How do I fix my patio to be beautiful for little money?

  5 answers
  • Patricia Patricia on May 20, 2017

    Put out some pretty pots of flowers to brighten the space! Many times you can find pots/planters at thrift stores and yard sales. Spray paint them in bright colors, add potting soil and flowers.

  • Marcie Marcie on May 20, 2017

    Share some more info! Is it concrete? is it broken? or just ugly?

    or maybe it's just plain? Potted plants do wonders! Mandevilla - and trailing flowering plant- would look gorgeous in a pot! Add a cute little café table and chairs and voila! A new litte quaint patio! That's advice given without any info.

    Give us some more info, and you'll get some great ideas!

  • Caseyem11 Caseyem11 on May 21, 2017

    Populate your patio with happy people. Old jars of any kind with tea lights, bring your house plants outdoors. Comfortable seating - look for used or abandoned chairs that can be painted with bright colors, I purchased an outdoor rug from bed bath &beyond using a coupon, one or two containers filled with geraniums. I like the oval galvanized bins, drill some holes in the bottom and paint away. Enjoy!

  • Leah Leah on May 21, 2017

    I just did my patio. Thrifted most of it from beside the road and give aways, some thrift store stuff. NOTHING matched, but here is what I did. Furniture/POTS: I decided on a green and brown “theme” so I used Oil bronzed spray paint and a bright leafy green paint. All furniture got brown paint and all plant pots got the green. JUST having matching colors does a lot, trust me. I plant pots in anything plastic, I burn holes for drainage in the bottom with a screwdriver heated up on the stove (be careful and use hot pad) so I have file boxes, a cooler, some buckets, some small storage bins for far cheaper than plastic pots and they match in color! PLANTS:, I went to the local grocery and they had a sale on hanging baskets, cheap for the nearly dead rootbound guys. I bought two, took a plastic file box 2x3 ft. (already spray painted green) and repotted them, the rootball was tight so I gently unraveled it, planted them and babied them, gorgeous display within a week. I have found that lowes also has a nearly dead section for 1.00 plants, I take the crowded and thus sickly impatiens, marigold, which are usually just rootbound and repot. Thus far, everything has taken hold and rebloomed, and looks great. You could also do seeds, but I imagine you want speed. PATIO WALLS: I have ugly wood picket walls, so off to the thrift store I went, bought 2 nylon thin white curtains and tacked them up, they look just like any other outdoor pricey curtain but being plastic, they don’t rot and dry quick. (update: I found a 10.00 reed fence at lowes on sale so I replaced curtains with screen, delish). LIGHTING: This was easy..went to dollar store and grabbed 4 of their led plant stake lights and 2 cobalt blue candle cups with hangers. Twisted the led part off the stake and dropped it into the candle jar and hung them. My yard has spots that glow cobalt blue everynight for a few bucks. Got 2 tiki torches (empty for another 5 bucks at goodwill, stuck them in the ground, added narrow drinking glasses (cobalt)into the top and dropped another two LED lights into the glasses. My yard has spots that glow cobalt blue everynight for a few bucks. I buy the 5 buck fairy lights and twirl them around the patio eating area so my lighting set up all told was 15 dollars. GROUND: This was pricy…concrete stepping stones at 1.25 a piece, I got six and a bag of brown hardwood mulch. I have two railroad ties from last year leading from the door to the concrete. I placed the stones in a straight line to the left of center and filled in with mulch. Looks oddly modern and matches well with reed screen and furniture. CUSHIONS: This was a bit harder but I haunted apartment places until someone threw out a couch and then took the cushions, stripped the foam and disinfected them (Lysol and Sunshine) DRIED COMPLETELY and then wrapped them in plastic shower curtain from dollar store and tapped completely closed. For my material, I did price indoor outdoor material but my goodness 21 bucks a yard? Methinks not. I splurged at the HOME store and bought the largest rectangle of indoor outdoor tablecloth I could find. A whopping 18 bucks. Came home and recovered my now painted table chairs (staple gun!) , and sewed covers for the taped cushions that are on my now painted out door swing and my “found” rattan chair(also spray painted brown) . (NOTE: It has rained hard and these guys merely dry and go on, with the plastic under to protect the foam and the material that beads up so the water slides off: I’m golden.) So I then added in some chimes and whimsy, at night fall the blue glows and fairy lights twinkle, stepping stones are practical and the two seating areas are comfy. We eat on the Patio every single night. Just really gorgeous and relaxing. What makes it work? Underlying Green and brown is huge, that sets the stage and looks great as a background, anything I put into the back yard looks like it “fits”, I now have red, orange, pink, yellow and white flowers, different colored whimsy and it looks fine. I decorated in 3 layers. One was ground, anything on the floor, Second was waist level, all chairs and cushions and Third was anything above my head, baskets, wind chimes etc. I made sure that things were spaced, not too crowded, places to sit and put a drink and a glimpse of whimsy here and there. I don't what your patio is like, but you can use these same strategies. Color Theme, spray paint to unify, thrift stores and cheap plants, decorate in 3 layers. Good Luck and have a fun and cute summer!

  • Shop your house first, I bet you already have a few things already. Pick a color or theme you want to have. Shop yard sales, Goodwill, thrift stores and flea markets. If you don't love a piece don't buy it. Little by little over time you will collect things to use.