Updating your outdoor space on a budget for your Memorial Day party and beyond

Need to perk up your outdoor space, but want to keep expenses low? HGTV/DIY Network Star Jeff Wilson shares how to how to have a fabulous outdoor living space… on a budget!

• Use your brain – designing creatively is free
  • Bringing the indoors out is still the big outdoor trend
    • Separate spaces using the furniture and accessories you already have
      • Arrange separate “rooms” for living, dining, cooking
        • An outdoor bench or sofa with its back turned on the rest of the deck
        • A simple food cart and standing cooler next to the grill helps make the area in instant “outdoor kitchen”
        • Two Adirondacks and an end table make a separate, tete-a-tete, more intimate conversation area for two
        • Use different color stains to designate different areas
      • Lighting: Use inexpensive string lights for ambiance & to keep the party going into the night (LEDs & solar lights will save you money on electricity!)
      • Outdoor sound: Use an inexpensive Bluetooth speaker (you may already have) and choose a channel on your favorite streaming service (like “Buena Vista Social Club” or “Edith Piaf” or “Nina Simone” ) to add some seriously cool vibes for free!
        • Use your eye – source from discount stores, thrift stores, and “found objects”
          • Who says you have to spend a bundle on accessories?
            • Shop at yard sales and end-of-season sales in the fall for next summer’s outdoor designing
            • Neighborhood plant-swap (my neighbor charges $1 for perennial splits in a sale every Mothers’ Day and gives the money to charity)
            • Use your brawn – do-it-yourself projects give more bang for the buck
              • Buy unfinished wood furniture and customize it by staining it yourself
              • Build an outdoor fire pit for under $100
              • Pep up your deck with a full DIY makeover
                • Clean & Stain your deck & other outdoor wood to make a new color statement, beautify, and protect your investment

To learn more, visit:

• Thompson’s WaterSeal
  • Website: http://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/home
  • Twitter: @thompsonswseal
  • Facebook: Thompson’s WaterSeal – https://www.facebook.com/thompsonswaterseal
  • Instagram: @thompsonswseal
  • Pinterest: @ thompsonswseal
• Jeff Wilson
  • Website: http://www.jeffwilsonregularguy.com/