BACKYARD PATIO ONE ROOM CHALLENGE WEEK 8: FINAL REVEAL

1 room. 8 weeks. Countless DIYers coming together to encourage and inspire. Sounds great, right?! Welcome to the One Room Challenge! Keep reading to discover my plans for my backyard patio One Room Challenge and see the FINAL reveal of my two patio spaces, 2 months in the making!

What an 8 weeks it’s been. I loved this process of participating in the One Room Challenge. It’s so much more fun to DIY alongside so many other likeminded individuals, share weekly progress, and keep up with everyone else’s projects along the way. This was my first time as a guest participant in the 2021 Spring season of the One Room Challenge (ORC)!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience which may reward me in the event of a sale. Note that I only recommend tools and products I have personally used and loved.

In case you are new, this was my “best case scenario/possibly over optimistic/very ambitious” One Room Challenge plan: 

1. Re-paint ExCustom Cornhole Boards
2. DIY Potted String Light Stand 
3. DIY Wooden Pallet AC unit Screen
4. DIY Outdoor Shoe and Tool Storage 
5. Paint Concrete Patio Floor 
6. Re-paint Exterior Siding
7. DIY Vertical Living Wall Planter 
8. DIY checkerboard tabletop 

It’s crazy to watch all of these projects crossed off my list, and see them come to life outside on our patio! As you can see, my plan deviated throughout this 2 month process. I ran out of steam with the pallet wood projects Week 4, and didn’t make it to the DIY planters. I still love the idea of a retrofitted patio table top (inspiration from Seeking Lavender Lane), but the tile I liked would have been over $80 plus the rest of the supplies. I just couldn’t justify spending that much money to cover up a perfectly good patio table, and wasn’t sure how well it would hold up year after year. I decided to use a canvas drop cloth as a tablecloth instead, much more cost effective

Let’s do a quick re-cap of the last two months, It’s always fun to look back and remember where you started. I decided to participate  in the One Room Challenge last minute, so Week 1 was spent deciding which “room” to do. I finally thought outside the box and chose our outdoor patio spaces. See the before pictures of where we started. The only thing I had done to our backyard since we moved in was start gardens in all of our raised beds. I documented the process of gardening as a beginner here.

I should mention, my husband unofficially helped out too! He had his own list of backyard projects he had wanted to take on since moving in, including tearing down the old shed, cutting down a tree, and tilling and re-seeding more than half of the backyard. His projects helped make the yard easy on the eyes, and greatly complimented the other decorative touches added during these 8 weeks.

Week 2 brought my first project- DIY custom corn hole boards. I had these corn hole boards sitting in the garage, who knew it just took a commitment like the One Room Challenge to get me motivated enough to plan and paint them? I chose my husband and I’s alma mater and favorite college team, the University of Mississippi; lovingly referred to as “Ole Miss”. 

I am so upset. I used the same exterior poly I use for all of my outdoor projects to seal these corn hole boards without thinking. I should have known better! Poly is known for causing wood painted white to turn yellow. I wrote a whole section about how to choose the right product to finish a painted wooden piece here.

Because these were going outside, I forgot to take my own advice. Sure enough, the white painted areas of my corn hole boards turned yellow. My brother in law tried to make me feel better by saying they look “vintage” now. If you want the vintage look, by all means use poly. But if you want your white paint to stay white, I recommend using a different sealer. 

Week 3 may have brought the biggest impact. Cafe lights add such a nice ambience to outdoor space.

I DIY’ed a 2×8 post to add lights to the perimeter of our patio space. I used my favorite paint + stain combo to help the wooden post match the existing front door and porch posts to keep a cohesive wood look. You can find the technique detailed here.

I was also very particular about wanting to find an authentic whiskey barrel planter. I will link mine here- this is the best price I could find. I certainly did not invent the wheel with this project, but I wrote a detailed step by step tutorial if you want to know how I did mine.

Week 4. To be honest, this is the week that surprised me and ended up being more work than I bargained for. I had a few ideas in mind to use the pallet wood that had been collecting dust in my garage. I had planned to make an AC unit screen, crates, and planters. However, the prep work took so long I decided I was done after taking apart, sanding, and cutting the pallet wood for the AC screen and 2 crates. I love how they turned out, and the natural weathered look the pallet wood gives the crates. Find the tutorial here.

Week 5 is a project I’ve been waiting to complete since we closed on our house a year ago… painting the exterior. To me, the blue/gray color of the siding never went with the red/brown brick. The One Room Challenge was a great excuse to finally bite the bullet, read up on how to paint exterior siding and execute. Besides time, this is honestly inexpensive. I only paid the price of paint and supplies vs. thousands I would have paid if I hired someone else to do it.

I chose the color Alabaster by Sherwin Williams. I love the bright, clean look of our exterior siding now. It makes such a difference looking out from the sunroom (where we spend lots of time). Find all my tips and tricks for painting exterior walls yourself here.

Week 6 was a quick project with big impact, my favorite kind of project! I used the last 3 pieces of pallet wood from Week 4 and let the creative juices flow. I ended up with a living wall, building a “swing set” for my plants! Accent walls are very in right now (along with these 9 other things), so why not carry this interior trend outside? My hanging wall planter is the perfect touch to bring life, color and texture in an organized way. It’s the perfect weekend project. Find the step by step tutorial here (including measurements- that’s always the biggest headache for me). 

The last two weeks have been spent typing up loose ends (mostly painting), figuring out what to do with the patio floor, and building a checkerboard table top for the fire pit. For the patio floor in our dining space, I knew I didn’t like the red stripe in the concrete. I polled my Instagram friends and gave them three options- a jute area rug, painting, or decking tiles. The decking tiles won, so I headed to Ikea to purchase them. As luck would have it, they were fresh out. So it was on to plan B. 

I decided to paint the floor, which was the most cost effective solution out of the three. After some research, I chose a gallon of Royal Patio and Floor paint from Ace hardware in a slate gray color. My only hesitation was the longevity of this solution, I will keep y’all updated!

I finally feel like our outdoor space matches the aesthetic and feel of our interior, and for that I am grateful. It was a busy 8 weeks, but having an excuse to get outside was so nice. Weather was a factor that set back some of the exterior painting. I sweated in 100 degree weather some days, and enjoyed 65 degree mornings during others. Overall, I am so glad I participated in the challenge. I met new friends, felt the love from fellow participants, and learned new skills. Growth is always the goal, and of course enjoying the process.