My Before and Afters! Tips for Your Own Patio Makeover on a Budget!

Tip #1:  Create a focal point

This is the “before” of one corner of my deck.

I went shopping at Sears and found this amazing fountain, on sale for only $39! It adds color and makes a perfect focal point. It not only is a pleasing place that draws in your eye, it also makes a beautiful, relaxing sound.  Because the ceramic pot is attractive all on it’s own, it also looks great even when it’s not turned on.  This was my favorite part of my patio makeover!  Here’s the “after”, what do you think?  Did I do a good job?

Tip #2:  Paint

Paint is an inexpensive way to transform an old, tired looking piece into something spectacular.  Sears sells a rainbow of spray paints in different formulas depending on what material your going to be painting.  It was easy and fun to use!

I had some verdigris looking candle holders that were looking pretty shabby after two previous summers.  My color scheme was white and shades of blue.  Here’s the before, during and after!

I had a boring old black shelf unit that just needed some pizzazz.

Tip #3:  Clean (And if that fails, go back to Tip #2)

With a pool, storage bins are a must.  Ours looked awful.  I looked up new ones and they are over $100 each.  Ouch. With my budget, um, that’s not going to happen.  I found some cleaner specifically for outdoor furniture and started scrubbing!

One cleaned up beautifully!

But the other was too far gone.  So back to Tip #2 and get out the spray paint!  Did you know they make spray paint for plastic?  I had no idea before now.  It is so cool!  Seriously!  It was fast easy and my nasty storage box went from yuck to fabulous.

Tip #4:  Accessorize

I fell in love with the summer tableware and decor at Sears.  The colors were perfect for my scheme and the design fit the water theme I was trying to accomplish.  Add in that the prices were awesome?  Yay!

Here’s my before…

… and after!

Tip #5 Find a Bargain

Watching for sales, stacking deals, looking online.  All these things can help you save big money.  Sears has some amazing prizes on their Simply Outdoors collection for Memorial Day.  The original prices scared me.  Seriously, I thought no way can I afford any of these sets.  Then I started looking at the sale prices, looking for extra % off, online special pricing, rewards points, buying pieces separately or as a set, free delivery options and the price was back in my budget!

I’m really not happy with our patio set, especially the chairs.  The cushions are ugly and faded.  We put them in one of the storage boxes if there is any chance of rain, which is a hassle.  I looked at new cushions but they are expensive and it’s a bit like putting lipstick on a pig, if you know what I mean.  I started pricing cushions, then chairs (the kind without cushions), and then sets.  Yes, I am easily led down the shopping path.  The special pricing is too good to pass up this weekend, and I also bought a new patio set!  Unfortunately, I don’t have it yet, so it’ll have to wait for a future post… but pictures coming!

Have you heard about Shop Your Way?  It’s the rewards program at Sears and Kmart.  It’s free to sign up and there are a ton of benefits.  My favorite?  You get an email copy of your receipt!  How cool is that?  I go crazy trying to keep track of receipts and finding them when I need to return something.   Now they will be in my email folder!  Yay!  There are also cash rewards based on how much you spend, that you can redeem on any purchase!  It took me all of 3 minutes to sign up and even though I did print out my “membership card”, the cashiers can look it up by your phone number.

After I saw the sets in the stores and narrowed down my choices, I check the prices online.  It turned out that I could get it for $50 less online!  Even though free delivery was probably the way I should have gone, I ended up using free Store Pickup.  I haven’t gone to get it yet but that will be a project next week.  I ran out of time to get it all done before our Memorial Day party, but there’s a whole summer left to enjoy it!

Speaking of waiting… Did you know that Sears has a layaway option?  I love layaway.  It’s a great way to make big purchases in small bites.  We try to be debt-free and it feels so good to know that something is paid for when you pick it up.  Otherwise, I’m spending future income that is uncertain and I can get carried away and spend much more than I would if I had to use cash.  You can “lock in” a great sale price, like they have on the Simply Outdoors collection for Memorial Day.

If you want to see my whole shopping trip to Sears, check out my Google + Photo Album!

That’s my patio makeover on a budget!  I hope I inspired you to do some fun decorating for your upcoming holiday party, birthday party, Father’s Day, Graduation or whatever you’re celebrating!  Enjoy!  Happy Memorial Day!

Find out more information here:

• “Simply Outdoors: Catalog Link: http://bit.ly/CatalogCB
• Sears Local Ad: http://bit.ly/SearsWeeklyDealsCB
• Sears on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/Sears
• Sears on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/sears
• Sears Shop Your Way Rewards on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ShopYourWay

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric #SummerWithSears #SearsPatio