DIY Outdoor Projects to Transform Your Yard

Today I’m sharing a collection of the various DIY projects that we tackled in our last house that completely transformed our yard and landscaping.

Now that the warmer spring weather and longer days have arrived, I find my mind wandering to the yard and garden as it has been known to do every spring for the past many, many years. I vividly recall the first year I got hit by the gardening bug. It was the first spring after we were married. I was in my teacher’s training program at the time, and had to travel out of town for my spring practicum. I used to visit the different garden nurseries every Friday after school let out, sourcing plants for our new garden. I obsessively read every gardening and plant book that I could get my hands on and memorized the latin names for more perennials then I care to admit. Landscaping our yard became my newest passion, and I absolutely delighted into creating a cute and welcoming garden.

The Gardening Bug

Fast forward nearly eighteen years, and I’ve been hit by the gardening bug in all four of the previous homes that we’ve lived in and am definitely riding the wave in our current home. We’ve been living with a mud-rock pit of a front yard since moving in (you can read the details about why, here) but things are finally getting started! As I write this, our driveway was torn up this morning, and the front yard will be getting cleaned up and levelled next. I can’t wait to get some grass growing and then to clean up, refresh, and replant the garden beds out there!

I’ll be sharing some great exterior yard and landscaping as well curb appeal improvements over the next couple of months. But today I’m taking a little trip down memory lane, sharing a collection of fairly simple DIY outdoor projects that we did in our previous home. These home projects, when combined, literally transformed our yard from a blank, blah kind of space into a gorgeous and welcoming outdoor retreat. It took a few years, but the changes were awesome!

One of my features in our yard was the use of river rock throughout the space, including the addition of a dry river stream.

We also used a lot of ornamental grasses in our landscaping, something that I plan to repeat in this house. I can’t wait to give it a more modern, crisp landscape and grasses are a brilliant, low-maintenance way to do that!

We also added a split-rail fence to define the boundaries of the front yard, and although it wasn’t a DIY project, it easily could be. I loved the simple, wooden rustic feel and it added a ton of cute character to our yard.

One the lower patio we completely refreshed the old, tired, concrete surface with Stone Effects and I shared DIY tips. It made SUCH a big difference and the whole lower patio felt like a completely new space!

We also added a cedar privacy screen to this lower patio area, which was the perfect simple and rustic way to create some separation from our neighbours in this part of our yard.

 

Perhaps my favourite corner of our yard was the lake front pea gravel fire pit that we added. Sitting there, in the shade, looking out at the blue lake, and enjoying a cozy fire was an awesome way to enjoy a summer (or even a fall) evening!

We completely transformed our lawn on both the front and back side of the house over a couple of spring/summer seasons, and I shared some awesome tips for how to tackle this yourself…

We also refreshed a few pieces of old, worn outdoor furniture with paint using some super handy and time-saving tools!

It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do, and it’s nice when “a coat of paint” literally means one coat of paint! I refreshed our old, free, hand-me-down picnic table with one coat and was thrilled with the coverage!

And no outdoor “room” is complete without some pretty decorative cushions, amIright? I try to treat all mine with something so that they will last and hold up through all that hot summer sun. I shared the details on how to protect your outdoor cushions in this post.

We even built the odd piece of furniture – like this super cute little outdoor rolling stump side table ! It’s an easy project you can do yourself in a day or less, and adds a fun, rustic touch to your outdoor seating area.

Planters are always one of my favourite simple outdoor DIY projects, and this one I stuffed full of beautiful succulents is still a fave.

Our previous front porch got next to no sun, so I had to be careful about what I planted in my summer pots out there. I shared my tips for creating simple DIY summer shade planters.

Want to see the WHOLE Yard and Patio BEFORE AND AFTER? If you love before and afters, like I do, then it’s a really fun post!

After looking back at how far we’d come, I’m super inspired about making a similar transformation in this yard.

Outdoor season! Yay! If you’re as excited about it as I am, you’ll definitely want to pop around and check out all these awesome outdoors ideas that my friends are sharing today…

Visit These Outdoor Blog Posts!

How to Create an Outdoor Living Space by Happy Happy Nester | Patio Makeover Ideas by Modern Glam | How to Set the Perfect Outdoor Table by My 100 Year Old Home | DIY Umbrella Cover with Pom Poms by Hallstrom Home | Succulent Pot by Craftberry Bush

  A Greenhouse Update by Amber Tysl | Summer Planter Centerpiece by Clean and Scentsible | Teacup Fairy Village Gardens by Life is a Party | DIY Outdoor Projects to Transform Your Yard by The Happy Housie | DIY African Wax Print Fans by Casa Watkins Living Outdoor Entertaining with Sparkling Pomegranate Cocktails and Edible Flower Ice Cubes by A Pretty Life