I love summer! This year I set the goal to decorate and transform our deck into the family-friendly backyard. And as always, I wanted to makeover the backyard on a budget because Matt has trained me to not ever want to pay an arm and a leg for decor (and everything needed to be kid/toddler friendly, from plates to tables to gardening).
Last year we moved into this house in May and other rooms in the house took priority over decorating the backyard. Not only that but it was difficult to imagine a space last year when Adeline was 9 months old and crawling, those stairs off the deck made me so nervous, but now she is 18 months old and a pro at being safe around the stairs which opens a world of possibilities for decorating the year!
Let’s talk about what to splurge on and what to save on when decorating your family-friendly backyard:
SAVINGS | Patio furniture! If you live in Canada, like my family, we have severely short summers! We maximum have 3 months of summer-like weather, and even then we can have some crazy cold rainy weeks, so why spend your whole backyard makeover budget on furniture that will barely be used throughout the summer? Try Kijiji (only available for Canadians) or go garage sale-ing! I got this patio table and chairs for $75 on Kijiji – that’s a testament that you can accomplish your budget-friendly, chic patio!
If you’re still not able to find anything that is cheap, subscribe to your local home improvement store’s email list to know exactly when their biggest sales are – Matt is always looking at and comparing prices from Canadian Tire.
SAVINGS | Decor and lighting! The cups, the centrepiece plants, the outdoor rug (bought 50% off), the throw pillows, the string lights – all bought on clearance throughout the year. Sometimes you need to wait for those big sales in the middle of winter or spring to build up your outdoor decor stash! The best sales for summer items are off season, just like the best time to buy Christmas ornaments are on clearance during the spring and summer.
Keep a physical vision board or a Pinterest backyard inspiration board to help you keep focus throughout the year so you can makeover your backyard on a budget!
SPLURGE | Reuseable plates! I know paper plates are every moms dream because there is no dish washing afters – but the environment guys, we all have to do our part. Especially because if we’re being honest, we never recycle those paper plates they go straight into the garbage… been there, I’ve done it myself!
Plus, it’s a little bit of a splurge to buy more than you need – if you imagine you have a BBQ with your friends or family, how many plates will you need? That’s kind of where the splurge part comes in! If you are truly going to go all in with the reuseable plates, then buying a 12 piece plate set is going to be more expensive than just 6 for your own family to use day-to-day.
SPLURGE | Custom sensory table! The main attraction of our kid-friendly deck is this amazing sensory table from Farmer’s Daughter Workshop in Edmonton, AB! If you are losing your mind because your kids cannot entertain themselves you need this table. I love this sensory table so much because it’s versatile in how you use it – this large bin sensory table comes with two planks that cover the top and make it into a kid-size picnic table. I highly recommend the large bin sensory table because it accommodates kids from 2-9 years old – the best bang for your buck!
Soon, I’ll be sharing a list of the ultimate outdoor games you can do with this sensory table – because we all need some inspiration for summer activities for toddlers when we’re in the thick of motherhood!
SAVINGS | Kid-friendly gardening! It goes without saying toddlers can be a little rough with delicate things, so Matt has taken it upon himself to teach the girls to plant mini vegetable gardens. They used these thrifted white railing planters to plant seeds from our local gardening centre. The girls get to pick 2-3 vegetables and they learn how to plant them, water them, and watch them grow! It’s educational and cheap if you buy seeds instead of already grown plants!
Trust me, I know how tempting it is to buy the mature plants, if it was my job to do the gardening that’s what I would do… thankfully Matt is much more patient!
I hope you can find some sort of motivation or inspiration for decorating your backyard on a budget – it can be done! I know you can do it!
Here is a list of the places everything I used for my kid-friendly backyard makeover:
patio table: Kijij | sensory table: Farmer’s Daughter Workshop | outdoor rug: Bed Bath & Beyond | seat cushions: Walmart | tropical throw pillows: Wayfair (similar ones here)| reuseable plates: Wayfair (here are a few modern melamine plate sets I love, here and here) | clear cups: Bed Bath & Beyond | cutlery holder/planter: Walmart | cutlery: Structube | centre piece plants: Canadian Superstore |watermelon food cover: Home Sense (super cute one from Etsy, here) | blue bunting banner: Walmart | white planters: Canadian Tire | white string lights: Home Hardware
What is your biggest obstacle when decorating your family-friendly backyard on a budget?
If you like this post, check out my Amazing DIY Front Entrance Wall-Mounted Shoe Organizer post before you go!
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#7 Curl The Front Pieces
