Are you looking for creative DIY projects to refresh your outdoor spaces? Today Matt & I will be sharing some patio DIY projects to welcome in the patio season. Enjoy!
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All music is courtesy of YouTube Studio and Audio Hero.
[Music] Hello friends today I’m excited to bring you some DIY patio projects for this summer to reach our patio we have two main features our homemade cottagey green garden gate and this glorious red climbing rose bush which needs to be put on a new trellis we’ll start our DIY projects with this gate here’s the original photo so this is what it looked like when we bought the house it was wobbly cracked and in need of repair this was our first attempt at replacing the gate and while it lasted for a couple Seasons we ran into a couple other functionality problems are you filming gotcha you’re on okay we got it in one piece one issue was this unsightly mismatched concrete border that was already breaking up the other issue was the fact that we could not swing the gate fully open because there weren’t enough cinder blocks laid before the ground began to rise Matt began by breaking up and then prying out this concrete wall and removing the cinder pavers right to the threshold of the gate next was to chop back the sod to allow for the gate to swing fully open a lot of hard work then Matt set the pole for the new gate and this time we chose a metal one instead of the cinder block papers we decided to go with something a little more charming and went to our local Rock Yard to choose flagstone we also picked up enough border rocks to fill in where that cinder block wall had been and replace the trellis behind the rose here is the new gate with a simple swoop Top Line the flagstone and rock edging are mortared in and Matt is finishing building and then he will paint the gate I thought a couple of cheery pots on either side of the gate would make it look really welcoming we’ve chosen some pink dalas and two different kinds of patunas I will never Tire of the fresh bright annuals that come out every spring okay let’s take a look at our brand brand new Green Cottage gate and flagstone entry I love how it turned out now you may remember one of my favorite DIY patio projects from a couple years ago I started with some vintage plates that were broken and chipped up a few more myself and then we created a mosaic pattern in an old bird bath we had kicking around in the backyard here is Matt adding the mortar and I come in behind and WIP it down into the cracks this project was relatively simple easy to do and has a great impact now here is how it has weathered extreme heat and extreme cold over the last 2 years a few of the plates the older vintage ones have cracked and the pieces have settled in the bottom of the bird bath let’s see what we can do to bring this back up to brand new the first step is to gather up all the little pieces and then to give this bird bath a good scrubbing [Music] once the bird bath is clean and dry we will begin gluing the pieces back in place that already looks so much better this bird bath is visible from our large picture window in the living room and I’ve enjoyed watching the birds and the squirrels enjoy the fresh drinking water over the years so to me it was definitely worth the time it took to puzzle these pieces back in to to adhere the pieces of China I used an E6000 glue then for longevity this time we used a liquid rubber sealer called Flex Seal once the sealant is dry we can put the Basin back in place and fill it with water hello everyone today we’re going to be building a tree bench to go around our backyard tree we wanted some extra seating on our patio and we thought this would be a good solution now this is kind of an oddly shaped tree so we’re going to wind up building a more of a horseshoe shape to go around it here’s a rough sketch of what Matt has in mind for the tree bench I’m going to start by cutting all the pieces for the legs once I’ve got them all cut I’ll assemble the legs set them roughly in place where they go around the tree and start to build the bench from [Music] there where are your safety glasses young [Music] [Music] man now your tree might be a different size than ours so your measurements might be a little different I measured one of our patio chairs to get the height which is 16 in and the depth which is 14 [Music] Ines and there you have it [Music] now that I’ve got all the legs assembled I’m going to put them roughly where they go around the tree then I’m going to attach the first row of seat boards that’ll help hold the legs in place while I cut the rest of the boards and finish assembling the bench well that was our plan but we got rained out as you can see we’ve got a new fence up on two sides and we are so excited to get it stained once it’s dry isn’t spring rain just exhilarating and refreshing okay now that the rain has gone and the yard has dried we are back to the tree bench and here you can see Matt is setting the legs in place and screwing on the seat boards I got the idea for a tree bench off of Pinterest and after looking at several different designs we chose the Horseshoe shape because like Matt said this is quite an oddly shaped tree my idea with this tree bench was not only to provide more seating for the patio area but also to create a parklike Atmosphere by having this bench around the tree Once Matt has the tree bench stabilized with the first round of seat boards he can then cut the remaining seat boards and the apron boards that will go across the front and sides to give a little bit more of a finished [Music] look I just love how this is coming together and I think the angled boards in the corners give it such a professional look Matt does such good work once all the seat boards are on Matt attaches the apron boards across the front which really are just extra wide pickets left over from building the fence I think the apron boards across the front really give it that extra touch that looks polished and like what you would see on a park bench this looks so nice the last board goes on and we are ready to stain [Music] for a cohesive look we have decided to stain the tree bench the same color as the fence this will also help protect it against rot and mildew and give us a little bit more longevity which is great when you create a project like this the other thing that usually happens when you do projects like this are what I call a ripple or domino effect once you get something like this completed it always seems like there’s little things that pop up along the way that also become projects finally time to stain this sprayer makes staining the fence so easy Matt has placed a tarp over the bird bath to prevent the light floating stain from landing on it this sprayer is the same one that we Ed to paint the cabinets in our kitchen the buffet on the back porch and the exterior of our house the only difference here is a certain kind of a tip that Matt uses to help disperse the stain evenly once he has finished spraying the panels he will come back in with some rags and wipe down the poles once you have a clean dry fence this whole process is extremely quick and what a dramatic transformation okay now we’re ready to stain the bench we’re wanting to stain it with the same color as the fence that way it just all Blends in together now the wood has set for a little while since we finished construction so I’ll take a broom and just knock off any dirt or anything that’s gotten on the wood then I’ll shake up the stain really well make sure it’s good and mixed and we’ll put a coat of stain on and see how it looks so one tip I’ll give whenever you’re using a stain is to make sure to stain from one end of a board to the other that maintains what they call a wet Edge and so what happens is if you stain half the board and then take a break let that dry and come back and stain the other part of the board where the two um stains overlaps the old dry stain and the new wet stain you’re going to have a darker spot uh cuz effectively you have two coats right there where the overlap was and only one coat on either side and so I’m going to go from from edge to edge just to make sure that we have a nice even looking finish on the wood [Music] another thing I’m doing after the stain has had uh several minutes maybe 10 minutes or so to sit on the wood and soak in I’m going to come back with a clean Rag and wipe off any excess that way we don’t have shiny spots or places where there’s just extra stain puddling up on the [Music] wood new fence and park-like tree bench finished and stained to match they look [Music] amazing as I suspected this kind of a thing always has a domino effect and now I want to add a little bit of bright color to those irises surrounding the bird bath and Matt has another idea for hiding those rather unsightly metal poles that are holding up our brand new fence his idea turned out so well that I no longer mind having the poles on our side of the fence now let’s get some color under that bird bath this area of the yard does get quite a bit of shade especially once all the leaves are fully grown so we have chosen some colia in several different colors this one is a bright lime green for the others we chose a mixture of deep rust rust and lime and a deep purple we add a vintage garden bench and a pretty blue and white planter to round off the area now we have been working on this space for a couple years but how far it has come you’ll be amazed as you keep working on a project as time and budget allow what you really can accomplish can you see now why those poles just seem to stick out like a sore thumb let’s tackle those next now if you live in an ordinary Suburban backyard like we do this might be one of your favorite simple DIY projects with the extra pickets left over from building The Back Fence Matt grabs a couple and screws them together at a right angle next he places the cover over the pole and screws it to the fence I’m not really sure where he got the idea to cover our fence poles I think he just came up with it on his own the effect that these pole covers have is a fence that looks custom finished once all the pull covers were in place Matt stained them by hand with a brush to match the fence while this project was very simple and relatively easy to do it has had such a tremendous transformative impact while Matt was covering the poles I decided that after 2 years our metal floor mat needed a fresh coat of paint I brushed off the cup webs in the dirt and applied a coat of high gloss black paint which also had rust protection such an [Music] improvement Matt is down to the last two posts and I can’t believe how much better this area looks I’m thinking about putting a trellis a faux trellis in between to the posts behind the bench for added texture we’ll see another project for another [Music] day friend I hope you’ve enjoyed joining us today as we did some DIY projects to welcome in the patio season I would love to know which one was your favorite or that you’re considering doing on your own patio until next time take care [Music]
34 Comments
Great projects y'all. It's nice to see that beautiful mosaic birdbath being repaired and cleaned up rather than being discarded.
Your patio area is definitely much improved. Will you be working on getting grass to grow in that area now? Our biggest challenge where we live is to keep the grass healthy and growing, we work on that every year, reseeding and watering. I love the tree bench we have a huge maple tree in our yard that we have talked about doing that too. I shall have to show my husband how your husband did yours. Great video, thank you!
I love the bird bath! Your choice of colors are so charming!
Did you make sure those plates did not have lead in them? Lead can be very toxic to wildlife. Love the bench!
Hi Rachel.
I watched the video when you first diy-ed the birdbath. I still love it.
Genius 😊
Matt did such a nice job! It looks wonderful.
Hi Ms. Rachel, Thank You, to both You and Matt for, sharing another Amazing video with us. All of your projects look Wonderful! Although I love each of the projects, the one that stands out for me is, the way that Matt concealed the fence poles, that idea is…mind blowing! 👏🏾🤗👏🏾 You two are Truly Blessed to have each other, You make an Amazing Team. Thank You again for sharing, inspiring, and encouraging So Many of us. Lord willing, until next time. 🙏🏾 Love In Christ, Paula
Way to go, Matt. Beautiful talent.
Looks great. That beautiful pot would great on the tree bench
Seat is too low.
I just found this channel and love it!!! 🥰
Beautiful project!!! You both are a lovely team 😊
I am impressed with the fence stained. Can you tell me what kind of tool are you using to make this so simple?
Thanks for a great video
Your cottage yard looks magical.
Love them all
My favorite… how do I choose? I like it all, but the new gate and the birdbath may be my favorite…
Ever so lovely!😍
Everything looks beautiful!! Great Job Matt on that bench!! Come build one in my garden!! 🪴 The gate is so pretty too! Thank you both for sharing! 🪴
Great updates and makeovers.
What a lovely project. You have inspired me so much in my country home with all the English touches.
I love the bench and the gate. ❤. Thank you for sharing. 😊
Beautiful just beautiful❤
I love your SMILING green gate ! 😊💚
So pretty!
A stain not paint?
Great job! We like your backyard park❤
I love the water fountain project. Well, I love all the projects. ❤
Question, why would you put the nice finished side of the fence on your neighbors side…. just curious.
Projects came out awesome. Love it.
I thought you had a beautiful yard before your projects! What an amazing transformation! Way to go on cover up the unsightly fence post. Matt, your The Man!
Is wonderful you have a great husband that’s there helping every step of the way
The bench turned out beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing how it all turned out.
Covering the fence posts was a superb idea!! Love it and looks fantastic. I also loved the birdbath refresh. I think I want to do that once I move because it is beautiful. The bench around the tree is wonderful as well. Matt sure is creative and so are you! Hugs
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