Ways to Change the Look of your Patio for less than $100

If you are happy with your current patio furniture and works well with your patio layout but you still want to change the outlook and ambience of your patio, you need not replace your existing furniture and spend more money on new expensive furniture. Here are some easy and economical ways that you can create an entire new outlook for your patio.

1. Bring the indoors out.

If your patio is attached to your dining room or your living room or your kitchen, use the same theme color for the patio as well and bring some of the decorate objects that you keep indoors out to the patio. With this, the patio will feel like an extension of that room instead of a separate space, which eventually make both the indoor and the outdoor space much larger. 

2. Add some of your personality with small decorative objects.

Do you love the look of old glass bottles? Go to second-hand stores and pick up lots of brightly colored old bottles for less than $10 and place them around the patio. Additionally, a trip to a discount store and $20 could yield amazing results in the search for unique, sometimes rare objects for your patio. Old glass bowls can be turned into planters or used to hold candles. You can have a fun afternoon searching for items and change the look of your patio for pennies.  

3. Buy some decorative candles.

Scented candles are a great addition to any outdoor living space because they add a soft, romantic light. Furthermore, if you choose the right scents they can even help keep pests away. Bugs don’t like a citrusy scent, which is why most people use citronella candles as a bug repellent. You can also use citrus scented candles like lemon and orange or exotic scents like sandalwood. If you have a small pond of water near your outdoor patio buy some floating candles to really make your patio stands out.

4. Break out the lights.

Wrap a few strands of Christmas lights around some of the trees or on the plants on your patio and you will transform your patio instantly. The soft warm lights are beautiful for patios but you can change to blue or purple lights to add a festive mood.  

Stock up on holiday lights after Christmas so that you will have more than enough for summer use. If you can’t find any in regular stores during the off season, you can try wedding shops or a party supply stores because those types of stores usually stock warm lights all year round.

5. Re-furbish your old furniture.

Don’t know what to do with that old armchair or that sofa that’s just taking up space in the garage? You can sell it off EBay or buy some fun fabric and slipcover them, then put them out on the patio. Isn’t that just great? If your patio isn’t covered, get a tarp to throw over any upholstered furniture when it rains. 

6. Create some cover.

Protect yourself from bugs. You can use fabric or mosquito netting to create your own oasis. A simple canopy can be made in lots of different ways to fit the natural landscape of your patio. All you need it some tall stakes and a pretty, flowing fabric or mosquito netting from the craft store. You can also build a simple framework out of wood lying around in the garage to create supports for a large fabric screen that goes around the edges of your patio creating a private outdoor retreat.

7.  Change your plants.

A quick and cheap way to change the outlook and feel of your patio is to replace existing patio plants with new ones. Move the old ones indoors or to another spot in the yard. Besides, you can also replant the plants you have in new decorative pots that you can get at any home and garden store.   

8. Change the pillows and other textiles.

You will be surprised at how fast adding new blankets, cushions or tablecloths can change the feel of your patio. You don’t even need to buy new cushions - you can simply recover the ones you have.  

You can buy pre-made covers or make your own from an interesting fabric. Cut up a favourite blanket, or an old summer dress to make one of a kind pillow covers for your patio and you can transform your patio for practically nothing.

9. Buy a set of new dishes.

If you use your patio for a lot of parties or outdoor dining, you can change the feel of the patio by replacing the dishes, silverware, glassware, placemats and even napkins that you usually use, with an entirely new coordinated set. You can choose a fun summer theme like flowers or ladybugs or go crazy with some bright summer colors. For about $50, you can add a totally new dimension to your outdoor dining and what more - you will have another set of dishes you can use. 

10. Make your own tables.

Don’t worry if you’re not crafty. There are lots of craft books that you can get your hands on that explain how you can take items from around your home and create your own unique tables. You can use any sturdy object as a base, even an old planter, and with a simple glass tabletop from the home improvement store you can create your own work of art.

You can use copies of photos to create a collage of your family and friends on the table or you can use paint to write your favourite poem or inspirational saying on it. You can even take your old set of outdoor dining dishes and smash them and use the pieces to create a glass mosaic tile tabletop.