Budget-Friendly Outdoor Dining Space with IKEA Furniture

This post is sponsored by our very favorite budget-saving brand ever: IKEA.  All opinions are our own.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for summer to begin!  It’s funny, we had REALLY mild weather til the end of February. About that time, we started feeling like, yes, winter is over.  Psych… it has been snowing, raining, hailing and you name it since then up until last week.  So- I am READY to get outdoors and really welcome the summer.

In preparation for this season, we invited a group of bloggers to join us for an Outdoor DIY Challenge (see more here) — and we have been working on our patio.  We showed you how we fixed the concrete on our 40 year old covered patio, and it was the perfect foundation for setting up an outdoor dining space!  We filmed everything, and I mean a whole  month of cleaning, painting, assembling, sewing, staging and all that jazz- but it is finally done.  So you must watch the video below to see how our covered patio became a cozy outdoor dining space below, and keep watching to see all the other amazing Outdoor DIY Challenge projects, too!

Covered Patio to Outdoor Dining Room Transformation

First things first, every good after has to start with a before or two. When we bought the house:

 

After a long winter;

Cleaned off and ready to repair the concrete:

To help plan the space (and inspired by Dawn’s amazing virtual makeovers), I came up with a couple of Photoshop options. First I thought I’d try a dark wall since I’m really happy with it inside, for our fireplace, but ultimately I decided it was too boring for outside…

So we chose to match the bright green TEODORES chairs! (You might recognize the color from our wooden block art that hung here until we rearranged).

Painting the walls… We gave the left wall a couple coats of bright white paint and the back wall is a Glidden color called “Bright Teal Surprise” that we had color-matched to BEHR Ultra Exterior in satin. It’s the perfect name (surprise!) and I LOVE the color.  We are avid Disney fans and try to visit Disneyworld when possible and this bright color reminds me of Florida.  I could use a little more Florida in my life!

To see all the action of painting, installing, arranging, and decorating, check out the video, and if you want to see the after, well here you go! I’m so pleased with how the space came together.

Products we used in our patio space:

• ÄPPLARÖ  Drop-leaf table
• TEODORES Chairs (green)
• VIVAN  Curtains
• HUGAD Curtain rod
• BETYDLIG  Wall/ceiling bracket
• BJURSTA Wall-mounted drop-leaf table (x2)
• ASKHOLMEN  Trellis
• RAVENEA  Potted plant, Majesty palm
• MUSKOT  Plant pot
• REGOLIT  Pendant lamp shade
• LAPPLJUNG RUTA Rug
• TRILLING Poster
• FEJKA  Artificial potted plant, hanging
• FEJKA  Artificial potted plant, thyme
• FEJKA   Artificial potted plant, daisy
• MUSKOT  Plant pot
• PAPAJA Plant pot, turquoise
• PAPAJA  Plant pot, dark turquoise

The ÄPPLARÖ drop-leaf table gives plenty of space for our family or when we have friends or family over — we have 8 TEODORES chairs at the table, but we could fit one more in on each end for kiddos if we have a full house.

The white VIVAN curtains, which I hemmed to length and hung on a set of HUGAD rods with BETYDLIG brackets (see the video to see how we connected the shorter rods to be the length we needed), are such an affordable option to make this space feel really elegant and comfortable, and also give us great options for controlling the light as the sun sets. And I love the vibrant black and white of the LAPPLJUNG RUTA rug! It makes the fresh clean-slate painted concrete floor look that much better, in my opinion.

The REGOLIT pendant lamp shades are a great option for adding a large-scale element without being heavy or difficult to hang. And, bonus, they do a pretty good camouflage job on our not-yet-updated ceiling fan.

This view makes me SO happy! The RAVENEA Majesty palms (in MUSKOT pots) are perfect for adding to the Florida vibe.

The bright green TEODORES chairs are wonderful — bold and colorful for a statement, but pretty comfortable and easy to clean for real-world living.

The ASKHOLMEN trellis works double duty, adding a spot for some FEJKA plants for greenery while holding our SOMMAR 2018 BBQ spatula, fork, and tongs conveniently above the grill.

We added a black and white striped table runner, which really makes the white dishware, like our favorite classic white SOCKERÄRT pitcher, and turquoise/aqua accents pop in a fun modern way — the colorful SÖTVATTEN straws are always a favorite at our house, and the bright blue aqua of the SOMMAR 2018 tealight lantern is perfect for summer! Some trailing FEJKA plants add some greenery to the tablescape in the easiest way.

And the BJURSTA drop-down table makes the perfect outdoor serving bar — we actually used two together to create a longer bar area. Right now it’s loaded up with pretty FEJKA thyme, rosemary, and daisy plants in white MUSKOT and turquoise and dark turquoise PAPAJA pots and a the perfect miniature SOCKER watering can, but just imagine it all filled up with BBQ fixings or ice cream sundae toppings… THAT is summer! The super affordable FISKBO frames (watch for another project using those soon!) above the bar are holding the TRILLING shine bright print series, but they are so easy to swap out for a different print or even a menu for the meal, if we get to feeling a little fancy.

We are in love with our updated space and so excited to get plenty of use out of our covered patio this summer. We may never eat indoors again!

To see our last IKEA before-and-after, check out  our updated entry! And don’t forget to check out the other Outdoor DIY Challenge projects here, too: 

Get Out! Outdoor DIY Projects

Covered Patio Outdoor Dining Area | Remodelaholic
DIY Outdoor Bench | Hertoolbelt
How to Build a Gazebo (from a Kit) | The Palette Muse
Sunroom Makeover | Lantern Lane Designs
DIY Solar Walkway Lights | Toolbox Divas
Wooden Welcome Sign Wreath | Lemon Thistle
DIY Washer Toss Game | Everyday Party Magazine
Backyard Hammock Area  | North Country Nest
Easy Cinder Block Garden Planters | Our Crafty Mom
Funny DIY No Soliciting Sign | Leap of Faith Crafting
Simple DIY Tricks for a Covered Porch | Ugly Duckling House
Bistro Set Makeover | Practical & Pretty
Tiered Vertical Planter Garden | Creative Ramblings

 

• Products we used in our patio space:
  • ÄPPLARÖ  Drop-leaf table
  • TEODORES Chairs (green)
  • VIVAN  Curtains
  • HUGAD Curtain rod
  • BETYDLIG  Wall/ceiling bracket
  • BJURSTA Wall-mounted drop-leaf table (x2)
  • ASKHOLMEN  Trellis
  • RAVENEA  Potted plant, Majesty palm
  • MUSKOT  Plant pot
  • REGOLIT  Pendant lamp shade
  • LAPPLJUNG RUTA Rug
  • TRILLING Poster
  • FEJKA  Artificial potted plant, hanging
  • FEJKA  Artificial potted plant, thyme
  • FEJKA   Artificial potted plant, daisy
  • MUSKOT  Plant pot
  • PAPAJA Plant pot, turquoise
  • PAPAJA  Plant pot, dark turquoise

 

 

I am a Brand Ambassadör for IKEA U.S. This is a sponsored post.