Backyard Makeover Reveal

If you’re new here, stop and check out the reveal of the front of the home at Flip 5. With simple & effective changes, it completely transformed the curb appeal on the front of the home! But the backyard also received several updates, and I love how it made the backyard seem larger! When addressing a curb appeal makeover, don’t neglect the backyard makeover! Most people spend their time in their backyards, so it’s essential it’s an extension of the living space!

There were a lot of items to address in the backyard makeover! And I broke it up in several weekend projects or saved up to hire someone to do the work. The backyard makeover included:

Cutting down trees
Removing a chicken wire DIY fence
Removing grove of overgrown saplings & shrubs
Add a raised garden bed
Plant grass seed & patch
Add a French drain
Transform the Airbnb exterior
Add a fire pit sitting area
Mulch around trees

Removing Overgrown Saplings

While I could have done this myself, it would have taken a lot of time & energy! Instead, I hired someone with a backhoe for $300, and they had the saplings raised in a few hours! They also used the backhoe to remove the chicken wire fence and all of the posts cemented in the ground. Removing posts in cement and overgrown saplings can be pretty labor intensive, so I was more than thrilled to just write a check and have it done in a few hours!

This fenced in grove of saplings really reduced the size of the yard. By removing it, it made the yard seem so much larger! For $300, I got a lot of bang for my buck on this project!

Adding A Fire Pit Area

Once I got the sapling area removed, I wanted to make that a functional part of the yard. I used my curbside Adirondack chairs (see the easy tutorial I did for staining chairs in minutes here) and picked up a clearance fire pit. I mean just look at the view! Way better than staring at a grove of trees! And, no, the property line doesn’t extend that entire way. It’s a dedicated green space that provides great views & privacy– without any of the upkeep!

Planting Grass Seed

Once the saplings were removed, that area was a major mud pit. There was no grass, and the area is shaded, so it was difficult to get it looking lush & green. I used Lavender Longshot’s grass patch recipe which worked extremely well!

Within a week of adding the grass patch recipe, grass sprouts were visible! Within a month, it was full & ready for mowing! The photo with the Adirondack chairs was within 2.5 months of adding the recipe, & it looks so lush & green!

Add Landscaping

I chose to add vibrant annuals in various planters to add some color to the backyard. And after cutting down the dead tree in the middle of the backyard (which exposed a healthy sapling which I kept), I added fresh mulch.

Spruce Up The Exterior Of The Home

You can add all the pretty flowers and mulch you want, but if you don’t address the exterior of the home, then it gets lost. Swapping out the old red windows for the new, energy efficient windows significantly improved the appearance of the home! (Psst: I shared how I saved $17,000 on those windows here). But the largest sprucing up project was overhauling the exterior of the Airbnb with Home Depot. That adorable striped awning and crisp black doors add so much charm!