Update your back yard living space on a budget

Long, sunny days means more time spent outside playing and entertaining. As my husband put it last week, “If it isn’t raining, I’ll be outside until bedtime for the rest of the summer”.

Here are some tips to change your back yard style without breaking the bank (because we all need to save our dollars for the wine and margaritias we want to enjoy on the deck, amirite?).

Clean Up

Boy that sure sounds like an easy concept but it really does help. Pack up anything that isn’t decoration and design and store it away. Keep outdoor shoes and sunscreen in a water-proof storage container and store outdoor toys in a closed bin.

Tidying up and storing items that don’t add to your enjoyment really sets the scene for an enjoyable day in the yard.

Plants

Adding colour and plants around your deck creates a fun and welcoming space to relax and visit. Add plants for their flowers, scent or ability to ward off mosquitos such as anything with lemon oil in them (lemon grass, etc).

If you don’t have a big budget, you can save money by checking local ads for neighbours giving away plants they have thinned out. You can also wait until mid summer to plant as most nurseries will put their summer flowers on sale mid to late June. The later you wait into the summer, the larger the discount (but also, the smaller the selection).

Lights

Add some soft lights for those quiet nights on the deck with a glass of wine. You can find solar-powered lights in many different sizes for hanging on umbrellas, to glass jars that sit on your table.

I found these solar jars that light up at Giant Tiger for $8 each and they create a subtle, sophisticated area to enjoy when the sun goes down.

Accessorize

Adding a carpet under your table provides comfort and defines your space from the rest of the deck. Outdoor carpets are specifically made for the weather and come in many styles and colours. Pictured here, this soft grey outdoor carpet is from Giant Tiger and is only $25.

Place or hang large glass jars around your sitting area and fill them with rocks, lights, or candles. In the below photo, the glass jar that was hanging from the house was on sale for $10 (reg $15) at Giant Tiger.

Build on what you already have

You don’t need to sell your current table set to get a new look. You can transform what you have either by refinishing it, or simply adding new covers. These covers were 2 for $35 at Giant Tiger. At that price, I can change my style each year.

You can move the slider below to see the change.

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The total cost for this update was $156 and we get to enjoy it all summer.

Thank you to Giant Tiger for providing the items for this feature.

Sheri Landry

Sheri publishes, and writes at This Bird’s Day where she shares all of the thoughts in her head without the voices. Sticking mainly with content for Canadians, Sheri shares family stories, product information and anything that fits into her (and her family’s) daily activities.

www.thisbirdsday.com