Modern Outdoor Retreat with Home Depot

Friends, I am so happy to finally share with you the reveal of my Modern Outdoor Retreat project in partnership with The Home Depot. This one took me a while but it was well worth the wait!

So the plan for this Spring was to be able to enjoy our backyard as a family and with friends. I wanted to incorporate modern design with some traditional Pakistani garden elements.The idea was to include the following in the design: 

• a dining area
• a kitchen garden
• Redesigned patio area 
• Ambient lighting

We already had the basic layout set up with a walkway, a flower bed and a dining area with 2×2’ pavers but the backyard needed some customizing to give it my style. All product sources will be at the end of the post. 

The first area I tackled was the covered patio and I decided to paint the floor to start with. Before any paint project, prep work is most important to get a good result. In fact, one of my very first DIY projects was painted tile and you can check it out here.  In the case of concrete flooring like my patio, it’s key to pressure wash it before doing anything else. Now I don’t have a pressure washer at home and I didn’t want to buy one just for one job. That’s where Home Depot’s Tool Rental Service comes to the rescue! For $27 +tax I was able to rent a high quality pressure washer from my local store for 4 hours! The best part was I was able to use The Home Depot mobile phone app to reserve the pressure washer and pick it up the next day. I was nervous about using it for the first time but the store associates provided me with printed instructions on how to operate the machine and I was able to figure it out with no issues. 

After pressure washing the patio floor which took me about half an hour I ended up washing the driveway as well because we had so much extra time! Once the floor was dry I prepped it with concrete primer and then it was ready for paint. I went in with a base coat of Aged Beige from Behr’s Premium Plus line in Exterior Flat finish. After two coats of that I was ready for the pattern.

Initially I wanted to use a stencil for the pattern but I decided to stick to a more classic checkered design which is very common in Pakistani homes. I drew the design using an 18” tile from Home Depot and made sure the lines were straight using a woodworking square. You can also use a long ruler to extend the lines. For the dark color I used Binary Star from the same Behr Premium Plus line. To take the design one step further I used a small paint brush and sponge to create a stone like look on the faux tile! Once I was happy with how it looked I sealed it all with two coats of Polyurethane to make it durable. 

For the next DIY project I worked on my very first kitchen garden. I have to be honest here, landscaping and gardening projects are not my strong suit but with all the resources available at Home Depot I was able to navigate it all with ease! I spent my time browsing through all the Gardening How-To Guides at Home Depot’s website and took my time researching everything. From how to build a garden bed to figuring out a garden layout, I was able to find it all in How-To Guides. These How-To Guides are very helpful if you’re just starting something out. Some also have video instructions and are a one stop shop for learning about any project you’re taking on. I followed the instructions on how to build a raised garden bed but used my own measurements to fit my space. The build was very easy and beginner friendly. I was able to get Cedar Boards from Home Depot delivered right to my doorstep and that literally is a blessing for those of us who don’t have trucks! I picked up Organic Raised Garden Soil from the Garden Center and used the Soil Calculator tool to figure out how many bags I needed. I ended up using 16 bags (just under 1.5 yards)

The Home Depot Garden Center has a ton of Organic plants to choose from and I picked up some tomatoes, zucchini plants and lots of herbs to fill up my bed. I also got two trellises to support my tomato plants. 

For the final DIY element to my outdoor retreat project I made my own string light posts with concrete planters. I found these beautiful concrete planters on Home Depot’s website and filled them up 1/4 way with concrete and inserted 1×2 wood in the middle. To attach the string lights on the post I screwed in a cup hook on each post. Finally you can fill up the planters with soil and plant your favorite seasonal flowers! 

To complete the backyard space I furnished it all with the most beautiful patio furniture at amazing prices. Everything was from Home Depot down to the outdoor pillows! I bought and installed this modern steel pergola for the dining space. I found these cute cafe chairs to go with the dining table to complete the look. 

For my patio space I got two lounge chairs and an accent table for a small conversation area. Lastly, I found the perfect outdoor sofa for the firepit area and I mixed and matched the lounge chairs to give it my own unique style. To create ambient lighting I lined the pathways and garden beds with Solar Powered Pathway lights. These lights have two modes, my favorite is the flame option that looks like a real flickering flame! I still can’t believe this is MY backyard! This dreamy outdoor retreat, literally came to life in front of my eyes with a few simple DIYs that I bet anyone can attempt.  Full tutorials for each DIY will follow! 

Product List:

Patio Area:

1. Concrete primer
2. Behr Premium Plus Exterior  in Aged Beige and Binary Star
3. Wooster Paint kit
4. Frog Tape
5. Top Coat
6. Chairs
7. Accent Table

Raised Garden Bed:

1. Cedar Boards
2. Landscape fabric
3. Landscape Pins
4. Potting Soil
5. Trellis
6. Screws

Dining Area:

1. Pergola
2. Dining Table
3. Chairs
4. Pathway Lights

Firepit Area:

1. Sofa
2. Chairs
3. Pillow 1
4. Pillow 2
5. Pillow 3

DIY String Light Posts:

1. Planters
2. Cup hooks
3. 2x4s
4. String lights
5. Concrete