Are you about to get a new patio installed? Maybe you already have one, but what can you do to make the absolute most of this awesome space you have paid all that money for? The last thing you want to happen is for that patio to not get used as much as it could and not be as awesome as you imagined. We have put together a few tips that will help you make sure your new (or old) patio is a great space to be enjoyed by you, your family and friends all throughout the coming summer months! We have put the patio decoration process into three steps: Plan, Shop, and Decorate.
Plan
This is the fun part! But it is also very important. You get to envision and view your dream patio designs and work out how you can make it a reality. You need to think about what will be happening in your outdoor area – will you be cooking and eating? Will you be entertaining large numbers of people? Will it be a relaxation area? A play area for the kids? This is the time to decide!
While you are deciding what you want your area to be, you need to work out how much you want to spend. Your overall budget will need to be split to allocate separate budgets for each component. How much will you spend on furniture? How much on plants? How much on the new BBQ? Do all these components fit within your budget when added together?
Just remember – a small budget does not mean in anyway that your outdoor area cannot be great! You may just have to be a little more creative (which could turn out to be a lot of fun!).
Shop
If your planning is done well, this step will be a lot easier than if you just went and browsed the shops waiting for the perfect piece of furniture to jump out at you. If you know that you definitely want a couch style seating for the corner of your patio which needs to be no more than 3 metres long, it certainly narrows your options and allows you to truly search for the best deal. Or maybe you want to be eating outside every weekend with the kids during the summer and there are 5 people in your family, you will need a dining table to cater for this.
Don’t forget, shop around! Find the best deal for what you want instead of just buying the first one you find.
Decorate
So now you have your furniture and you have your brand new BBQ, but your outdoor area is still not exactly what you envisioned in your first Google searches. It’s time to decorate! This could be as simple as a few pot plants in each corner or as extravagant as a beautiful water feature filled with coloured lighting. This all depends on your budget and chosen style.
We think that plants in an outdoor area are almost compulsory, because who doesn’t love to be surrounded by beautiful, fresh greenery or flowers?! Check out this awesome (and cheap) vertical garden we found in the DIY section of the Bunnings website (click the photo to view). Assuming you have absolutely no basic tools (screw driver, drill etc), everything you need to make it would still only cost $259!
We believe that if you take these 3 steps and finish each carefully and with enough research and patience, you will have an awesome outdoor area that is also friendly on the bank account!
SUMMER TIP:
We all know the trouble of bugs and mosquitos in during the summer months in QLD. But did you know, there are actually herbs that will keep them away! Click the below photo to read more.
Heres an idea, how about planting some of those herbs into your DIY vertical garden! It will then be decorative, cheap and helpful! We don’t know about you but we think that sounds like value for money!
