Our Backyard #SearsPatio Makeover #CBias

Our backyard has not gone through the kind of makeover the inside of our house has.  Every room in the house has been painted at least once, we’ve laid new floors, replaced cabinets, even added on.  Meanwhile, the patio sits there, sadly in need of some TLC.


Jay and I have been saying how much we would love to be able to just hang out on the patio once the sun has gone down, it’s cooled off, and LJ is in bed.  It really is the perfect date spot – cheap, no sitter required, and the commute is really short!  We have so few months where you can enjoy being outside here, we really want to take advantage of them when we can.


We don’t spend much time on the patio for a few reasons.  First, we don’t have any place to sit or to rest a drink or plate full of food.  We threw a party last year and dragged out TV tables for folks to rest their food on – embarrassing! 


Second, we don’t really have much to do out there.  You can sit in the dark, I guess, but that gets old fast.  If you turn on the flood lights, it a lot like being at a police interrogation.  We need some mood lighting!  


Third, we took an over grown tree down last year (as well as some of the bushes that surrounded it) and it left a giant dirt patch.  We have been debating whether to plant grass there in the fall or to extend the patio out some more.  Either way, it’s not very pretty to look at now!

Yes, this is our sad patio and ugly dirt patch. (Last year I used the dirt patch to grow squash, but it was still an eyesore!)

When we were given the opportunity to spruce up our patio and make it a place Jay and I might actually want to hang out in the evenings, we were super excited to get to work!  We started out by peeking at what we had to choose from via the online Sears Outdoor Catalog.

We found lots of possibilities in the catalog.  My problem was that we needed to stick to a budget and I found about $4,000 worth of stuff I would love to add to our backyard!


I really want one of these gazebo type of shelters.  Our patio is in direct sunlight for most of the day and it really is too hot to enjoy.  Right now, we need to have someone come out and level our concrete as some has sunk a bit and this wouldn’t be able to sit flat.  But I do see one of these in our near future!

We decided we wanted to get a set that would allow us to sit and have a drink or a bite together, a fire pit so that we could have a romantic fire (or roast marshmallows while LJ was still up) and maybe a little something extra for the whole family to enjoy.


We headed out to our local Sears and wandered over to the Outdoor Living department.  The selection was a lot smaller than in the catalog, but we still found lots of things to look at.  To see all we had to choose from, check out our shopping trip here.


We looked around and spent a lot of time trying to decide on just what to get.  We finally decided on a fire pit, a bistro table and chairs, and a pool.  Yep – a pool!!  The 15 foot one looked like it would fill in that big dirt patch just perfectly.  And what could be a better date that floating around on a hot night sipping a frozen drink under the stars??

This was the lowest price around for this model – we price checked it on our iPhones!

I really liked the simplicity of this set – and the pop of color sealed the deal!

Doesn’t it look perfect here???

So are you ready to see the whole transformation??

Ta da!!! We have a cozy place to snuggle up and make s’mores (well, if the burn ban ever gets lifted…we have a bit of a drought going on), a place to sit and enjoy a bite to eat or a drink, and a pool to cool off in.

Just to give you another perspective:

We’re pretty happy with it – what do you think??

If your patio, deck, or other outdoor space is also in the need of a little spruce up, be sure to connect with Sears via Twitter, Facebook, Shop Your Way Rewards on Twitter, the Sears Style Hub, and your local Sears Ad!

And if you get into your local Sears this week, you can get free in-store assembly on all gas grills (including the stainless steel Kenmore 4 burner one you’ll see featured in the 6/23 circular!) and save $300 on the GORGEOUS Garden Oasis Cameron 7 pc dining set!

Feeling lucky? Win BIG this Summer in the #GrillingIsHappiness Facebook sweepstakes (6/1 thru 7/7)!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears. #CBias #SocialFabric