Patio Update on a Tiny Budget

Our little patio is nothing special. Until recently, we only had a couple of cheap, second hand patio chairs, a sand box for the kids, and our grill, which totally met our needs. However, with the warmer weather we’ve been having, I’ve been feeling the need to spruce things up. The only problem is that we don’t have a huge amount of money to throw into a patio makeover. We are currently saving for a few other big projects inside of the house, so I had to do a patio update on a tiny budget.

Patio Update on a Tiny Budget

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a before photo, but you really aren’t missing out on much. These chairs were super cheap to buy and after a couple of years of use, the seats had started to fade and look weird.

Patio Chairs

So, I grabbed a few cans of Rust-oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and went over all parts of each chair. I was a tiny bit worried that the paint would effect the feel of the seats, but they are exactly the same to the touch as they were before painting. Plus, changing up the color really makes the outdoor space feel so much different and saved us from having to buy new chairs. Woohoo!

Spray Paint Chair

Here they are still drying, but I think they turned out pretty nice.

Patio Chairs Painted Black

I also found some cool indoor/outdoor globe string lights at Target that I thought could be fun for the patio. (Dollar Spot for the win!) I wasn’t crazy about the blue color, so I grabbed some ping pong balls from the dollar store and changed them out for a more neutral look.

Blue White Globe Lights Remove Light Bulb Cover

To add the ping pong balls, I used a craft knife to cut an X into each ball and then inserted a bulb into each. Easy peasy.

Ping Pong Light String Ping Pong Ball Lights

The striped lumbar pillows were a last minute idea. The fabric is from Ikea and I was hoping to cover some existing placemat pillows. Sadly, I measured everything incorrectly, so I had to wing it and sacrifice a couple of old throw pillows to stuff these. They turned out cute though, right?

Striped Pillow Chair Fern

As for accessories, I grabbed our pegboard luminary and added a few other items from around the house. I love this pretty, yet simple, vignette.

Lantern Candle Moss Wreath

In all, I think we spent about $30 total on this update, with the cost of paint and the little bulb lights. Not bad, huh? Although this is not the patio makeover of our dreams, I think it will totally make our time outdoors a bit more enjoyable. What do you think?

Patio Update on a Tiny Budget

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25 Comments

25 thoughts on “Patio Update on a Tiny Budget”

  5. Katie

    There’s so many great things going on with your patio update!! I have the same chairs and had no idea what to do with them. GREAT idea. The lights, the pillows, the shelf…it all looks amazing. Thanks for sharing, Erin!

    Katie

    Reply ↓
  7. jess

    I love the lights in the background and the colors of everything! Simply perfect! Thanks for sharing at Totally Terrific Tuesday! Glad to have you around! Pinned and shared :)
    Jess
    LiveRandomlySimple

    Reply ↓
  11. Cat @ Pocketful of Posies

    Elizabeth and Joan,

    What a cute patio makeover! I love how you used things you already owned to make up this brilliant space! Painting the chairs was an excellent idea! I have recently started hosting a new link party with Refresh Living and Vintage Refined and we would love to have you come link some of your awesome posts with us. The party starts every Tuesday at 7pm CST.
    I hope to see you there!

    Cat

    Reply ↓
  12. Carolyn @ Our Gilded Abode

    What a lovely space! Everything looks wonderful and so tied together – the pillows, chairs and pops of greenery are so nice. Thanks for sharing your redo on the string lights – nice to know that if I find a good buy on some that aren’t quite the right color, I can change them out. Would never have thought of that!

    Reply ↓
  14. tara

    Hi Erin,

    I think the chairs look great! I have the same chairs and thought about this, but wondered if the paint would run on clothes when its wet? How did that go?

    Thanks.

    Reply ↓
    1. Erin Post author

      Hi Tara! The chairs have held up great and we haven’t had any problems with it running when wet (or at all for that matter.) I think once the paint has cured it is good to go, wet, dry, or otherwise. Hope that helps!

      Reply ↓

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