When your home comes with a spacious backyard, it would be a shame not to make the most of it and create a chic patio setting. However, putting together something that stands out can get quite expensive. Fortunately, there are ways to do it while sticking to a fixed budget. In this article, we will discuss our top five favorite ideas.

5 Affordable Patio Designs

Ample Seating Area

Placing a couple of chairs and a table on the patio is a good place to start, but when you have a big family or want to hold parties in the garden, it’s not that easy anymore. Why not design a seating area with ample room for all your loved ones? Putting out a sofa is the obvious solution here, but a new piece of furniture of this type can be quite expensive.

Fortunately, if you have an old one lying around, this is the perfect time to reupholster it. If the item is high-quality, with good structure and sentimental value, restoring it is a given. Of course, you will have to compare the cost of this operation to that of purchasing a sofa, but more often than not DIY projects amount to considerably less.

Reupholstering an old sofa is not a difficult process. All you need is a lot of patience, as well as the proper tools for the job. Start by carefully cutting away the old fabric on the cushions, then follow with an accurate measurement of how much textile material you will need. Attach it to the bones of the couch with a staple gun, keeping it smooth, and that’s about it.

Fire Bowl for Chilly Nights

Just because the weather in your area tends to get chilly at night doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a pleasant evening out on the patio with your friends and family. When warm socks and sweaters just don’t cut it anymore and a fire pit seems too campy for your taste, it’s time to get creative and make your own fire bowl for the garden.

The project requires concrete and two bowls of varying dimensions depending on the desired size in its initial phase. Mix the cement formula, then take the larger bowl and oil it for easier release. Pour the concrete in, then create the inner dent using the smaller bowl which has been previously oiled on the exterior.

Let everything dry for as long as it is specified, then fill with the fuel of your choice. It can be wood, gel, coal, or whatever else you might fancy. The concrete will do a great job of containing the flames and distributing warmth to the surrounding area.

Outdoors Bar & BBQ

While we’re on the topic of get-togethers held in the backyard, how amazing would it be to have a bar and barbeque station out there? It might sound like quite the extravagant venture, but all you need really is a shelf unit and a counter of sorts. For the former, an old and repainted bookcase will do the trick, while the latter is an inexpensive find.

Adding an affordable ice maker to it is an elegant touch, and it won’t add to the costs of the project too much either. Finally, if you want to take care of the food as well, not just the drinks, a portable barbecue can be yours for under 100 dollars. The main advantage of it is that you can subsequently take it with you on camping trips as well, so you’ll surely get your money’s worth.

Lit-Up Garden Relaxation

Fairly lights are the easiest way to bring a little magic into your backyard on your budget. If you have potted plants or vines growing on a trellis, they are the ideal decoration that will make evenings and nights spent on the patio all the more special. Of course, for those blessed to have trees in the garden as well, you can always wrap them around the trunk too.

Invest in bigger and more powerful fairy lights and create a net over the entire backyard for that lit-up look. In this way, you will keep the area bright 24/7, and it will look downright celestial in the process too. Once Christmas rolls around, you can always switch the classic model up with red and green garlands to stay in tune with the season.

Enchanted Forest

Speaking of the trees in your garden, why not make the most of them? Fairy lights are just the beginning. Place small DIY decorations such as bird feeders, wind chimes, lanterns, or artificial flower garlands on their branches and transform your patio into an enhanced forest in the blink of an eye. However, be careful not to overdo it.

Besides tree, you can also organize the plants in the backyard to your advantage to create that dreamy aesthetic. Designing an entirely new patio on a budget is all about working with what you already have at your disposal, so what’s stopping you from getting creative? Nothing looks better on a summer evening that a blooming flower bed.

The Bottom Line

Designing a functional patio that is both entertaining and hospitable doesn’t have to break the bank. By cleverly using items that you’ve already got on hand and giving them a makeover, you will turn your backyard into the preferred hangout spot for the entirety of your friends and family. All you need is some imagination and a lot of determination to get the job done.