Boho Inspired Backyard Patio Makeover (On A Budget)

My goal for our backyard patio was to make it a place I would want to hang out with the kids in the afternoons. I never loved this area because there wasn’t a proper, comfy place to sit, a table where I could place a coffee, or I was always worried about spiders (I know, it’s the outdoors, I get it, but I don’t care. They horrify me and they are everywhere out here. Like more than a normal home I think haha). So I spruced our patio up a bit and now I seriously love it.

A couple of things, Home Hardware reached out to me about collaborating for a lawn and garden makeover through my Instagram. I loved the idea so much since it gave me the push to sort out our backyard and patio situation. I really wanted to share the process with you on here as well, since I did a few super fun and easy DIY’s that added a ton of personality and I think this is a patio makeover that anyone can do on a really small budget in a short amount of time. So I had to share!

I started off with a blank canvas. Kiel and I both wanted to stain the deck (and neither of us has ever done this before lol). Kiel gave the deck a good pressure wash the day before, then we used a giant paintbrush attached to an extender pole and got to work.

I knew this would make the biggest impact. It looks amazing and I can’t believe we haven’t done this sooner. For our deck we used one can of stain (and stained the deck, stairs and privacy screen). We only did one coat as I didn’t want massive coverage, but more of a ‘just rained’ look with the wood.

My son and I planted a few planters (I love the blush pink geraniums), and hung up this cute macrame plant hanger I made (those are gorgeous blue pansies we planted in there!). I think I’m going to make a black hanger to go with the black metal hooks though.

The ‘welcome’ sign was a fun little project (I’ll be sharing later this week).

Solving my spider problem (for the most part) was the addition of an outdoor rug. Now I don’t have to worry about giant spiders coming up from in between the wood boards (it was actually causing me grief, I have issues, I know haha). Plus it brings together the space so nicely, makes everything so cozy! I highly recommend adding a rug to your patio!

A few more before and after pictures…

We’re all so happy with the changes we made out here. I love how comfortable our deck is, and how we can enjoy our afternoons out here while the kids play. We kept things neutral since I love to add colour through accents (like cute pillows!) or with planters.

I made an adorable pillow for our patio, since I couldn’t find any outdoor pillows that I liked. I had some bright green and blue outdoor pillows already, so I took an inexpensive pillow case from H&M, and hot glued a few large pom poms to the outside, then stuffed my green and blue outdoor pillow inside. It adds a touch of fun to this space, is really durable and if I feel like really making it waterproof (even though I usually take the pillows inside), I can give it a good spray with this waterproof furniture spray. When I shared this reveal on my Instagram I received a ton of messages about my pom pom pillow, so it’s incredibly easy to make your own and customize it any way you like!

I started off with our planters being a little sparse, since everything will grow in so quickly (lesson learnt my first year planting, when I jammed so many things in that it was exploding (and everything dying lol) in all my planters plus my garden – woops!). I’ll post an update in a few weeks to see how things are growing. My biggest tip for getting beautiful and full planters is to dead head! It made allllll the difference. And don’t just pop the flower top off when it’s done blooming, pinch all the way back to the base of that flower stem. That’s the trick!

I hope you enjoyed our little makeover and thank you so much for reading! If you make your own pom pom pillow I would LOVE if you shared it on Instagram and tagged me (@adashofmum), I’ll share it with my followers if you do! Have a wonderful day!