Today, I’m so excited to share my little summer living outdoor getaway, with you! Plus an entire blog hop full of other beautiful outdoor spaces, The Great Outdoor Living Event: Summer! (At the end of this post you can find all of my awesome fellow bloggers’ links to check out their amazing outdoor spaces too!)

This year, I decided that I really wanted to make our outdoor space the perfect family hangout spot! It took a lot of designing, and a little bit of devising in order to make this affordable, on my way-to-close to zero dollars budget… But, I think that I may have achieved exactly what I was going for! 

So let’s check it out, and you can let me know what you think! 

Welcome to our home… Let me give you the outdoor tour! This is our front porch! There isn’t a whole lot going on here, so this is where we’ll start! 

This what I like to call the breezeway! On those hot summer days, this area is protected by shade, and it always has a breeze blowing through it to keep us cool.

It is also the ultimate sunset viewing area… Grab a chair, and a glass of wine, and you are good to go!

Other than a nice breeze, some summer sunsets, and a pretty birdcage… This is also where I conveniently hide all of our kids’ toys, and let them full out run up and down the porch to get all of their energy out! 

As we round the corner of the front deck, we approach the pool lounging area…

This is where all of the thrifting and DIY magic begins!

Every piece of furniture out here has been purchased second hand, and then been upcycled. The Benton Rockers, oh my goodness… you should have seen what they used to look like! Ugh! Hideous! Different finishes with different patterned fabric!

The second-hand coffee table also got a makeover too!

My bench was actually made from an old head-board and foot-board! Can you tell?! (You can see what it used to look like, and learn how to DIY your very own, right here!)

Out in the pool lounge area, we also have a dining room set that we also purchased second hand.

By painting all of our second hand furniture the same color, white, I think it really helps all of the defined areas still easily flow together.

I decided to do a fairy-tale, tea party tablescape, for this photo, which was totally inspired by a little tea party that I previously had with my girls! (You can check that little tea party out, here!) 

And well… the pistols?! You know that I had to add in a little twist with a few of my collectables somewhere! [“Ethel! I think that, there, yonder fox be after my chickens!”]

The wooden pistol is an old toy, that was actually found hidden in a bag of duck decoys, purchased from an auction! The golden pistols are a set of two Avon cologne bottles, named the “Twenty Paces” set! (So weird, I know! But so cool!)

Mmm… that tea was delicious!

Now we are going to head downstairs to our brand new patio! 

About two years ago, our friends decided to redo their backyard, so we purchased all of their old bricks… yes, even the bricks are second-hand too! I dug them all out of the ground and trucked about 12 or 16 loads back to our house. Then… I ended up being pregnant, so there the bricks sat for a very, very long time — Until about a month ago! They were finally installed! Yes!

We thought that we had just enough bricks to do in between the house and garage, but there actually ended up being enough to do our BBQ area and wrap all the way behind the garage as well!

This completely extended our outdoor living area! Which was great, but gave me even more space to decorate on our very tight budget…

With some more designing and devising, using more pieces that we already owned, I did my best to step up to the challenge…

I used our old picnic table as an eating area for the kids… To dress it up, I used an old curtain as a tablecloth, and added some bright pops of color with some pretty fresh flowers, that one of our good friends brought me the other day when visiting! (Such a nice surprise!)

I also stole these gorgeous vintage wheat-patterned drinking glasses from my mom! I am so in love with them! They are nice and summery, and totally tie in with the beautiful golden wheat field across the road, in front of our house!

I painted the old bar in the background white, and I now call this the MOM BAR! It has three seats, perfect for me and my neighbor-momma-friends, because it directly overlooks the kids’ play set! Perfect for sipping Miami-Vice and supervising! 

I added the blue rug, blue umbrella, and the blue solar lights to try and tie it all in as it’s own defined space. I think it turned out pretty good, for working with what I already had…

This cutesy-little kitty-cat also seems to think that this MOM BAR is hers… Dream on Colt, dream on!

So as you can see, even though my budget was pretty darn tight this summer, through thifting and DIY-ing, I was pretty much able to create the perfect outdoor space for my family and I.

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My top five tips to help you create your own dream outdoor space are as follows:

1. Have a vision!
2. Be patient and take your time.
3. Thrift and yard-sale or shop in online groups.
4. Paint larger pieces all the same color, to make matching sets.
5. Bring it all together with fun accents and bright pops of color!

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Here are some more posts that you might also enjoy:

DIY Bench made from a Head-board and Foot-board!

10 Pretty and Eclectic DIY Benches!

Easy DIY Decor Ideas to Take Your Home to the Next Level!

DIY Tin Wall Art!

Easy DIY Mulch Garden that will Last for Years!

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The Great Outdoor Living Event: Summer!

The next stop on the tour is House by the Bay Design!

Don’t forget to check out these amazing outdoor spaces as well!

Semigloss Design | Jenron Designs | Eclectic Twist | A Happy Home in Holland | The Project Pile

House by the Bay Design | Red House Style | Pearl Street Designs | Momma Can

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