Patio Re-do...

I have been working on lots of little projects lately, but have not posted about them because none of them are really finished. I am almost done with one now, so I wanted to show you all my progress and see what you think.

I have this area off the back of the house that seems to be a "catch all" of sorts. It is right outside the garage and I do all of my yardwork there. Lon pulls his grill there (instead of the deck) when it is raining, etc. To make a long story short, it is a HOT MESS all the time and I wanted to change that. A couple of weeks ago we were out there with the boys playing and it occured to me that it would be the perfect spot for a patio. Hello brain, where have you been? (Connor is crying in the before pic because he is so embarressed that I am even showing you this!)

I was obviously walking around in a fog not thinking of this before, but I am now awake and all cylinders are firing. Here we have it...
I am gonna get an outdoor rug, but that is probably about all that I am gonna change. So for the details...

The cushions are made, by me, from an outdoor table cloth from Target. It was $15 and I still have a lot of the fabric left. I stuffed them with some old pillows. I still may make seat cushions, but I'm not sure yet.

That bicycle was my mother-in-law's when she was little. I found it hanging in the barn at the farm and laid claim to it. Don't know why, but I loved that little thing. I simply sprayed it off with a hose and had it hung up.
These wicker sofas were purchased on Craigslist for $75 for both of them. They are very sturdy and all of the other outdoor furniture I looked at started at $150 and went up. No way Jose', not in the budget. So I got these and spray painted them red with the cheap spray paint from Wal-Mart. These vintage signs were from my mother in law. She has been buying all the vintage signs she can find for her house at the river. We found 25 signs on Craigslist for $100. She gave me these.

This is what is right off this patio. The boys' playhouse. We put their little swimming pools there in the summer, and now I will be able to sit in my little shaded area while they play or swim.

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? So here is the final rundown...

Wicker loveseats $75, red spray paint $4 (3 cans @ $1.25 each),palm tree $5.00, cushions for chairs $15 for the fabric, and everything else I already had or was free. That makes a patio re-do for $99. YIPPEE!!

I'll post again when I put my rug out there or make more changes. Any thoughts so far?