My tips on making a patio makeover easier

For those of you who didn’t know, a few years ago my husband embarked on helping to find a multi-generational home with his mom and brother. Living in Toronto, it took some time, but with the help of an amazing real estate agent, they found a condo in the Jane & Eglinton area. While the building was quite ordinary from the outside, the interior has been renovated to perfection and it was a fit!

A few years later, during a visit to the city, we sat in the living room chatting and I looked out onto a 12 x 12 balcony that had been mostly unused. That’s when I decided it was time to transform the space into the outdoor oasis the family deserved, and today I wanted to share exactly how I did that!

Facing north west, the outdoor space was a blank canvas to play with – literally. So it was time to start hunting for the right outdoor decor that my mother-in-law and brother-in-law would love to enjoy.

Taking measurements is absolutely necessary before ordering anything because patio furniture can be quite large – and you wouldn’t want things to not fit and have to return them unnecessarily if you don’t have to. The old adage of measure twice, cut once, kind of applies here too. Just swap cut for *add to cart* – same thing!

We’ve been fans of Lowe’s Canada for years, and so when I landed on their website, I was impressed with the options and the affordability of the items I was seeing. While we wanted to make sure the space was beautiful, it had to make sense on a budget as well as I’m sure many of you understand. For Patio Seating options, we landed on the Allen and Roth Hazelview set made of black resin wicker. Ample seating for us all, sturdy to survive Canadian seasons, and heavy enough to not blow around on the 24th floor, we all loved it!

Now, the plan was to surprise the family during another more recent visit and have it delivered using the Lowe’s Canada easy to navigate delivery options. What I wasn’t expecting was that the box wouldn’t fit in the service elevator, which ended up being a hilarious situation with an easy fix. Nothing a resourceful person like me couldn’t figure out – once I got the items out of the box and into the elevator, out of the elevator and into the condo, it was time to start assembling!

You’ll be able to watch the full tranformation on my Insta account in the next few days, but for now I’ll share some of the additional items that caught my eye in order to deck out our deck.

The family all have green thumbs, and so it was important to create an oasis with plants. Obviously Lowe’s Canada has amazing garden centres set up during gardening season, and it was a one stop shop for soil, plants, watering cans and inspiration for future years outside. A few items we picked up are linked below to help give you a laundry list of what we bought and how you can get yours too!

Storage Shed

https://www.lowes.ca/product/wood-storage-sheds/outdoor-living-today-4-ft-x-2-ft-cedar-garden-chalet-gc42-330619507

Planters:

https://www.lowes.ca/product/pots-planters/assorted-28-in-tall-rattan-wicker-planter-701899

Plants & Flowers:

https://www.lowes.ca/product/shrubs/1-gal-globe-cedar-94895

We also picked up some beautiful pollinator friendly flowers that will bloom over the summer. The space itself feels homey, feels full of love and feels important now and not just a forgotten space. I encourage you all in a position where you could use a refresh or redo of your outdoor space to check out the Lowe’s Canada website for yourselves. There’s still a few things I hope to pick up, including an outdoor area rug and some metal trellis to put behind the seating, but I LOVE the way the space is looking and feeling.

I hope that this post helps to inspire your own deck out your deck revival. I know that many of us don’t realize the importance of an outdoor space to rest and recharge our minds until we put the time into it, so take this as your sign.

Photos: Lowe’s Canada, Daniel Reyes Cocka and participating brands 

Don’t forget to be kind & laugh a little more this year 

Daniel Reyes Cocka xo 

*Please note that this may be a sponsored post and promotional consideration may have been offered by participating brands – our disclosure can be found at all times by clicking here.