Looking for outdoor, patio art/decor, to buy or DIY

March 17, 2021 11:28 AM

We have a medium sized patio that could use some art and/or décor. Looking for suggestions on where to shop or specific websites for DIY art/decor plans.

The space: medium sized rectangular stone patio with a wood fence (not painted, not interested in painting it) on 3 sides and the house on the other side. We have a fire pit and some chairs, a bbq, some storage deck boxes. We have a few planters, usually with flowers and a set of string lights on the fence. It feels well set up for furniture and lighting, but it’s a bit boring. I’d like to buy or make a few pieces to hang on the fence to add visual interest

I don’t like most of the décor I’m finding online as it seems to fall into these 3 three themes (none of which I personally enjoy): Margaritaville, Canadiana (moose, red plaid, canoes) or “Bless Our Home”.

If I had a pick a style descriptor for what I’m looking for it would be hipster (?) Fun patio at a laid back bar? Hope me. Where would you recommend I shop that will ship to Canada, or where do you get DIY plans/inspiration for outdoor art and/or décor? Note - Pinterest is a bit overwhelming for this, I find, and Etsy certainly has potential but again, has so many listings it's tricky to shop. I'm hoping for a more curated offering, to shop from.

posted by walkinginsunshine to Shopping (11 answers total)

My 2c: You can go cheap crappy metal, or expensive wood.

Almost all widely available metal patio furniture is really low quality stuff imported from the lowest bidder. I've never had a piece, regardless of price, that lasts longer than 3 years. I'm not sure your exact location, but I've had some luck with Lowe's, Home Depot, and Costco for these cheaper pieces. I've found what elevates them, rather than the piece itself, is what you do with it.

For our patio, we put up a trendy sun sail, with motion-activated fairy lights in a jar, along with hanging lights that are controllable via a light switch. In addition, we carefully picked out chair pillow colors and tableclothes to match the vibe.

If you aren't going the cheap metal import route, then I think the timeless approach is a standard wooden picnic table. You can then paint it whatever you want, and even match it to nearby wooden patio chairs. Wood tends to last quite a bit longer, but if the paint starts flecking off, then it looks pretty bad.
posted by bbqturtle at 12:22 PM on March 17, 2021

Up front, I am anti patio-art. Fairy lights at the most, and not by themselves. OK, maybe something pottery or painted and weatherproof...but added last.

For a bare patio (concrete up to the fence) I would start with trellis planters with some easy-maintenance plants that won't kudzu your backyard. Get planters both with seating and without. If the space isn't big enough for multiple "zones," or spaces people might group up, the planter seating can be one or two sides of a square around the firepit that is finished with your other furniture on the other sides. I do not recommend doing the plant-addict thing with 20 pots of various sizes jumbled in a corner and a spider plant with 12ft long runners.

In short: a perimeter of plants, then place the firepit, then decide on what planter space can be replaced with benches, then fill in the firepit area with some regular patio furniture.
posted by rhizome at 12:25 PM on March 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

A bar in my town has a ring-on-a-string game. Simple and fun.
More fairy lights, maybe larger patio LED lights.
Maybe a banner. Paper can last a season.
Nothing says hippies like prayer* flags. *These are part of Tibetan religious practice, please follow respectful practice. Or make something. If you are all craft-minded, this is a simple and fun thing to do.
Music - good Bluetooth speakers that can be kept charged.
A table that at least 4 people can eat at, play games.
Sun sail is an excellent idea.
Pots of plants - herbs, flowering annuals, tomatoes, whatever.
You could get some galvanized sheet steel and magnets, bolt to the fence, for posting temporary art, or paint some of it as chalkboard and let guests do the decorating. Works well to keep score for whatever games are being played.
Dartboard. My neighbors have a weekly bonfire, drink beer, smoke pot, and play darts; they seem to have a splendid time.
Check out bars that have patios; steal ideas.
Keep a ready supply of scrap wood for the fire pit, also a bunch of long metal forks for roasting sausages, (partially precooked) potatoes, marshmallows. I just heard of dipping strawberries into marshmallow fluff and roasting them, can't wait to try it.
Events are more important than decor. Have regular game nights and potlucks.
posted by theora55 at 12:30 PM on March 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

Also, shade is nice at certain times of the year, so if you're not married to the firepit you can get heater-umbrellas that you can install above one of those patio tables with a hole in the middle.
posted by rhizome at 12:32 PM on March 17, 2021

I usually find things at thrift stores, Craigslist, Nextdoor (online neighborhood social site) or stuff people put out in the alleys. It doesn't have to be meant for the garden. Any sort of metal or glazed clay thing that goes in the house can go outside. I have a metal bar chair that moves around the yard when I want height somewhere, sometimes it has a pot plant on it, sometimes not. Lots of people plant up bicycles. I like to tuck faces in among vining plants., my cousin has a collection of suns on her fence.
Garage sale season is coming up !
posted by BoscosMom at 4:21 PM on March 17, 2021

Maybe this will help...
posted by WalkerWestridge at 5:02 PM on March 17, 2021

A small fountain is nice! Either a wall hanging one or free standing; you can even just make your own with a pump, a container, and some rocks.
posted by The otter lady at 5:14 PM on March 17, 2021

One of the very nicest bar hipster patios I’ve ever been to had living wall sculptures, sort of like this. They did not look that great a couple of years on, as I think they needed more TLC than they were getting, but if the base wood sculpture was rustically pleasing, it’s something that could get re-planted in the spring or even faked out with plastic plants if you don’t object.

Here are some wood or tile ideas.

Many a diy art project has stemmed from figuring out some class of object you can acquire cheaply, and presenting them in a way that shouts “ART!” Bicycle gears come to mind; but I’ve seen old license plates, tin restaurant signage from early 20th century, frames and windowsills, porcelain plates, corks, copper pipe, driftwood, jello molds, etc. Here is a guide on grouping them!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2021

It's really easy to take a shower curtain and frame it for outside waterproof art. Since shower curtains come in all design styles, you can get something that suits you - I used an image of Yosemite to go along with my greenery-filled rustic-ish small urban backyard. It has faded after a few years outside, so I'll probably replace it with a new image this summer, but that's literally $30 and half an hour of work for a big piece of art.
posted by Jaclyn at 9:33 AM on March 18, 2021 [3 favorites]

theora55: I just heard of dipping strawberries into marshmallow fluff and roasting them, can't wait to try it.

Sweet s'more-making Jesus, warn me before you blow my mind like that!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:02 PM on March 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

Oh, how could I have forgotten that the low-key vibe of many a hipster hang space on my coast these last five years has been provided by Light Up Marquee Letters?!

A quick search of amazon.ca for outdoor versions maddeningly yielded a bunch that were not. But if you are moderately handy, tool equipped, and up for a challenge, seems you can fabricate your own!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 9:53 AM on March 22, 2021