41 Cool DIYs to Get Your Backyard Ready for Summer

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Ready for summer? If you also love spending time outdoors at home, then you will want to check out this awesome list of DIY ideas for your yard. Make your backyard better than ever with these fun ideas for games, seating, pots and planters, games, entertainment and refreshment centers. Cheap and inexpensive ideas for those on a budget, crafty and clever ideas you will want on your porch, fun yard games to entertain both kids and adults alike. Make some of these awesome projects this weekend and start enjoying your backyard like never before.

1. DIY Poolside Bar with Wood Slats

Simple Made Pretty

DIY Poolside Bar with Wood Slats, a backyard project idea, and a great fix using stuff you already have on a shelf — A stained wood slat bar built for the pool deck. (Image credit: Simple Made Pretty)

This bar is built from 2x4s and 1×3 slats with a plywood top, so it costs a fraction of what an outdoor bar runs in stores. Have the lumber cut at the hardware store and the whole thing comes together in a weekend. Stain it and seal it with an exterior polyurethane and it will handle sun and pool splashes all summer long. Add a couple of stools and a mini fridge and you have a real setup.

2. DIY Backyard Movie Screen

diyforlife

DIY Backyard Movie Screen, simple to scale to fit almost any space and proof a small touch makes a big difference

3. DIY Day Bed

apprenticeextrover

DIY Day Bed, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a great fix using stuff you already have on a shelf

4. Make a Log Lounger

homemade-modern

Make a Log Lounger, a backyard project idea, simple enough for a first try and a satisfying finish for not much work

5. DIY Neon Ring Toss Game

Crafts by Amanda

DIY Neon Ring Toss Game, simple to scale to fit almost any space and worth bookmarking for your next project list — Three neon rings in orange, green and pink scattered around an upright highlighter-yellow stick on the lawn, bright enough that no throw ever goes missing. (Image credit: Crafts by Amanda)

A neon ring toss game for the yard, made with three 6-inch floral craft rings from Michaels and one paint stir stick. You paint every piece white first, because neon paint sulks without a white base coat, then the stick goes neon yellow and the rings get one color each in pink, green and orange, with a coat of matte varnish at the end to keep the whole set looking loud through cookout season. I love that Amanda skips paper plates on purpose, since they’re too light to throw outdoors, and these rings have just enough heft to actually reach the stick (the neon isn’t only for fun, it’s so you can find the rings in the grass afterward). She had hers done in time for the 4th of July, and Crafts by Amanda spells out which color goes on which ring so you can too.

thehappyscraps

Hello Summer Banner Board, simple to scale to fit almost any space and proof a small touch makes a big difference

7. Build a Simple Treehouse

apartmenttherapy

Build a Simple Treehouse, a backyard project idea, doable even on a tight timeline and a satisfying finish for not much work

8. Green Roof Birdhouse

gardentherapy

Green Roof Birdhouse, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

9. Backyard Getaway DIY Hammock

missloviecreations

Backyard Getaway DIY Hammock, quick to put together in an afternoon and a clever way to use what you already own

10. DIY Wine Bottle Tiki Torch

armchairsommelier

DIY Wine Bottle Tiki Torch, a backyard project idea, simple enough for a first try and a satisfying finish for not much work

8. How to Build a Washer’s Game (video)

9. Outdoor Swinging Bed

runtoradiance

Outdoor Swinging Bed, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

10. Romantically Rustic DIY Backyard Lighting

Sueeye

Romantically Rustic DIY Backyard Lighting, flexible enough to adjust as you go and an idea worth saving for later

12. Outdoor Tic Tac Toe Game for Summer

designdininganddiapers

Outdoor Tic Tac Toe Game for Summer, a backyard project idea, and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

13. DIY Patio Table with Built-in Beer/Wine Coolers

domesticated-engineer

DIY Patio Table with Built-in Beer/Wine Coolers, simple enough for a first try and an idea worth saving for later

14. DIY Outdoor Storage Bench

Sueeye

16. Mini Charcoal Grill Trio Centerpiece

hwtm

Mini Charcoal Grill Trio Centerpiece, a backyard project idea, and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

17. Foot Washing Station

sisterhoodofthesensiblemoms

Foot Washing Station, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

18. Budget Patio Makeover

Blesser House
Budget Patio Makeover, quick to put together in an afternoon and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

Seven budget ideas that add real life to a small outdoor space, and every one of them works for renters, which I appreciate enormously. A few smart layers genuinely transform a patio. Bless’er House has the whole list.

19. Hanging Beach Lanterns

creatingwonderfulspaces

Hanging Beach Lanterns, a backyard project idea, simple enough for a first try and a satisfying finish for not much work

20. Terra Cotta Pot Table

dukesandduchesses

Terra Cotta Pot Table, quick to put together in an afternoon and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

21. Terra Cotta S’mores Pit

smartschoolhouse

Terra Cotta S'mores Pit, simple to scale to fit almost any space and worth bookmarking for your next project list

22. Outdoor Lighting with a Solar Chandelier

divaofdiy

Outdoor Lighting with a Solar Chandelier, flexible enough to adjust as you go and an idea worth saving for later

23. Beach Towel and Bathing Suit Rack

thesummeryumbrella

Beach Towel and Bathing Suit Rack, a backyard project idea, and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

24. Backyard Mirror Duo

thebrambleberrycottage

Backyard Mirror Duo, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

25. DIY Beaded Wind Chime

One Little Project

DIY Beaded Wind Chime, quick to put together in an afternoon and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished — Six color-sorted bead strands hanging from a driftwood stick, each one finished with a jingle bell that rings in the breeze. (Image credit: One Little Project)

The main supply is probably already in your backyard: a fallen stick about 14 inches long. The rest is fishing line, a pile of beads and a jingle bell to anchor the bottom of every strand (buying jingle bells in July is ridiculous, and worth it). Use fishing line instead of string. It holds a double knot and it is stiff enough to push beads on without a needle. Stagger the strands, 15 inches, 12 and 11, so the colors hang in a curve instead of a flat row. Glass beads scatter light across the porch, so you get a suncatcher that jingles. Kids can string beads all afternoon. You handle the knots. Debbie Chapman walks through every measurement and the twine wrap over at One Little Project.

26. Build a Modern Swingset

apartmenttherapy

Build a Modern Swingset, a backyard project idea, simple enough for a first try and a satisfying finish for not much work

27. DIY Fire Pit Area with Pea Gravel

The Turquoise Home

DIY Fire Pit Area with Pea Gravel, flexible enough to adjust as you go and a satisfying finish for not much work — A pea gravel fire pit ringed with flagstone and string lights. (Image credit: The Turquoise Home)

Mark out your circle, clear the grass, then lay landscaping fabric before a single bag of gravel goes down. That fabric is the step people skip and it is the one that keeps weeds from pushing up through the rock later. A flagstone border holds the edge, pea gravel fills the middle and a ring of chairs turns it into the spot everyone ends up. It is a full weekend of work but it changes how you use the yard.

28. Build a Pergola Right in Your Backyard

popularmechanics

Build a Pergola Right in Your Backyard, quick to put together in an afternoon and an idea worth saving for later

29. Five-Minute Butterfly Feeder

Garden Therapy
Five-Minute Butterfly Feeder, a backyard project idea, and a great fix using stuff you already have on a shelf

Five minutes and a few beads gets you a feeder that brings butterflies into the yard. I love a project that pays me back in pollinators. Garden Therapy has the how to.

30. Mason Jar Lanterns

orchardgirls

31. Chalk Painted Patio Table

Artsy Chicks Rule
Chalk Painted Patio Table, simple to scale to fit almost any space and proof a small touch makes a big difference

A wonky, wobbly, very weathered table rescued with chalk paint, which is the fastest way I know to bring outdoor furniture back from the dead. I have done this to two of mine now. Artsy Chicks Rule has the process.

32. DIY Waterfall and Pond

ohmy-creative

DIY Waterfall and Pond, a backyard project idea, simple enough for a first try and a satisfying finish for not much work

33. DIY Mailbox Planters

secondchancetodream

DIY Mailbox Planters, simple to scale to fit almost any space and a nice way to make a plain corner feel finished

34. DIY Outdoor Side Table

Do Dodson Designs

DIY Outdoor Side Table, simple to scale to fit almost any space and worth bookmarking for your next project list — A black-painted 2×4 base under a natural wood top, sized for a coffee cup and a book beside your porch chair. (Image credit: Do Dodson Designs)

Sixteen pieces of 2×4 and not one tricky cut among them. Eight boards at 20 inches, eight at 9 inches and a 12 by 12 inch hardwood square for the top, which makes it a great first build. Pre-drill your pilot holes though, because pressure-treated lumber splits when you rush it, and a cracked leg is a sad thing to look at all summer. The finish is the part I would copy exactly: a wash of half paint and half water on the top, with the wood misted first so the color soaks in evenly instead of going blotchy. Screws drive up from underneath, so the top stays clean under your coffee cup. Grab the exact cut list from Do Dodson Designs before you fire up the miter saw.