Outdoor Spaces Before & Afters

I own Don Draper’s patio set! I didn’t know it at first. It was just a rusty little table and chairs at the Nashville Flea Market. One of the chairs was missing some scrolls and the top was gone, but I fell in love. $100 later I was loading it into my neighbor’s truck. Lucky for me, there’s a powder coater near the flea market and I brought it straight to him. He had another company recreate the missing scrolls and weld them in place.

Celine from Aquahaus participated in this past One Room Challenge, and tackled two outdoor outdoor decks on the roof of her Austin home. Here is one of the two, which she calls “Deck A.” As you can see, the original space is reminiscent of an army bunker with tons of grey concrete (and even an American flag). After six weeks, it had an entirely new vibe…. Tada! Celine turned that underwhelming grey space into an outdoor oasis.

Steph endured two years of an ugly tarred roof in her rented San Francisco apartment before she realized that rent control meant she might be there awhile. So she committed to making her outdoor space a place she really wanted to be. From Steph: To create the space, I knew I needed some big pieces to draw attention away from the gray rooftop and dingy storage unit. I love plants, so I started with a few large ones.

Makeover by: Judit Location: Budapest The balcony of my 1st floor flat is a mere 2 sq m, and previously it was only used for storage. I got rid of it all at the annual junk-clearing and set out to renovate. The walls have been repainted a new color, the old glass banister has transformed into a white-glazed fence and astroturf has been placed on the floor. I’ve mounted white curtains for shades and to add a romantic touch to this miniscule space.

When Soffia’s family moved into this house in Alftanes, Iceland six years ago she dreamed of transforming this small shed into a playhouse for her daughter and son. The shed, and her plans, lay fallow for years until recently when she harnessed her creative energies and unleashed them onto what she calls a “small slice of heaven” for her kids. Soffia tells us: Most items are hand me downs or thrifted, so this was made on a shoestring budget.

On the hunt for something that would fit perfectly in their covered patio area, Lauren found this interesting loveseat on Craigslist for just $30. Sturdy, it had potential, and Lauren took it home to add her own personality to it. From Lauren: The wood on this seat was fully refinished and repaired before it was adorned with this native-inspired wooly fabric. The upper back rest was finished with a soft suede-like fabric and finished off with matching tufted buttons.

Nate and Michelle’s Greenpoint roof deck had a gorgeous view — but not much else going for it. They wanted to turn this bleak space into an outdoor room, one that would feel like an extension of the rest of their home. Through Sweeten, an online resource that matches New York-area homeowners with architects, designers and contractors, Nate and Michelle found Corey Hutson of Hutson Landscape Design, whose experience crafting urban outdoor spaces made him the perfect fit.

We don’t want to say these standard metal and glass outdoor furniture tables found on plenty of patios, decks and more are ugly (they might suit you just fine!), but we don’t think anyone would call them particularly pretty. That is until you see what Rea did to transform this plain patio furniture into something eye-catching and unique! From Rea: It all started one sunny Saturday morning when I finally let my kids loose in the backyard.

Carolyn tells us that she loves her big, bright apartment but the balcony was “a bit rough.” She considered an outdoor rug or tile to cover up the peeling paint, but we think her final solution was a stroke of genius. From Carolyn: I worried about how those other solutions would weather the Canadian winters. In the end I bought a little outdoor paint and cut a stencil for a more permanent solution. I can’t wait to see how this looks after a couple years of wear.

Intrepid DIYer Emily was looking for a patio table, and happened to score this one on Craigslist for free. But it wasn’t quite love at first sight. The chairs were covered in a weird mottled brown paint, and the cushions were falling apart. Plus, Emily admits, she’s not such a huge fan of glass top tables. (Not that I can blame her — my roommate and I had a glass-topped table in college and that thing squeaked. I can still hear it now. Squeak squeak squeak.

Watson, my French bulldog, approves of the new front balcony furniture and window boxes filled with herbs. I have a notorious black thumb, so the plants were my biggest hesitation, as I hate the idea of making the investment in something that I have been known to kill in a matter of weeks. So I consulted my friends who love to garden and they recommended the heartiest of herbs, which include thyme and rosemary (also a few of my favorites when cooking).

Bonnie’s porch was a great space with a lot of potential — it just hadn’t quite lived up to it yet. See what she did to transform this screened back porch into a party-ready indoor/outdoor room.  Bonnie’s porch is now a bright, cheery, vacation-like space filled with candy-colored accents offset by natural tones. The only thing that makes me a little nervous here is the firepit, but maybe it’s there just for looks and not use.

I love a good porch. Maybe that’s because I don’t have one (and am dreaming of the day), but this one really caught my eye! At first, not terrible, but definitely not dazzling. And now for the after: check out that gorgeous, bright yellow door! The simplest touches, like the paint colors, brand new bench and pretty flower planter, jazz this space up and gave it a whole new outlook. Click on over to The Rooster and the Hen for more details on this before and after!

Rebecca and Staffan have been hard at work building an extraordinary terraced garden in Sweden since 2007. In such a short time they have carved out six terraces and built an unimaginable series of walls to hold it all in place. And then there is this one (comparatively) small piece — an outdoor kitchen with an extraordinary view.And then the glorious after – if I had this kitchen I think I would want to brave the Swedish winters to cook out all year long.

I love this true and honest account of using wood cuts for path making. As a professional I’ve never had the guts to try it because, if what happened on Jen’s first run happened in a client’s garden, well, clearly I would deserve to be fired. So I am grateful that Jen shared the ups and downs of her path project, and am curious as she comes in the the spring how the latest version faired.

This type of corner is so common in so many backyards. Unruly, untouched and unloved, it is just not very friendly. This transformation is satisfyingly sensitive to the tree that shades the area and provides structure and turns something quite unappealing into something that is very sophisticated. See the step-by-step transformation below.1) Paint fence and the wall white – this cleans up messiness and brightens the whole space. It also unifies the disparate vertical surfaces.

Erin lives in a row house with a brick façade that she and her husband found underwhelming. The brick was not the best quality and had mismatched mortar spots, and the bottom line was, they wanted to give their home some stand-out personality.After testing out 12 shades of gray paint samples, Erin of 110 + 2 settled on Sherwin Williams’ Classic French Gray for the house and their Citrus for the front and back doors. The gray is classic, and the punchy yellow is fun and modern.

It started with a splinter. We’d long neglected the worn, ugly deck off our master bedroom. It contained two chaise lounges, a plant, and a sand table for our toddler, but was still bare and underutilized. Then I got a nasty splinter from it — my third in as many days — and I realized we couldn’t ignore it any longer.It wasn’t a rash decision, so much as an acknowledgment that the deck needed repair.

Cindy and her husband loved the outdoor possibilities offered by their large patio, but didn’t love the boring grey expanse of concrete. With this shady spot offering a respite from soaring temperatures, Cindy knew she had to turn it into a more colorful, welcoming space for her family.After using a power washer to clean the patio furniture, she painted the metal chairs with brown spray paint to create some needed contrast.

When Elizabeth and her husband bought their house six years ago, the inspector told them the deck stairs should be replaced within the year. Every year they would add the deck stairs to their to-do list, and every year they somehow failed to get to that project. Until this year that is- after watching the deck stairs shudder when the family pet ran down them, Elizabeth decided the time had come to reclaim their outside space.

Name: Jane and JustinLocation: Oakland, California – Oakmore Neighborhood When we bought our house in 2006, it wasn’t because of the back garden. Picture a mess of tangled weeds, a steep hill upwards, broken red concrete patio chunks everywhere, and fence holes so big our 90 lb. dog sailed right through them.We were no strangers to DIY garden remodels and took the project on enthusiastically, but this — this was nothing we’d seen before.

Concrete slabs. Many an outdoor space has them, installed by a previous owner whose original intentions for the space are lost to time. It is easy to view them with disdain, a harsh element forced into a natural setting. Many people get rid of them, to be replaced by bluestone, brick pavers, or maybe even a water feature.

With a long weekend ahead and a summer full of travel and fun in the past, I think it is high time I finally wrap up a few of those projects that I meant to finish earlier in the season. There is still time, and I am taking inspiration from these four outdoor furniture makeover projects…First up, old and tired becomes new again with a little TLC and some new accessories.

Did you know that “if you build it they will come” applies to fairies? Well we haven’t proven it, but we’re pretty sure. Crystal had an unused plot of earth at her house and decided to turn it into a hospitable home for homeless fairies.Charming isn’t it? We’re sure some fairies will be moving in soon. See more photos and read a bit about what Crystal used to make it on her blog, The Weekend Homemaker.

Apartment Therapy readers truly are changing the world, one room garden at a time! Today, Edgaroso shares his story: In 2003, two years after witnessing the fall of the World Trade towers from our Brooklyn rooftop, my partner and I decided to leave the big city and head to a quieter part of the country.