Hello friends! Today Matt and I are sharing some DIY projects to jump start the patio season! Some are more involved, while others are simple and perfectly suited to the typical suburban backyard.
The two projects that stood out to me, and that I thought you'd enjoy and benefit from the most, are the tree bench and the fence post covers.
I got the idea for the tree bench from Pinterest and since we have an oddly shaped tree we decided to create a horseshoe shaped bench. Here is a look at the tree from the back. It is a big tree that provides good shade and atmosphere in the backyard. I was thinking a tree bench would take the park-like feeling to the next level as well as provide extra seating.
Here is a look at the tree from the front. This is the view we see out the large picture window in the living room. As you can see we have a new fence on the side and back which will make a great backdrop for the tree bench and any landscaping we decide to do.
And here is the view from under the back porch. I'd like to create some sort of pretty vignette to better blend the tree area with the patio and flower bed under the window.
Here is the rough sketch with some measurements that Matt drew out before getting started building the tree bench.
Matt begins with cutting the pieces for the bench legs, and then the seat boards.
Once the bench legs were built he set them roughly in place. I always get excited at this point since you can begin to see the project coming to life!
Once the seat boards were in place the bench was stable and ready for the apron boards to go across the front. The apron boards really made a big difference in the bench looking like a home done DIY project and a more polished park-like bench.
I love how this tree bench turned out! Matt does such good work. We decided to stain the bench and new fence the same color to give our yard a cohesive look.
What an amazing difference! I told Matt that it felt as if we had a brand-new back yard! Don't mind the looming pile behind the tree, that's the compost pile... it will shrink over time.
Once the tree bench was finished Matt & I agreed that the fence posts really stood out, and not in a good way, against the new fence. These fence covers were his solution. With the leftover fence pickets Matt screwed a pair of them together at right angles. Then he positioned the cover over the post and screwed it to the fence. The final touch was to stain the covers to match the fence.
The fence post covers were the finishing detail that made the fence look like a custom high-end fence. I don't even mind having the posts on our side of the fence now! I hope this post was inspiring and helpful!
