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I LOVE our home, but this spot down by our basement door has always been a bit of an eyesore. Throw in our slightly janky above ground pool and it was downright embarrassing to me. Knowing that we would be stuck at home this summer and hopefully spending a lot of time down there, we decided it was time for a change!
Overall, this makeover wasn’t all that expensive, but it makes a huge difference! Check out this gross before…
First, I painted a coat of Drylok on the cinderblock. I was hoping it would be enough to just do one coat, but we didn’t love how splotchy it looked.
After adding a second coat, this time using KILZ waterproofing paint, we finally had the look we were hoping for; a clean, white wall!
Once I got the wall done, it was the hubby’s time to shine! We went back and forth on if we wanted to do a paver patio or a floating deck. The floating deck won, largely for cost reasons but also because our ground is so rocky that digging for a patio could be tricky.
It really only took him about a day and a half from start to finish, even with a couple of little supervisors!
And some hug breaks. (Don’t mind the nasty door…it’s getting painted very soon!)
And maybe a few dance parties.
It turned out absolutely perfect! Some pine straw landscaping for a cheap ground cover, a planter with mosquito repelling plants, and an affordable furniture set were next!
We also grabbed this outdoor rug, and some cute outdoor pillow covers to spruce it up!
Knowing the babies would be spending a lot of time out here, we also decided to add a sun shade, and then some lights for evenings out.
This is the exact shade we have. It is perfect! Our lights are plug in, but I am eyeing up these solar string lights for when these wear out!
We used the Quikrete walk maker to put in a sidewalk over to our lower driveway so that you could get easily to it from the deck without getting muddy. This was SO much cheaper than pavers, and super easy, too!
We absolutely love the way everything turned out! Now that the pool is down for the season, we are working on putting a fire pit in its place (pics to come!). We will see if the pool makes its way back up next season or if we fall in love with the pit in that spot! It really is the perfect little family hangout area, and we spend a lot of time on it!
Because I love a good before and after:
Really enjoyed this post. Really thank you! Keep writing. Renata Willdon Apicella