Patio Refresh + Video!

I’ve shared the story how we found / purchased our house, and 8 years later, it’s hard to believe it used to look like this:

After a couple years of living here, Nick and I started talking about how nice it would be to have a nice outdoor space for entertaining and just hanging out. We dreamed up a rounded patio with a corresponding rounded pergola, because we like to be complicated and different. And I rendered it out with my fancy markers to make it feel official.

The next two summers were dedicated to building a pergola and installing a giant patio, which turned out to be 100% more work than we thought it would be. It was SO much work, and took SO long, that I was bitter about it for a few years after. I just wouldn’t enjoy hanging out there, because all I could think about was how much was sacrificed to achieve it.

I’ve since gotten over that, and have spent many hundreds of hours out here, enjoying my family, watching the twins ride their bikes, helping Cypress blow bubbles, and CHALK… lots of sidewalk chalk.

But we felt like the dilapidated picnic table was definitely not contributing to the vibe we were looking for.

Like totally…

So when True Value reached out to us and challenged us to make out patio a little more inviting using ONLY their products, we rubbed out hands together with an evil laugh… we love a good challenge!

.

It was SO.MUCH.FUN, and who knew our trusty True Value even has patio furniture, let along décor, planters, etc. Color us impressed.

There were several styles of patio furniture that we loved, and we almost pulled the trigger on this wooden one, but in the end we decided it would clash with our pergola and just be too much wood. And I love the idea of throwing in some black accents or ‘oil rubbed bronze’ that really pop, so this patio set we chose ended up being perfect!

You’ll have to watch the video (above) to see it all come together in time-lapse speed, but I’ll go ahead and show you the yummy after pictures here.

I loved how the pale blue of the seat cushions played of the blue of the patterned rug. And the fun selection of outdoor string lights had my wheels turning for how to incorporate a string of lights without having them strewn all over the pergola. I like to think that they’re almost an alternative to an outdoor chandelier! The birch log in cement idea just came to me, and it ended up being PERFECT! I’ll share a more detailed tutorial later this week, but the basic steps were mix/pour concrete into 5-gallon buckets, push in the birch log and prop it up against something that allows them to dry straight up. Then we cut them to the height we wanted with a chain saw, and put a slit at the top to hold the lights in place. Doesn’t it look dreamy at night?! UPDATE! We shared a tutorial here for the patio lighting!!!

You know how much I love plants, and I was so excited to see the selection of planters, hanging baskets, and decorative stand-alone plant hangers. I chose the square hanging baskets because they’re a unique twist from what you normally see. And I loved how flawlessly that little lantern fit in with the bouquet of flowers my mom picked for the girls on their birthday! The rug had just enough pattern to add interest, but I love that it’s still fairly  neutral and allows the patio set to really be the star of the show!

Don’t mind our creepy dog in the above picture. He thinks he’s a prop.

Be sure to pop over to True Value and check out their amazing selection of Outdoor Living and Patio Furniture, which is totally on sale right now! I suspect you won’t be disappointed. Here’s our True Value haul, complete with source links below!

Patio table / arm chairs / captains chairs / rug / string lights / stand-alone hanging planter / hanging basket planters

Have you been doing any outdoor projects or patio facelifts? I wanna hear all about them in the comment section below!

~Bethany

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of True Value. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you for supporting the fabulous brands that make Reality Daydream possible!