Making a Tiny Backyard Functional

One of the biggest issues Loren and I have with our house is the tiny backyard. Even calling it a backyard is generous. It's more like a back patio. But, this summer we decided we needed to figure out a way to get more enjoyment out of the space.

We'd been dealing with this set-up:

It was okay, but not super functional. Especially if there were more than four people back there. So our goal was to make it more useful. At first we thought about just getting a different size patio table, but then we realized that maybe an outdoor couch or sectional would be better suited. And if we were having a BBQ or something we could just eat on the couch, that's what we normally do inside, why not outside?

The search for an outdoor sectional began, and I very quickly realized that they are extremely expensive. I was still keeping an eye out for some good deals but told Loren I was going to see about if there were any plans out there for making something ourselves. I found some plans that you built up some nice benches basically but people commented that they spent $600+ on the supplies, and I also saw some plans that involved using pallets but we just weren't sold on the idea. Finally after lots of Googling and Pinterest searches, I came across this tutorial from Be Happy...Be Me:

It was just what we needed! We got measuring to make this couch fit our space and decided to use six foot 4x4 boards with cinder blocks in the middle joining two sides together. We bought six 4x4's and 12 cinder blocks to assemble the couch. We also picked up some brown paint from Ace Hardware to paint the blocks and the front of the 4x4's that would be visible.

Let me tell you, painting cinder blocks is not fun. But we got it done and that was the majority of the work on this project. After the painted blocks were dry, Loren glued them together for extra stability.

After the blocks are glued together we just slid the 4x4s into the openings and adjusted as needed. Then added the cushions and pillows. Done-zo!

Ruby enjoys the couch too, she's a pretty cute model. :) After getting the couch made and set-up we added a couple chairs on the opposite side and strung some globe lights in between the house and the garage.

The lights had a nice vibe to the space I think. We managed to have a couple BBQs with friends before the cooler Fall weather arrived and it was really fun to be able to enjoy our outdoor space.

And that's how we made out backyard a little more cute, and a lot more useful. We'd still like to get a couple lumbar pillows and maybe a few more little accessories for the space but it's been a wonderful update for us.

Love, K