Outdoor Living Space Archives

Easy Halloween Decorations from Your Christmas Stash

October 29, 2018

Let your Christmas decorations do double-duty this holiday season by using them for your Halloween decorations! We have a lot of Christmas decorations in our family. Christmas is the holiday that we “overdo it” on decor, if that’s possible. 😉 But my daughter also really loves Halloween. She wanted to decorate more this year, and I needed to come up with some ways to make it happen. Walking through the stores, it was tempting to buy some of the neat…

Trash to Treasure - DIY Patio Chair Transformation

Patio Chair – “Trash to Treasure” DIY Transformation

August 14, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY, Saving on Shopping

Do you ever pass furniture and random items that people have put out at the curb for trash pickup? Well, I recommend taking a closer look when that happens and you might find your next cheap and easy project! I’ve started doing this in the last few months and have picked up a coffee table (which just needed some screws tightened to make it like new again), a small desk (which I up-cycled into an entryway bench and garden supply…

DIY easy outdoor pillows for free

June 19, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

I made a bench for our outdoor space and decided it needed some pillows. But outdoor pillows can cost anywhere from $10-$20 or more each at the store. These outdoor pillows cost me zero dollars to make. “How,” you ask?

Make a bench for less than $10 and transform your porch space into a reading nook

June 12, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

Is your porch space underutilized? Would a bench transform it into an area where family could sit and enjoy the scenery or read a book-or even just make it nicer on the eyes? But you don’t want to spend the upwards of $100 for a new bench (that may or may not even fit the space perfectly)? Well, I have a solution for you! In this post, I am going to show you how you can make your own bench-…

Save Thousands By Fixing Existing Patio Pavers Yourself

Save Thousands and Fix Your Patio Pavers Yourself

June 4, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

Do you have patio pavers that are sinking and becoming uneven?

Maybe you’ve checked with a few landscaping companies and realized that they cost thousands of dollars to fix it for you?

If that sounds like you, I’m here to tell you that this is a project that you can take on yourself. Save that money and give it a try first. I decided to do just that because I figured, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll hire the experts. And if it does work out, #winning!

Just Add Curtains for DIY Patio Oasis

May 22, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

I love the look of gazebos and pergolas. In all those home and garden magazines, they always make the outdoor space something special. And I wanted that for my backyard! For me, it turns out that patio curtains are a viable and waaay more affordable alternative. I’d stare out the window at our patio and daydream about how it would look with some kind of wall or roof. Our patio overlooks the backyards of about 5 of our neighbors’ backyards,…

Make your own tall planters and save over $100 on each

May 15, 2018

Joni Smith

Gardening & Growing, Outdoor DIY, Saving on Shopping

Since moving into our home nearly four years ago, I had a plan to put some nice tall planters on our front stoop. But I just never got around to it. Whenever I saw them for sale in the store or online, the tall planters (nearly 3 feet high) would go for more than $150 EACH! So I resolved to figure out how to make my own. Luckily, Pinterest came to my rescue and I found this wonderful tutorial on…

Patio table bird feeder update

January 30, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

I’m really enjoying the new life this bird food is giving our backyard. We’ve had deer, squirrels, and a variety of birds come visiting. Winter patio idea

Winter patio idea

January 22, 2018

Joni Smith

Outdoor DIY

We have a nice view of our patio table in the winter. Just sitting out there not being used… Well, what if it could become a beautiful focal point of the yard as a bird/squirrel hot spot, great for nature-watching while helping the local wildlife get through the cold days? Just add some fallen branches, the bottom of an old planter, and bird seed. Now we wait to be discovered… Thanks for this idea goes to my father in law!…

What to do with that old pumpkin after Halloween

November 11, 2017

Joni Smith

Family, Gardening & Growing, Holidays, Outdoor DIY

Feed your backyard nature! ? When we made our three jack o lanterns, we tried to get as much out of it as possible. I made three kinds of baked pumpkin seeds. And we decorated our porch for Halloween. But why just leave them rotting after the sugar buzz has worn off? We moved ours to the backyard, sprinkled bird seed inside, and watched the nature enjoy. It turns out the deer liked it even more than the birds! think…