I’m one of 18 bloggers participating in the Home Depot Patio Style Challenge. Considering this is what the back patio off the mudroom looked like when we bought the Underdog…
…and this is what it looked like after we removed a bunch of dead trees {and replaced the roof and converted the original dining room window to french doors}…
…and this is what it looked like when we excavated the entire yard last fall {yep, the old cracked patio was ripped out}…
…and this is what the newly poured patio looked like pretty much all winter…
it should go without saying that we have a burning desire for a decent outdoor living space. Ideally, we’d like to see the patio off the mudroom used as an outdoor dining area. The goal is to make the dining area reflect our style {simple, modern, cozy} and make it feel like an extension of the indoors. To achieve the look, we’re using some new pieces, incorporating items we have on hand and doing a little DIY. Here’s the plan.
1 – I’ll bring in a pillow or two from the living room to cozy things up outside. I just bought these Crate & Barrel pillows and they’re great. I was recently asked to suggest a non-IKEA place to grab pillow inserts. C&B pillows are affordable and a feather down insert is included with your purchase. Can’t beat that! Of note: These are not outdoor pillows so I’ll only toss them outside when we’re enjoying nice weather.
2 – Stringing globe lights above the patio will give the al fresco dining area instant ambiance and a sense of festivity. Party on the patio!
3 – We’re giving Ariele Alasko‘s reclaimed wood wall panel our own DIY spin. Her pieces are amazing!
4 – On cool mornings or evenings, I can throw in a wool blanket that usually lives at the foot of our bed.
5 – My heart is set on a large succulent centerpiece for the outdoor dining table. I’ll use this oval concrete planter to make it happen.
6 – We’re using a simple outdoor dining table and coordinating benches for the basic dining pieces. I hope to show how this practical dining set can be personalized by mixing it with items from other sources.
7 – Mabrey enjoys pulling to stand {no steps yet! she can take her sweet time as far as I’m concerned} with the help of this leather pouf. On warm, sunny days I’ll carry it out to the patio for her to play on – or maybe I’ll prop my feet up on it if she’s napping and I have five minutes to sit outside in the sun. Dear summer 2013, please give me five minutes of sun-to-myself time at least once!
8 – This woven chair looks good enough for an indoor dining room but it’s made of rattan-like plastic and is suitable for outdoor use as well. I think it’s airy feel and white color will contrast nicely with the clean-lined, dark brown dining set. I also like the fact that it’s light enough to move around easily. We can move it up to our future deck when extra seating is needed.
9 – We have a bright green garden stool leftover from our previous house but I think it could use a fresh coat of brassy gold spray paint. I paid less than $40 for the green stool. Transforming it with gold paint will be a cheap DIY version of pricier drum stools.
That’s the gist of our plan. Of course, I’ll be adding greenery and maybe a surprise too. I can’t wait to share the reveal in early May on The Home Depot’s Apron blog. In the meantime, click over to check out a bunch of other inspiring reveals!
I also have a patio-related post on Wayfair today with a few more before shots of our patio and a brief discussion on painting the french doors. What color would you paint them?
images: 1-4) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 5) Polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within
budget decor, DIY, mood board, renovation