Just in time for the Labour Day long weekend, the massive project we’ve been working on ALL summer long is finally here: THE PATIO!
Let me start by saying the outdoor space at this home is a LOT, like easily as much space outdoors as we have indoors between the yard, back patio, front yard, front porch, and small front patio as well. The backyard came together fairly quickly and easily once I planted my veggie and flower gardens, although I have added some flowering shrubs and bushes that I hope will really expand next Spring and transform the space a bit more. The front yard garden is still a very sad outrageous mess of weeds, and other than a power wash, we decided to leave the front patio and porch as projects to think about NEXT YEAR. Which just leaves… the back patio!
When Jonnie and I first toured this apartment, we were both overwhelmed by all the potential we saw for the back deck. It’s massive, partially covered, and gets a ton of great sunshine all throughout the day. On the day we got our keys, we did another little walk around, and he casually mentioned maybe it would be nice to do some painting to brighten up the space out there (sometime down the line). Unfortunately for him, he’d said it out loud to me, and I never do things reasonably or slowly or “in time”.
Shortly after moving everything into our East Van apartment, I came up with a plan for the back patio and got to work. Benjamin Moore very kindly supplied all of the paint we needed for the project, and I thought from there, the rest would be easy! A little sanding, a bit of painting, and voila – new patio! What can I say? I have a poor sense of reality. This turned out to be the most labour intensive home project that I’ve ever embarked on, and the work ended up taking nearly the entire summer to complete. We started with sanding back in June, then moved on to extensive pressure washing, and once everything was dry and prepped, we finally started painting. Turns out, outdoor painting, with various textures and previous paint jobs and endless cracks and corners and weather restrictions is much less straightforward than say, painting an accent wall inside.
I need to give credit where it’s due here: I had a lot of help. It took me, Jonnie, my sister, and her girlfriend Emily countless hours to finally get every inch of the patio painted, from floor to ceiling beams. Luckily Benjamin Moore’s Aura Exterior paint had such good coverage that we could get away with just one coat on all the woodwork (after a light sanding) but it still took ages to get between all of the fence posts, every angle of every roof beam… you get the point! The floor painting was my favourite part – we used a product called Sure Step, which had texture built into it that both prevents future slipping, and evens out the cement. Painting over our stained, bumpy old cement flooring and watching this paint fill all of the little holes and cracks was so satisfying.
When all of the painting was finally done, all that was left to do was decorate! A jungle of plants was obviously a must, but beyond that I felt a bit stuck. I used a lot of the same IKEA furniture from my last patio setup on the North Shore, so I really just some pops of colour to bring life to this space. I’m not sure how I landed on , but it turns out almost all of their pillows can be made as outdoor throw pillows! Once I fell in love with Megan Galante’s , the rest came together. White string lights and a couple of colourful candles pulled the vibe together for both day and night, and Summer’s favourite addition was definitely her from Busy Puzzle (love that nice neutral gingham fabric).
I shared the before and after video today in my reels, but I also wanted to put together a list of sources and share our experience with this project in full on here! Let me know your favourite part in the comments below!
Scroll down for shopping links
SHOPPING LINKS
All paint by Benjamin Moore
Floor paint (special non-slip product) here (colour is “Desert Sand”)
Outdoor paint for beams and fencing here (colour is “Peach Cooler 022”)
IKEA Outdoor Couch here
IKEA Outdoor Rug here
IKEA coffee table (similar )
IKEA side tables here (no longer available)
Miss Garden Glory Shell chair pillows here
Oui by Indigo large pedestal planter
Oui by Indigo medium pedestal planter
Society6 leopard floor pillow
Society6 sun throw pillow
Society6 leopard throw pillow
Minnidip Banana Leaf Pool here
Similar banana leaf throw blanket here
Busy Puzzle indoor / outdoor swing here
CB2 Bistro set gold table here
CB2 Bistro set pink chairs (no longer available)
*this pink shell bistro set is also so my style and so affordable
White string lights here
Paddywax arch candle holder (similar here)
IKEA gold tray (similar here)
Candles by Homecoming and Lohn
Bloomin’ Easy low maintenance plants (like my pink lemonade rose!) here
