Upgrade Your Patio from Bland to Grand (On a Budget)

There are many pros to living in an apartment. Ample space for outdoor activities and gardening is not usually one of them. However, armed with a few decorative  pieces, some furniture, and some plants, I’ve managed to turn my apartment patio into a nice little space on a budget!

The weather this time of year is perfect  for patio sitting, and I’m so excited to share my before and after photos with you!

Before:

This is not a great photo (my bad) of my patio before I did anything to it. I already had a table that I bought from Target for about $30.00, a few camp chairs, and a small end table I got from my grandmother. As you can see, I had already hung some lights on the ceiling, but that’s about it.

My mom picked these two chairs up on the side of the road and let me have them fo’ free! Obviously, they’re not in the best cosmetic shape, but they weren’t broken and seemed structurally sound. Nothing a lick of paint can’t cure!

After

Ta-daaa! I present my shiny new patio! I like that there is a table and chair for sitting, but there’s also still enough room to move around.

One thing that I quickly realized I needed was a rug. The leaves etc. that settle on the porch don’t belong in my home (aka ground into my carpet), so I picked up this rug from Target for $12.99.

I have been loving having fresh herbs on my patio to use in recipes. So far I’ve been able to keep parsley, mint, lettuce, basil, and oregano alive!

I’ve also managed to keep my begonia basket alive, which I bought at the Madison Farmer’s Market, as well as grow dwarf sunflowers from seed! They’ve just opened up and I love them. The chair they are sitting on isn’t finished yet (I ran out of paint…facepalm), but for right now it looks like a cloud and I’m ok with that.

For a touch of color over my bedroom doors, I grabbed this sunflower garland from Michaels. It was 60% off when I bought it, so it came to about $3.50.

These next to pieces I got at HomeGoods. The top frame came with a cute “Ahoy Matey” print inside, but I wanted to put a little personal touch on the patio for The Fella, who loves turtles. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, but it’s the thought that counts, right? The bottom piece is a little box that I’ve stuck a small succulent into. The “Every Single Day” print came with the box, but it’ll stay in there until I find something better to clip in!

If you watched my Rifling Through My Trash video (pssst, click that link if you haven’t seen it yet!), then you’ll recognize this empty candle holder. I did, indeed, put a succulent in it. and I love it.

And here is my re-vamped chair! I used this paint in Island Blue for the body, and then added a bit of this one for the gilded legs. I totally love it.

The lights add a nice ambiance, don’t you think? I should also add that I LOVE that citronella candle on my table. It was $8.00 from HomeGoods and HAS BEES ON IT.

I hope you enjoyed these few photos of my revamped patio! Let me know what you think down in the comments!

xoxo Katie