DIY Outdoor Ideas

Every outdoor space is unique and yours is no different! Allow Hometalk to help you figure out what to do with your outdoor space. Looking to create an outdoor kitchen? Or is outdoor storage what you need? We have everything and in between in our best, top, and newest projects. Take a look at our step by step videos and create your own oasis.

Outdoor Ideas

Top DIY Outdoor Projects

All the DIY outdoor top projects are right here. Check them out.

How to Easily Make a V-Shaped DIY Cinder Block Firewood Rack

We had another tree fall in our yard and oops no space for the wood! So, we decide to make a v-shaped DIY cinder block firewood rack. This is one of the easiest, fastest, and cheapest wood racks to assemble for your backyard.The materials needed are something most of us have already in the garage or shed but if not, it's still cheap to purchase. About $1.10 for a cinder block at Lowe's (you'll need 2) and $3.40 for a 6-foot-long treated 2x4 (you need 4) at Menards. Under $20 total!Here's how to make your own DIY firewood holder:

Kelly-n-Tony

Stacked Planter Fountain

The inspiration for this project came from one of my favorite people, my Mom. She has her back porch set up perfected, a covered gazebo, beautiful green grass, an oasis of a garden with an included water feature surrounded by lush floral and evergreens. Shes even painted her concrete slab to look like over sized terracotta tiles... Creativity runs in my blood, I'm convinced.I have really been trying to create a back yard space that we want to be in. We have almost an acre fenced out back and so far the only thing we have done with it is occupy it with my pet chickens. They have a 10x14 foot coop off the the side of my backyard and are now contained to one corner of the space with a fenced off run, don't worry, they have more than enough room, and I will likely be doing a tutorial on their upgraded fence soon! If any of you own chickens, you know containment is the only hope you have for any kind of garden bed. So now that these landscape destroyers are contained I can finally create the beautiful backyard I've been dreaming of since I bought my home in 2015!I started researching fountains, and OH MY are they pricey! I wanted something on the larger scale to really be the focal point of my patio transformation, but most in my price range were tiny, like the kind you may sit in the middle of a patio side table.... I thought I may have to put my fountain on the back burner and save for the one I really wanted. I was searching pinterest for other ideas, decorative planters and so forth when inspiration struck! A stacked flower pot fountain! There were a couple posts on pinterest about assembling one on your own but nothing that really fit the bill. I wanted it as simple, yet, substaintal as possible! Here is what I collected for this project:

Red's Rustic Rehab

Boost Curb Appeal With These Tall Planters

I've always wanted to have a pair of tall planters for my front porch but I couldn't justify the cost, given I have no budget for such non-essentials. Costco has a pair for $159 and Wayfair sells them for $70.99 each. Then it occurred to me that the side table project I did last year, could just as easily serve as a template for planters, too! So, off to the dollar store I went.

Marlene

DIY Wine Barrel Market Light Posts (with ABS Pipe)

Hello friends! While we may be quarantining it up right now, that doesn’t mean that Spring isn’t in the air. And that means summer is just around the corner. Here at the Fiddle Leaf House, we spend so many days and evenings out on our patio as the weather gets warmer, so adding some light and ambiance was key! If you can believe it, these wine barrel market light posts were our very FIRST DIY in this home when we moved in 3 years ago! I wasn’t blogging back then, so I didn’t take any photos. But when we replaced our original faux wine barrels for real ones this past summer, I took a few photos of the process for you! I hope you'll visit me on my blog for more fun projects!This is a GREAT quarantine project because you can order materials online and then try out your local hardware stores curbside pickup for the bigger things, like the whiskey barrels, dirt, and plants. Many local nurseries are also doing local delivery right now too. And of course, if you’re reading this after quarantine life is over, then all you have to do is make a quick run to your local hardware store to pick up everything you need!EDIT: Little did I know, this is ABS pipe not PVC pipe. Thanks for the correction. On that note, we have had no issues with it bending over time due to the heavy gauge wire in place. We have made small adjustments on one occasion. As a reader noted, you can seal PVC pipe to protect it from the sun - I would still spray with spray paint as I did here and then add a clear top coat as well.

Ana Ochoa - Sunrise Valley Farm Co.

Need to Hide Your AC? Try Building a Fence Around Your AC Unit

We are pretty excited to bring you our latest build. In our backyard, we have an old ugly AC unit. It’s an eye sore like most people’s outside AC units!So we decided to hide it by building a fence around the AC unit. Here's how we did it:

Chas

Front Porch Pergola

The front of my house needed a drastic facelift and some curb appeal. I really disliked how plain it looked, so this is what I came up with. Staining the brick, adding fresh landscaping and a newly built front porch pergola really seemed to do the trick. Hope you enjoy!

SpDad

Cinder Block Entryway Planter

Large cement planters make for great, modern outdoor style. However, as a DIY option, they take a lot of cement, and building the forms is no small task. When I saw these smaller, solid cinder blocks available at Menards for only $1.09, I decided to give this simple technique a shot. We're thrilled with the results.

Chris Woodard | woodyworking

Cinder Block Fence With 4x4's

Cinder block posts with 4x4's rails for diyNOTE: The cinder block posts are movable they are not buried or cemented down. Making this fence movable and customizable at any time.

Kini

Springtime Concrete Painted Planter

Are you ready for spring? I am! I couldn't wait to get a few new things on my patio and decided to make these cute planters to spruce things up a bit. A little paint and some plants and your are ready to go.

Pam Smith

Folding Table Makeover With Retique It Liquid Wood

This post is sponsored by Retique It. All opinions are my own.My oh my I never thought I would be using a product like this! From chalk paint to milk paint to white wash, I feel like I've used it all. Then I was introduced to Retique It. This stuff is so cool! Who would have thought you could blend actual wood into a paint product. Let me show you how I used it with a folding table makeover.Every day there are new paint products on the market. Friends, this one is different. When the folks at Retique It reached out and wanted me to create a project using their liquid wood, I figured I would makeover an old dresser. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided I wanted to transform a non wood surface into a real wood surface.Hence the folding table makeover...Where do we start?Let me show you the "before" picture of my folding table.

Lindsey

Need to Hide Your AC? Try Building a Fence Around Your AC Unit

Chas

Front Porch Pergola

SpDad

Cinder Block Entryway Planter

Chris Woodard | woodyworking

Cinder Block Fence With 4x4's

Cinder block posts with 4x4's rails for diyNOTE: The cinder block posts are movable they are not buried or cemented down. Making this fence movable and customizable at any time.

Kini

Springtime Concrete Painted Planter

Pam Smith

Folding Table Makeover With Retique It Liquid Wood

Lindsey

Check out our outdoor slideshows for ideas for your own projects.

DIY Outdoor Ideas Videos

Looking for videos of outdoor ideas to overhaul your outdoor space? Go on in.

DIY PVC Pipe Privacy Screen

Use PVC pipe to create a one-of-a-kind outdoor screen!Please take a minute to click here to sign up for the Mother Daughter Projects weekly newsletter. You'll get notification about our new projects and what is up and coming.The inspiration for this project was a decorative fence we saw at Walt Disney World's Epcot, as well as the upholstery print in a booth at a restaurant! Inspiration is everywhere!Steph has been wanting to replace her garbage can privacy screen and this idea seemed like a perfect fit!

Mother Daughter Projects

Pretty As A Picture Succulent Planter

Colourful succulents, with their beautiful, complex shapes look like mini works of art. Here we show you how to plant a succulent pot to make your own piece of garden art, inspired by the still life paintings of the Old Masters.

Craft Invaders

Save Your Garden Sprays

Here are a few different options to save your garden this summer... keep bugs, squirrels, birds - off, and an easy way to kill weeds! The best part - it's super inexpensive! You can find more on my blog Chas' Crazy Creations You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Garden Cobblestone Design Walk-path

First impression is everything to me and after almost 2 years of relocating from New York and moving into our first home in the state of Florida, looking at my garden mess day in and day out...it was time to change everyone’s first impression (about my front yard) for good!!

LVR maintenance

Hometalkers' Favorite DIY Outdoor Projects

Looking for the best outdoor projects to inspire you? Look no further.

How To Make Stamped Garden Stepping Stones

Do you need some garden stepping stones, but you want something cute with lots of character?! Make your own! I love the unique pattern that we stamped into these garden stepping stones. They were so fun and easy to make! If you love this project, grab your quick start DIY guide & subscribe to our blog!

Chelsea @ Making Manzanita

Homemade Roach Spray (Good for Ants and Other Bugs Too)

Do you know what the number one question was we were asked this summer? How to get rid of roaches! One of our popular posts is our homemade ant spray, so readers want to know about other insects too. Especially roaches!I just used a bunch of this homemade spray because a random trail of ants showed up on my front porch, and I didn’t want Amelia to get in it. I spray it to safely kill the ants and and things like roaches. It was safe for her, safe for the dog, and killed the ants.

Alexis @ Chemistry Cachet

DIY Solar Fountain With Planter

Who doesn’t love the peaceful sound of running water? You can have your own bit of backyard oasis with a DIY solar fountain!It was a childhood dream of mine to have a babbling brook in my yard like Anne of Green Gables. (Our neighborhood has a stream, so we were close!) I’d still love to have some flowing water in the yard, if the budget allowed it.I first saw the idea for a DIY solar fountain over at The Interior Frugalista. The fountain part was surprisingly affordable, so I was inspired to make a version of my own for the backyard!The fountain I put together is a tiered solar fountain with a flower planter on the lower level!

Joy Elizabeth

How to Make a Fire Pit With Leftover Bricks

Do you have leftover brick from another project? Learn how to make a fire pit with leftover bricks. For those of you that have been around for a while, you know that we have done so many projects with the 2 pallets of reclaimed brick that we got from a local greenhouse. And we still have some left! We have been slowly creating a little backyard retreat, and instead of a fire pit where the bottom always rusts out, I decided to make a permanent fire pit with the leftover brick.

Ahna Fulmer

How to Make a Simple Wishing Well

I always wanted a wishing well in my yard. So when we went to the landfill. I seen the biggest pile of tires I had ever seen! with tires of every size imaginable. So I had my husband ask if we could have some. The man told us we could have as many as we wanted. So we got 4 tires that are used on big trucks.

Redbird

Simply Stunning Planter Box

It is so crazy to me how sometimes the most simple upgrade can change the look of a space so much.This super simple planter box is exactly what my front porch needed.Follow along with me for a simple one hour DIY and I will show you how I made my new planter box.

Amber (elk island rustics)

How To Make Stamped Garden Stepping Stones

Chelsea @ Making Manzanita

Homemade Roach Spray (Good for Ants and Other Bugs Too)

Alexis @ Chemistry Cachet

DIY Solar Fountain With Planter

Joy Elizabeth

How to Make a Fire Pit With Leftover Bricks

Ahna Fulmer

How to Make a Simple Wishing Well

Redbird

Simply Stunning Planter Box

Amber (elk island rustics)

Popular Outdoor Discussions

Looking to discuss ideas for outdoor spaces? Join the conversation here.

Thompsons Water sealer disaster

/> Lynn @ Riggstown Road

Since we just had our deck pressure-washed, we decided to apply Thompson's Water Sealer to help preserve it. Big mistake. It seems to have a permanent stickiness. Any advice for the easiest way to remove it?Clean a sticky surfaceClean and degrease surfaces easily with Superclean spray that Amazon reviewers swear by!

View discussion

How can I finish my back porch ceiling in an inexpensive way?

/> Lisa @ 50 Things to Know Life

I can see my porch ceiling from the windows in our house and it does not look very nice. I don't want to spend a lot of money. I also have a toddler so I don't have much time but I would like to do it on my own.

How can I finish my back porch ceiling in an inexpensive way?

View discussion

Any ideas on how I can fix a patio swing?

/> Shelly C

The material that holds the cushions and that you sit on is weathered and torn. There is now nothing stable there to hold you up! I don't have the money to have it professionally fixed, but want to do something so I can keep using it! My husband wants to throw it out! Any ideas? Thanks!

Any ideas on how I can fix a patio swing?

View discussion

New Outdoor Projects

What's trending in the world of DIY outdoor projects? We have compiled it all here.

DIY Lovely Lemon and Herb Luminaries: A Heaven-Scent Mosquito Repellen

Inside: Up the ambiance of summer outdoor meals while helping keep mosquitoes at bay. These DIY insect repellant floating candle jars beautify your table and smell heavenly! Plus, a whole list of options for natural insect fighters including lemon, lime, rosemary, basil, and citronella. ⟹

Kate Rodgers - Southern Home and Hospitality

The Flies Are Back...An Updated Fly Bag Tutorial at Your Service!

Summer time means outdoor dining, which is great...except for the FLIESIt's time for a FLY WATER BAG UPDATEUse this (new and improved!) trick for fly water bags to get rid of flies!Ready to make fly water bags? Let's go!!!

Doodle T and Me!

How to Make a Faux Boulder

This post was transcribed by a member of the Hometalk editorial team from the original HometalkTV episode.Do you have an outdoor eyesore that you wish you could make disappear? Check this out!See more DIY ideas on my YouTube channel here!

Mitch Couch

An Unusual Way to Hide a Garden Hose

Have a hose making your garden messy? Here’s an unusual way to hide a garden hose without spending money on a hose reel.Why am I talking about garden hoses when I normally upcycle furniture?Because I had a problem and upcycling found a way to solve it. Success!

Rachel

Say Goodbye to Gnats and Fruit Flies

Danya @avintageflarefarmhouse

DIY Fly Repellent For Porches (Easy Home Remedy)

We shared this on Chemistry Cachet several weeks ago, and we are already having readers write in saying they love it!When I first tested out this home remedy, I was skeptical how well it might work. I researched the science behind bar soap for insects many years ago, but I have never tried it for flies. Flies are really hard to deter this time of year especially depending on your environment (around water, animals, farms, pets, etc).Remember, this home remedy is specifically for a porch area.

Alexis @ Chemistry Cachet