We have finally been blessed with warmer weather in Toronto! This past May was unusually hot but I am not one to complain about the heat. It was a perfect excuse to get my backyard up and ready for entertaining this season. Since we bought our townhouse 2 years ago the backyard was one of our last priorities. Last summer, we bought a set of patio furniture from Home Depot for the sake of buying something to sit on but it really wasn’t my vibe. Then it started rusting on our patio stones which was super annoying so it got the boot real quick. Other than planting a couple of small evergreen trees along the border of our yard that was about all the attention this space got until now!
Check out the before, pretty boring huh?
It’s your standard townhouse backyard. We were able to convince the condo board to extend our patio stones full width which gave us some additional space to hang out on.
And….here’s the After!
I’m so thrilled with how this space turned out. It feels like such a relaxing extension of our living room which is right behind those sliding doors.
Firstly I started with the patio furniture. I found this Bracondale 4 Piece Set from Mercury Row from Wayfair.ca during their Spring Black Friday sale. Since our backyard isn’t very big I wanted furniture with legs to keep the space light and airy. I also liked the neutral cushions and that the frame was metal but had a some wicker details which feels more natural.
The dividing wall between our yard and the neighbours was screaming to be decorated. I was playing with the idea of covering the entire area with either a living wall or a faux boxwood privacy sheet but I realized the faux greenery was very expensive and the green wall was too risky. By risky I mean I would likely kill all the plants and it would be a huge waste of money! Solution – Faux Boxwood Wreath! This one is about 24″ wide which looked massive in the store but fits this space really well!
Next up were the accessories! I tend to gravitate towards a white and blue palette in the summer and that’s what I ended up doing for the cushions, outdoor carpet and accessories – all from Homesense, all under $39.99!
I’ve linked some similar accessories below.
Birch Lane Navy Indoor/Outdoor Rug
Charlton Home Boxwood 19″ Wreath
Now my biggest tip when decorating your backyard is, drumroll please…buy used!
If you search early in the season you can find lots of gently used patio furniture, barbecues and other garden equipment. Our barbecue was inherited when we bought the house and it was in desperate need to be replaced. After buying our patio furniture I didn’t really want to spend $500-800 on a brand new barbecue. I found this one on Kijiji for $160! It needed a good scrub but the burners and grills were in great shape.
Something else to keep in mind is that a lot of big box stores are starting to have “Spring Black Friday”. Keep your eye out for steep deals at the beginning of May. I got the patio set on sale and saved almost $300!
And lastly the biggest impact in your backyard will almost always be flowers and greenery. If you don’t have garden space then grab some potted plants. Pick up a pretty pot from your local hardware store or Homesense to add some personality. Also I never thought about mulch for a second before I tackled this project but it does make a big impact at keeping your garden look polished. The areas underneath the partition fences and in front of the basement window were not very appealing so I bought 3 bags of mulch and dumped them. It’s subtle but it keeps those areas looking well kept.
So there you have it. This backyard quickly became a well used area in our home. Relaxing on weekends or after work outside is such a nice treat when we usually have 8 months of cold crummy weather in this city!
Do you have an outdoor space in your home? Do you use it often?
