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Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

I‘m really excited to complete a few simple weekend makeovers this summer!

Especially makeovers inspired by my desire to create meaningful and memorable family spaces for enjoying summer evenings!

This holiday weekend we got to fulfill a long time dream, a backyard fire pit for family nights! YAHOO!

Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

We had kind of a sad, lonely place for a fire pit though, with no landscaping whatsoever (unless you count the weeds, which I think should totally count as landscaping). It was not very inspiring, so it was time to get to work!

We had just a couple of hours to make this space fit for an informal party of “s’mores and fireworks” on the 4th of July.

Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

What do you need for a backyard oasis?

A cute outdoor pillow or two.

Outdoor chairs for sitting around the fire.

Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

A flag, a few planters with summer flowers,  a roaring fire in the new fire pit and all the ingredients for s’mores!

Well, and about 25 friends to celebrate with you.

Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

There is obviously more we can do to this space down the road, sooner rather than later we plan to add a rock or stone surface under the fire pit (safety first!).  Our long range plan for our backyard is for trees, trellises, more fencing and lot of plants! It is always fun (and a bit overwhelming) to have a nice blank slate to work with!

Even if you don’t have the ideal setting or budget yet for your dream backyard oasis, you can still create a memorable space for backyard fun with your family THIS summer.

Baby steps and simple makeovers are A-OK!

A fire pit, a few potted plants and some new chairs = a backyard makeover our family will remember for a lifetime.

Simple Backyard Makeover: Family Fire Pit

Thanks to my favorite backyard makeover destination Lowe’s for generously providing the following materials featured in this simple backyard makeover:

Woven chairs, bird & blue pillows, plants and fire pit.

 

More weekend makeovers to come!  I’m currently working on a front porch, a deck and a little potting area! Oh, and in case you are wondering (cause I know you all are) I’m still working on our bathroom and a couple of other spaces in my house. Yes, I am making progress on that bathroom, in spite of the lack of blog evidence. I promise.

Do you have a fire pit or a special outdoor space for family gatherings?

32 Comments

  1. Jennifer Spadaro

    very cute, i can see how having a blank slate would be overwhelming.But it looks like the perfect gathering spot already. Love the bird pillow!

    Reply
  2. Terry

    Love those pillows and what a great area for people to gather around. Makes me want some smores. :)

    Reply
  3. Fairfield House

    Melissa,

    Your week-end back yard make-over is lovely. I like the Adirondack style bench and decorative pillow. What a great place for friends and family to be less aware of time and more aware of the moment! We don’t have a fire pit but I do have a front porch, slate stone patio, pergola and gardens.
    This would make a great link party.

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

    Reply
  4. Fairfield House

    It’s odd that my last post link wasn’t included above.

    Reply
  5. Tauja

    Great post! So true that you don’t need a crazy budget to turn your outdoor space into your perfect entertaining area! We’ve slowly transformed ours using Goodwill finds & spray paint and we couldn’t be happier with the results!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Love being able to work on a space, over time, with creative finds! Can’t wait to watch my space evolve!

      Reply
  6. Sharon

    Hi Melissa!

    It’s amazing what you can do with just a few items to make it look so inviting. What stood out the most for me, however, is that everyone is dressed warm…:)! It has been in the 90’s here and we will probably not use our firepit until October! Where did you get that firepit? I absolutely LOVE it!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thanks! It is fun to see how just a few items can transform a space in such a short period of time. Can’t wait to work on it more, I’m sure we will love it this fall too! It is still a bit cool here in the evenings, as you can see but we are having a lovely sunny week!

      PS. I got the fire pit at Lowe’s!

      Reply
  7. Imperfect

    Love the outdoor space! I’m hoping we can have something like that in our backyard some day!

    Reply
  8. Missy June

    LOVE it. We did the same thing on the fourth – just not at my house. It was a delightful evening.

    Reply
  9. Mary Beth

    I love your makeover….my backyard used to be (notice the past tense there!)so nice…a pool, a deck, a swing….now it is a big MESS ~ The pool couldn’t handle the snow (winter of 2010) and had to be taken out…so the deck was the next to go….now I have wood everywhere and no idea what to do with it…plus a huge pit where the pool was….ahhh…I’ll just keep ignoring it…I’m sure the landscape fairy will stop by and take care of it…. ; )

    Reply
  10. Mindy

    How much do I love those pillows?!?! Too stinkin’ cute!

    Reply
  11. Tracy

    I’ve been feeling a little bit like I totally missed the boat on the yard projects because I didn’t get around to them back at the end April/beginning of May, like everyone else in the world, it seems. Glad to see you’re still going at it, and I plan to, too-gotta make the most of my summer vacation off from school!

    Reply
  12. JanMarie

    I love your new space! I’ve been working on my garden area for 8 years! My goal has been to create a cottage garden atmosphere. Living in Utah makes that a bit more challenging!
    We’ve built a white picket fence, table/benches and a picket fence bench all out of wood that someone was going to throw away! Free is a great price to do projects with!
    We have great shade provided by an umbrella like fir tree.
    Hmmm….I’ll have to do a post on this :) Creating a garden/hangout area on a budget can be alot of fun if you let your creativity take over!
    Have a great week!

    Reply
  13. Vee

    Yay, Lowe’s! What a nice spot and you guys really need such a place for all the hosting that you do. It looks great and like such fun!

    Reply
  14. Julie

    HI! I’m so excited that Kim over at Today’s Creative decided to feature you again today, while she’s away! I missed the last one and didn’t get a chance to “meet” you! I love your firepit area! I have a firepit that I pull into the middle of my yard, while I long to have this little back area all fixed up as a patio for the little guy! Can’t wait to see what you do with that area. You’ve gotten off to a good start though! Great to hear about another NW blogger, I’m over in Beaverton. Sounds like you moved out of the area, but still, nice to see the NW girls and their blogs! Enjoy your week!

    Reply
  15. Linda

    We love our pit area too! Smor’es are a favorite to make. THe kids got very nice metal Tiki torches for Dad on Father’s day. Slowly being made more beautiful but so enjoyable already!

    Reply
  16. Kelly

    I love those cute green pillows! We do not have a fire pit, but we do have a two level back deck that has plenty of room for family gatherings. We love to entertain and relax in our park-like backyard =)
    Thanks for all the inspiration!
    [email protected]

    Reply
  17. HollyG

    I think I might get my husband a firepit for Christmas – he would love it and you’re right we could start making family outdoor memories.

    Reply
  18. Gretchen

    I also bought a firepit from Lowe’s this weekend! It was prefect for making smores!

    Reply
  19. Sarah

    The weather in the UK isn’t really consistently warm enough to justify the expense of a permanent fire pit, unfortunately! We live in a Victorian terraced cottage and have a stone-flagged patio outside our back door before the garden properly starts.

    Last weekend it was sunny (hurrah!) and we bought a £5 barbeque which was surprisingly good and we had a fab party – much as I would love a fancier bbq, there really isn’t any justification…

    Reply
  20. diane streicher

    court!!

    Reply
  21. Cheryl

    They’re wearing jackets?? And sweaters?? In the summer time?? I want to live there!! Where is that? I am tired of triple digit heat with no rain in sight…

    Reply
  22. Amanda Eck-TheEckLife

    thats awesome! i’ve been wanting a fire pit too but had no clue where to put it. Love it that you just “made” a space for it! Love the pillow too!

    Reply
  23. susan

    It’s not set up yet like s many other things i’ve purchased on bigbigsale, but I have a camper fireplace, with steel mesh to keep dogsnoots out & a top to keep sparks in if I “retire” b4 it’s totally out–plus a wood handle&wheels to roll it to the concrete drive. Like many cities, there is no “open burning”–but from my police friends, keep a grill set & hotdogs or mooshmallows handy. Then it’s a BBQ. :) AnyWay–i want to get the arbor up&the raised beds planted&the big ol’windows out of daddy’s barn for one greenhouse end with coldboxes&windows for tops. He&I were gonna build one onto the south side of the barn&then his health failed worse than mine. So it’s his honor-greenhouse&arbor. Any leftover windows go to my eldest neph waaay out in the country for an appropriate part-treehouse,part fort for his 3boys, since AuntSuse cant build’em hay forts&mazes in GreatGramps’ barn like did for their daddy. :) Someday…and for all the right reasons.

    Reply
  24. susan

    Love it! Am dying to ask tho-have u tried the outdoor fabric&sewing tricks for pillow covers yet? And I just did a big ol’post with the freplace I found on sale&why it’s still stashed and ta-da! Disappearo! Sigh….not rewriting-but lotsa repurposing with stuff from the barn in honor of daddy&*his* plans–and my nephew is in on it too :)

    Reply
  25. Kristina

    Looks fraught with potential! What fun.

    Reply
  26. Lara

    Love it! We bought the same fire pit to replace our old rusty one and use it all the time! And how did I miss those ADORABLE pillows at Lowes?! I am outside Seattle and face the same challenges as you do…very small yard and little privacy. It’s so hard but I am trying to make it work. Thank you SO MUCH for all your wonderful inspiration!

    Reply
  27. gina

    wow! that bird pillow looks like some i bought on etsy from joop. I can’t believe you got it at lowe’s ! Sometimes it’s good to be reminded it’s the memories created that make the makeovers so fabulous!!!

    Reply
  28. Fiona's Mosaic

    We DO have a firepit on our back patio and we LOVE it! We use it a lot! The kids love it, we love it, and my folks come out and join us too. It’s great for family time. I keep smore makings in the cupboard all the time, and the kids friends join us often.

    I think it’s one of the best trends ever, and I’m not a trend follower at all.

    Reply
  29. franky

    Question about your yard…did you remove all the greens? If so, was it a long process?

    Reply

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