not like all my design and DIY attempts, he does like some! 
  • Creating the Perfect Outdoor Space

    Creating the Perfect Outdoor Space

    *This post contains affiliate links*

    When we were looking for a house to buy, we had a hard time finding the perfect home that also had the perfect yard.  Having kids that love to play outside, meant we really needed the perfect yard for them.  We found a number of homes we loved, but the yards were either non-existent, or surrounded the house in a way that wasn’t kid friendly.

    The deciding factor for this house we are now in, was the backyard. It was indeed perfect. The house, not so much, but we can work with that. There is only so much you can do to a yard when the house is already on it.

    Now that we have the perfect yard, all I have to do is style it around us.  The previous owner left a number of items with the house, including these beautiful, but in need of an up do, metal chairs.

    I’m not a big fan of the red marbled look.  The black I can’t decide if I still want to keep or not. I’m thinking a coat of white would really look good, but that does show more dirt outside. Either way, I’m pulling some inspiration for the fabric from One King’s Lane Soft Landing Sale (4/3-4/5).

    Hojas 20x20 Outdoor Pillow, Blue
    I’m really in love with this blue leaf pattern. I think if I coupled it with a white frame on the chair, it would give a nice pop of color to our back patio.
     
    Have I mentioned how much I love One King’s Lane?  I put together this little inspiration board for our backyard with items in their Day of Outdoor Sale!
     
     
     
     
    It’s always nice to dream isn’t it?  To me the soft whites, and blues accented with some black would transport me straight to the beach.
     

    What is your outdoor style?  Comfort, entertainment, or kid centered? 

    Check out One King’s Lane Day of Outdoor Sale for some amazing deals!!
    (sale lasts through Friday April 5th or while supplies last!)
     
    *In case you missed it, this post contains affiliate links. When purchasing through them, you support this blog. Thank you!!