Is your backyard in need of an overhaul? I’ll show how to makeover your backyard using these tips and tricks! I recently gave Cityline’s very own Amy Rosen her own backyard makeover. Everything used in this makeover can be found at HomeSense!

Before

Having spent a lot of time with Amy in her backyard I was desperate to give it an upgrade. She wanted something comfortable. Before she only had hard stools and Adirondack chairs making it hard to entertain.

The lounging space

A huge priority was comfort so instead of awkward stools we now have this incredible outdoor sofa perfect for gathering and lounging. You don’t have to exactly match colours, not every yellow or blue matches. My jumping off point for the design was this Original Rosen’s bun sign.

We took some of the aqua colours from the sign and the vintage vibes. I’ve used strong colours and patterns throughout as they tend to stand up tin bright sunlight. Beige gardens can easily be washed out. Then as a throughline, we used woven furniture and woven accessories, which really speaks to Amy’s retro style.

Dining area

I always prefer a more narrow table outdoors because it brings people closer together with seating on either side and preferably not at the ends. We were lucky that we found 8 matching chairs, but you don’t need to have them all match you can be more eclectic outdoors. Believe it or not this was my old indoor dining table that we’ve since painted it black to match the esthetic out here. This table is made of scaffolding planks, so it’s meant to look a bit worn and of course painted items outdoors will always need the occasional touch-up, but it’s meant to feel a bit more vintage.

Plants

This was already a pea gravel backyard because Amy needs something low maintenance. We did plant geraniums across this unique 10 pot planter that runs across the fence. It gives more pops of colour, while still being hard to kill. These geraniums are something to plant in your backyard if you don’t necessarily have a green thumb.