Spring is just around the corner, which means it’s time to get those outdoor home projects on your calendar. In the four years we’ve been in our house we’ve completed a lot of home projects. However, not all of them were planned. Some became necessary as time passed or other projects created a domino effect.
I want you to be more prepared than we were. Therefore, today I’m sharing my top unexpected outdoor home projects that have added major value to our lives and property.
Leveling the Sidewalk Path Grass
In 2020, we added a concrete garbage can pad and walking path from our driveway to our patio. This was planned and hired out, completing our list of three concrete projects (see also our main patio and fire pit patio). But what we didn’t account for was the drop off from the path to the grass. In some spots it was as steep as a 6″ drop off from the path to the rest of the yard, and that just screamed ‘broken ankle’ to me.
To fix this, we contacted a local landscaper who said it a very quick and relatively inexpensive project. All in, it cost us around $600 for them to clear the rubble they could, level out the grade, burry that downspout and lay sod that took to the less-than-ideal growing conditions (note all the rubble and hard Earth from the path project).
That was two and a half years ago and all of that grass is still thriving. In fact, we oftentimes find Bickell choosing to lay on that little two-foot wide sliver of sod by the sidewalk when he has an enormous yard to choose from!
Burying Downspouts
Drainage wasn’t even something I gave a second thought before owning a house. Obviously, most buildings have downspouts, and they are there to keep water from your house. But do you know why? Or how you can take them one step further?
Keeping large amounts of water as far from your house as possible is the best way to be proactive about flooding. You don’t want all that water near your foundation! Sure, you may have a sump pump (depending where you live), but don’t make it work harder than necessary. That’s a good way to shorten the lifespan of this important home equipment.
Burying your downspouts is a one-time, single afternoon project that will last the duration of your home and cost around $75 or under, depending on the number of downspouts you have.
Installing Outdoor Solar Lights
Path lights weren’t something I was thinking about at all. I happened to stumble upon these copper solar lights on Amazon. Most solar lights don’t take much to install, they’re usually just driving the stake into the ground. However, it’s important to take the time to ensure they’re securely in there.
My trick to making solar lights stand strong is creating a much thinner hole in the intended install spot first with a piece of rebar. That way when I go to drive the actual light in it pierces the ground more easily and I don’t go wiggling the light back and forth to drive it in the ground, which creates a larger than needed hole and ultimately leaves the light post wobbly a lot of times. Also, if the ground is super hard, water it first, the soil will be easier to work.
Try creating a ‘pre hole’ next time you install something into the ground and let me know how it goes!
These solar lights create the most beautiful starburst pattern at night, I can’t picture ever changing these out!
Installing a Patio Gazebo
For years, I’ve been seeing neighbors put up these nice hard top gazebos. They provide so much shade to our otherwise rather tiny treed, newly developed neighborhood. Once we had Alexis, I said it was finally time. We couldn’t bring a little baby out into the sun, and the wind around here is crazy, so our sun umbrella isn’t always usable. Of all our outdoor home projects, this has been one of my favorites!
This is our exact hard top gazebo, and what makes it so much better than others is the included mesh netting. We spent a lot of time in here with our new baby last summer, worry-free because bugs can’t get us through the netting. I also needed something to fit in a 10″ x 14′ maximum. This 10′ x 12′ gazebo was perfect! It tucks right into the corner of our patio, leaving our walking path to the fire pit perfectly accessible.
A future post this summer is going to be about how I decorated and styled our gazebo. Subscribe to stay tuned for that post in spring/early summertime!
BTW- this mini pool is a MUST for small spaces or patios! We’ve had it sine 2019 and it’s so nice to just take a quick dip on really hot days. Plus, now that we have the baby she enjoys it too!
DIY Backyard Fire Pit
We always knew we wanted a backyard fire pit. Kevin’s parents had one at their old house and it was always nice to sit at the fire at night. However, we never thought we’d be DIYing ours, or making it so grand!
It wasn’t terribly difficult, but the stones are heavy and it takes a bit of patience. If you want to complete this project on a budget and are willing to take it on, it’s incredibly worth it!
Read more about our DIY backyard fire pit in this post here.
Mulch, So Much Mulch
With all of the concrete we wanted, comes mulch. I wanted the entire patio to be lined by mulch and landscaping. We have a HUGE yard (our lot is 1/3 of an acre) so to not fill it with some landscaping would just leave the yard looking rather empty.
Even with all the mulch we have it’s still pretty massive. We even have plans to line the back fence with privacy landscaping this season since they’re starting to build houses behind us.
So here’s my suggestion for a mulch project: find a bulk supplier. Buying bags at the hardware store will get very pricy, very fast. We’re very lucky to have a mulch supplier literally across the field from our backyard. They charge you by the cubic yard (which is roughly the size of an average outdoor garbage can) so take your best guess and don’t be afraid to order more than you think you need.
I’m pretty sure during every mulch project I’ve ended up with less than I thought I ordered. You’d be shocked how much it takes to create a thick layer of it in some spots. You can always throw extra onto your landscape beds, but you don’t want to be caught with too little, especially if there’s a delivery fee!
Hanging Flower Baskets
For my birthday in May 2020, Kevin coordinated with my mom to surprise me with hanging flower baskets and she bought the annual flowers for them. It was a terrific surprise because I’d been wanting them and the gift of having everything brought right to me was amazing!
They knew I’d love the color and pop they add to the front of the house, and they were right! So Kev used his hammer drill (also used for mounting house lights and other outdoor decor into the mortar) to install them and it was a quick hour-long project.
Cafe String lights
Are cafe string lights still a thing? Because my whole neighborhood has them (some have these Edison bulb lights, which I also love) and I absolutely love ours! One weekend we decided to install the poles with Quik Crete and I got up on our 6-foot ladder to stain them this dark color, and here we are!
Kev used his aforementioned hammer drill to install Q hooks on either end of the house and on the poles to keep them in place. We’ve had some HUGE storms over the 4+ years we’ve had these and they’ve never once fallen!
We also grabbed a box of these extra lightbulbs while they were in stock. It’s a good thing we did, because we have had two bulbs go out in the time they’ve been hung.
No-Drill Fence Solar Lights
Our neighbors have these fence solar lights and I love how they look, so we carried the look right over to our side of the fence with our own! Our whole yard is outfitted with warm/soft white lights so that’s what you’ll see shown here.
Our yard is 100-feet wide so we needed quite a few lights to cover the whole length, plus the panels facing the front yard. All in, I believe we have 18 lights (so, three of these 6-packs). You can do any pattern you want though! Skip and do every other panel, don’t put one on the gate, only put one on the gate… it’s entirely up to you!
More Outdoor Home Projects
- Our first pass at landscaping, mulching and patio decor in our first yard
- If you live in an apartment or condo, here’s how I was navigated gardening in a small space
- Here’s how we prepare our outdoor space for major storms
- This is what our backyard looked like when we moved in and then one year later
What outdoor home projects are you planning to take on this season? Share them below and let me know with any questions!
