Patio Makeover: Creating a Chic Outdoor Space on a Budget

Today I'm standing in one of my completed projects, a patio makeover for one of my favorite clients. She's a multiple-time client, and I'm so excited to be here today to show you guys what we did in this space. This client lives in midtown Mobile, and if you know this area well, you know that it's full of historic-looking older homes.


She has a very modern style though, so she wanted me to create a chic outdoor space for her in the back of her house, so that's exactly what we did. Continue on to discover how to complete your own patio makeovers on a budget with the help of my favorite patio makeover ideas.


We started by drawing up plans for the client, got them approved, and then we had contractors come in to start working.

Open-concept beams with a tongue and groove ceiling

These really beautiful, open-concept beams with a tongue and groove ceiling gave us a nice mix of natural elements along with more man-made elements that make this space so special.

Stucco fireplace

I'm standing right here next to her stucco fireplace. It has very clean, straight lines, and it goes straight up with a solid color.

Gas-burning fireplace

It is a gas-burning fireplace, and it is very large and open, creating a huge focal point for this space, especially as she's looking out of her back window. She can see straight to this from her kitchen as well, and it's like even if she's not out here enjoying it, she's still able to enjoy it from inside.

Chimney bricks used for the patio makeover

I want to show you some of the details of the concrete area behind me. Remember, we were talking about blending that old historic charm with the new modern style, and I feel like that ribbon of brick around the more industrial-looking concrete gives that touch of a traditional historic element.


These bricks actually came off of this house from a chimney that they had to remove, so blending the old and new is extra cool in this space.

For the elements on the furniture, we did two outdoor sofas and two club chairs.

Two outdoor sofas and two club chairs
Mismatched outdoor furniture

Remember, we want to do mismatched and not matchy-matchy furniture, so when I say that I mean that you can have two sofas that match each other put together with two club chairs that match each other and then maybe switch up the pillows, so the pillows are what make it look different and not so matchy-matchy. That's what we did here.

Club chairs from Target

These are club chairs from Target. They have a modern line that's really nice.

IKEA tray table

In between them is an IKEA tray table. It was like twenty dollars for this tray table. It's great if you can find a way to balance your outdoor space budget so that you're not spending quite as much and just find the look for less. We did that with Target and IKEA here.

Rug geometric pattern

The rug that we are walking on has a nice geometric pattern, but it also pulls some color into the space. It has a nice bright blue color.

Round coffee table

The coffee table I really love because it pulls that industrial look into the space, the kind of more concrete look on top pairs well with the more fluffy layers of color and texture throughout.

Outdoor sofas with throw pillows

Then there are the pillows that we put with these two outdoor sofas. You can see that each one of them has different pillows. We have a grid and we have a polka dot. We basically have all these different visual textures that make it interesting to look at but don't make one pop out on its own and seem like it's more overpowering than the others.

Leather pillow on a sofa

The other matching sofa has a leather pillow and a little bit of an olive color in one. Again, these colors are not too strong, just kind of neutral. They are similar but different at the same time.

Rosetta cap postcaps

Another element that I want to show you guys is this walkway behind me. We created this special walkway to get from the patio to the side gate and let's see some detail on that. These are actually postcaps that we found at Rosetta Hardscapes. These are Rosetta caps, and I believe they're three feet wide.

River rocks along the path

What we did was to extend out six inches on either side and in between with black river rock, which created the modern look that we wanted to go for. It also created a nice wide walkway that's really functional for her to be able to get everywhere she needs to go in the yard.

Metal edging with rocks

Then, of course, we have this metal edging so these rocks don't get knocked out into the yard and kind of spill out. We wanted to create a sleek streamlined look, and all of these elements put together to achieve that.

Outdoor path light

Now, let me back up one more time and we'll look at the lighting. There are several different kinds of outdoor lighting in this space. We love that ambient light. Touches of light all over the landscape at nighttime create an ambiance and that's what this outdoor path light does.

Landscape path lighting

It gently lights the path without being overpowering. It's not task lighting or security lighting. It's landscape path lighting.

Patio makeover on a budget

Patio makeovers on a budget

A huge budget is not mandatory when completing a patio makeover. With a little plan and a sprinkle of creativity, you can complete a patio makeover on a budget at your home.


Where would you like to start? Share your fresh ideas and your favorites from this patio makeover down below. I love to read those comments!

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 9 comments
  • Jan Jan on Jan 29, 2024
    It looks great but it would have been nice for a few panorama views from inside the house out and some outside views to see the relationship between all the different parts. Well done though.
  • Dan88953307 Dan88953307 on Jan 30, 2024
    Very nice, could sit outside in light rain. Would be nice to know the full Reno cost especially fireplace and roof.
Next