Small Backyard Extreme Makeover

Rashida Banks Outdoor Space with Two Dogs

For the first time in nearly 7 years, my husband and I finally had a relaxing dinner outside, in our own backyard, and it felt as if we were away somewhere. Since Covid-19 rocked our world (literally), we’ve been keeping ourselves busy by taking on home projects to keep us distracted and also to make our home enjoyable to be in, since we have to #STAYHOME. This project took us about 3 ½ weeks to complete and I’m so excited to share the steps on how you can make your yard, patio, balcony outdoor space into a place you would never want to leave and get it ready for when it’s finally safe to invite loved ones over. Everything came from one place…my favorite place, The Home Depot. Everything discussed in this post can be bought on their website including the plants and shipped right to your home, or you can also do in store pick up. Alright now let’s make our outdoors feel like we’re somewhere even though we’re just home!

First you need to address any hazards. Our outdoor spaces can get beat up from natural elements like rain and strong winds. So make sure your decks, and other dwelling areas are safe. We had a wood patio floor that was deteriorating from a year of water damage that was fixed but did a number on the patio flooring. As you can see, the flooring was coming up, and nails and screws exposed. So we had to get the entire flooring replaced, and it was well worth the money and investment back into our home. We’ll stain it a beautiful warm walnut color once the wood dries out towards the end of summer.

Before Photo of Backyard with new patio wood flooring

Next we cleaned up the yard. Pulled up all the weeds, cleaned out plant pots, removed layers and layers of mulch, power washed the concrete pathway, and gave the wood fence a light wash (we’ll stain it closer to summer in a warm walnut color).

After all of that…WHEW (yard work is no joke), we started to plan out our decor. Here’s the inspiration board I put together to help guide me as I looked through Homedepot.com. Always start with an inspiration board to help you make decisions. Lots of decor items could be cute, but not all decor pieces are cute together.

Design Mockup of Small Backyard Makeover

I knew that I wanted large planters with tree-like plants along one side of the fence. I snagged 5 of these large black self watering planters, and added rocks around them to provide contrast, instead of using black mulch. Here’s a tip for adding rocks to your garden without breaking the bank: lay down a layer of cheaper rocks first (similar in color to your expensive rocks) to fill up the dirt mostly, then add a layer of a more expensive rock on top. Larger rocks don’t take up a lot of space so, initially you’ll need a lot of bags to fill an area. I also recommend to first place anything that will go in that area permanently, (in my case the large planters) so that you don’t add rocks to areas that don’t need it.

The next thing I wanted was patio seating with white cushions and a black frame. I fell in love with this Hampton Bay set that I found on Home Depot’s site. It’s clean with modern lines, and something I would love for years and years. Plus it came with everything I needed, loveseat, two rocking chairs, and a table. Getting a set made it easy for me to not have to think about matching pieces.

The next thing to consider when decorating your outdoor entertaining space is LIGHTING! Lighting sets the mood, especially at dusk. If you think about it, we spend a lot of time outside towards the latter part of the day. So make it feel special. And lighting doesn’t have to be complicated. I found a 4 pack of solar charged decked lighting (no wiring required) for just $24.99. I have a total of 12 solar lights around my yard. I made sure to add lighting AFTER I planted my “trees”. I knew I wanted the lighting to go between each planter so I made sure to do that first.

Solar Fence Deck Lighting between Large Planters

Solar Fence and Deck Lighting with Backyard Makeover

After installing the lights, It was time to accessorize. I wanted the conversation space to feel cozy and inviting. So I added an outdoor rug, stripe outdoor pillows, black lumbar outdoor pillows, a throw blanket, lanterns, plants and flowers hanging on the fence.

Gold Outdoor Stool an Black Outdoor Lantern

And let’s not forget about the grill. Your outdoor space is not complete without a grill. We love our 4 burner NexGrill and intend to use it almost every day this spring and summer, along with our new melamine dinner plates. All of our outdoor dinnerware is from The Home Depot online. See “Shop my Backyard” at the end for product links.

Melamine Outdoor Tableware and Dinnerware

Because springtime also means rain, I made sure to get covers for all the seating. Even though it’s outdoor fabric, the cover protects the fabric from sun UV rays, bird droppings, rain and other things that can ruin the fabric.

Outdoor Fabric Chair and Loveseat Protective Covers

We can’t wait till outside is open again and it’s safe to invite my family over. Family time is important to us, and I love that my space is ready for when we can all come together again. Until then, our backyard makes staying home that much more enjoyable. I hope this blog post inspires you to create an outdoor space of togetherness!