Inexpensive Backyard Patio Ideas

Our lake days are coming to a close (although I’ve decided that summer really isn’t over until September 21 and there have to be some sandy-toed days yet to come). Lately, the car navigation has been calling our house “WORK”… pretty intuitive, I must say.

And even though our house actually does need some “work” after being fairly neglected all summer long, it is nice to be back for longer stretches now. Moving only about six houses up the street five years ago, it is clear that we love our friends and neighbors. We all have tight lots but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Kids run around… up and down… house to house… Fall is a time to reunite as schedules become more regular and vacations and trips that created time away come to a close. Everyone once again uses Saturdays to work in their lawns and grill out in their backyards a few more times before chili season begins.

One of our favorite rewards for working in the yard all afternoon is when others have been doing the same and last minute grill plans are made. Everyone cleans up a bit and meets in a backyard.

When our yard is chosen, dinner is almost always followed by a game of Name That Tune (80’s and 90’s style) with the speakers blaring until too late and kids inside in a fort watching a movie after a long day of selling lemonade and running barefoot up and down the side walks.

We recently moved all of our old patio furniture to the Beach Cabin and, as such,  had some filling in to do with a limited budget. Luckily, as I mentioned, there isn’t that much space to fill. And, also fortunately, my husband is the best sport about putting furniture together. He took care of the table and chairs and my 5-year old and I assembled the couch and Adirondack. When you tend to think of every purchase in “trip currency,” you become quite skilled at searching for inexpensive yet quality furniture.

The “patio set” doesn’t match exactly and we will likely add pillows and cover the white fabric with something a bit more kid-friendly, but for now, we are enjoying our patio and the company that will soon enjoy it with us.

Alright… who’s up for a game of Name That Tune?

Here are our sources (contains affiliate links):

TABLE AND CHAIRS (cushions included): Tip- If you live in the Grand Rapids area, we were incredible impressed with James from ViaIKEA. With James, you email him the items you would like from IKEA, he sends you an an invoice, you pay it, and he delivers your IKEA order to your door within a week. He was timely, communicated well and often, and we received our furniture within a week of our order. James even provides the option of having him assemble your purchases (which we should have chosen).

LOVESEAT and ADIRONDACK: No longer available. But check out World Market’s other selections here. I looked around quite a bit and found their site to be one of the more reasonably priced with nice furniture.

LIGHTING: We added a couple strings of lights outside and they have made such a big difference, especially as the days are getting shorter. The strings of lights were an inexpensive way to add some additional lighting and extend our days and dinners even when mother nature is saying it’s time for bed.

PILLOWS: In order to save money this time around, we just bring our indoor pillows and blankets outside (and then back inside again) when we need them. However, as of this publishing, Pottery Barn is having a sale on many of their outdoor pillows and I’m considering this and/or this.

If you are looking for more home improvement suggestions that don’t cut into the trip fund, check out these easy DIY flooring, ottoman, and stair runner ideas.

And don’t forget to pin this for next summer!