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Summer Patio Makeover Reveal

Colorful Summer Patio Makeover Reveal. With just a few tweaks and not much budget, you can create an inviting, comfortable space to enjoy all summer long.

Our Summer Patio Makeover is finally finished! We started a month ago, and I’m so glad we finished all our projects before the weather got too hot. Now we can sit back and enjoy our patio in the shade all summer long.

As with any big project, this Summer patio makeover was made up of several smaller projects, so I’m breaking this down into all the pieces and parts. Hopefully you’ll get some ideas along the way for your own outdoor oasis!

Summer Patio Makeover Reveal

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Summer Patio Makeover

The first project we did for our patio makeover really wasn’t about the patio at all, but was all about creating a nice backdrop for the patio. We painted the concrete block wall that had been bugging me since we moved into the house.

A gazebo and shaded dining set against a background of painted concrete wall.

Now we have a nice clean blank slate that doesn’t detract from the pretty stuff we want to put in. Once the wall was finished, we moved on to the fun projects!

Gazebo Lighting

As much as I love color, pattern, and design, I really think that you create a mood with lighting. And although we built this gazebo for shade, it makes the perfect structure for some pretty mood lighting in the evening.

First I repurposed a thrift store chandelier into an outdoor candle holder. You can see how I did that project in this DIY Chandelier post

Setting a candle into a hanging candelabra

The glass candle holders are made from yogurt jars and I just put a little sand in the bottoms to hold tea lights in place. That way I can easily light the candles and lift the glass jars up to set them in the chandelier when I’m using it, and simply replace the tea lights as needed for next time.

Then I hung two strands of C9 Christmas lights around the top edge of the gazebo. 

A gazebo lit up from underneath by Christmas lights.

I really love those hefty cafe lights that are popping up everywhere, but I think they look better when strung across open spaces.

Since these lights are just recessed around the edge of the gazebo, I decided to go with simple Christmas lights. I got the kind with the big bulbs, to mimic the look of cafe lights, rather than fairy lights. And as an added bonus, they cost about $2 a strand! Plus, the replacement bulbs are super cheap and easy to find.

Outdoor Rug

I love outdoor rugs for making a patio dining space feel cozy and like an extension of your home. I felt like I needed more color in this space, so I chose a bright blue floral rug to compliment the light blues in my chair cushions. It adds a pop of color and a touch of comfort.

Light blue chair covers and a dark blue rug make this outdoor patio feel like a part of the home.

Spray Painted Furniture

Finally, I felt like my old dining set was functional, but a little boring, so I spray painted it black to match the chandelier and hardware on the gazebo.

Now it stands out with a cool wrought iron look that provides the perfect backdrop to my cushions.

Black wrought iron dining set with blue cushions.

Speaking of cushions, I found these at At Home last year, and I love them because you can fold the backs down for extra cushioning on the chair bottom, or unfold them to cushion the back of the chair. I like to leave them down to show off my now-pretty chairs!

Candle Centerpiece

Because you can never have enough candle light, I decided to add a few candles to the table centerpiece as well. I chose a couple of chunky citronella candles to keep the bugs away, and accented them with these cute DIY candles that I made on a whim.

Blue and green candles make an outdoor centerpiece

I’ll be sharing that tutorial with you soon. They were cheap, easy, and fun – my favorite kind of DIY!

Summer Patio Makeover

I hope this gives you a few ideas for your own Summer patio makeover. With just a few tweaks and not much budget, you can create an inviting, comfortable space to enjoy all summer long.

A gazebo provides shade for a blue outdoor dining table and chairs.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these projects, and I’ll be sure to answer! (While I’m sitting on my back patio, sipping a margarita.)

Kid King

Thursday 13th of October 2022

Thanks for the thorogh guideline and advice on that gazebo.

Just wonder that gazebo can with stand the coastal condition in New Zealand that is defined as High wind zone as well as seaspray zone? As I have to install the gazebo on a 150mm thick concrete, do I need to modify on the anchoring footing to with stand the strong wind?

Would you advise the wind screen be installed on 3 sides of the gazabo to shelter from the weather?

Lastly is it adviceable to install chicken mesh and building paper to reduce condensation?

Thank you 🥰

Kid King

Meredith

Friday 14th of October 2022

Wow, those are a lot of great questions that I am definitely not qualified to answer. I live in the middle of the desert and have absolutely no sea spray to deal with! I can tell you though, that we do get pretty strong winds, and the concrete anchors I used have held up great. I don't know if wind screens would help much during weather, but I'd be interested in what you find out. And yes, I have noticed a little condensation on the inside of the roof, but since we have almost no humidity here, it's not a problem. It sounds like you know a lot more about building for your climate than I do, and I'd love to hear back from you if you install this with your improvements!

Philip Wilson

Tuesday 3rd of September 2019

What a great job very comfortable looking:)

Meredith

Tuesday 10th of September 2019

Thanks Philip!

Jeffrey Ellis

Sunday 1st of September 2019

I absolutely love it, So warm and welcome place!

Meredith

Tuesday 10th of September 2019

Thanks Jeffrey!

Cedar Woodward

Thursday 6th of June 2019

Another wonderful post. I love that you are so clever to put sand in the jars to hold the lights in place. That is genius. Thank you for the fabulous links throughout.

Meredith

Saturday 15th of June 2019

Thank you Cedar! I hope it's helpful!

Jeri Walker (@JeriWB)

Tuesday 4th of June 2019

Great job! It looks so inviting :)

Meredith

Saturday 15th of June 2019

Thank you Jeri! We've already gotten a lot of use out of it!

ABOUT MEREDITH


Creating a color-filled life. Conquering my little world one DIY project at a time. With lots of coffee and chocolate. Albuquerque NM. Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Facebook