Before & After: A “Dumping Ground” Patio Gets a DIY $80 Makeover

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(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

Julene’s backyard had become a bit of an afterthought, more of a storage space than outdoor gathering place. But enough is enough — she decided to apply some crafty know-how and turn the space into a colorful and inviting spot, all on a budget!

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

From Julene: The back patio area has been a dumping station for random unfinished projects and items that accumulated around the yard. I was sick of it looking trashy. I saw pallet furniture on Pinterest and was like… Yeah, I think I could handle that.

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

The whole thing took about a week and cost around $80. I was on a very small budget for this, so I literally handmade everything. Or repurposed things. The pallets I got for free from a local store and a friend cut them in half for me, so essentially I just had to buy fabric and foam for the cushions and everything else for the project I already had around.

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

I used old pillows I didn’t like any more as fillers for the new pillows and I have a very extensive fabric collection so all the pillows and curtains came from that. It took me about three hours to make all the cushions and about five hours to make all those pillows and curtains. The rug had just been sitting in storage for years and the chair was left in the yard by a previous owner. The rest was just putting it all together. My wonderful, incredibly strong, and handsome friend Taylor helped me put it all together and carried the heavy objects for me.

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

I really love that the space is colorful and was so inexpensive. The only annoying thing is that pallet furniture is kind of a pain to rearrange.

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

Julene’s words of wisdom: Make sure to get pallets that can easily be cut in half. Some are better than others for this. Also, I made sure to measure everything before buying the materials. This made things run smoothly.

(Image credit: Cheryl Johnson )

While this wasn’t my ideal patio setup or furniture, I’m renting the space and it’s a temporary living situation… and I share it with four other roommates. So for my situation, this was a perfect solution, I feel like it turned out super cute for the budget I had. Surprisingly it’s super comfortable. And now there’s actually somewhere to sit outside when friends come over!

Thank you, Julene! You can see more on Julene’s blog Design to Notice.