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Home » tutorial » "Summer Social" Guest Project — Simple Outdoor Decorating {bring your inside style…out}!!

tutorial · August 3, 2011

"Summer Social" Guest Project — Simple Outdoor Decorating {bring your inside style…out}!!

Tatertots & Jello is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Hi!  Shelley here, from The House of Smiths!
I’m SUPER excited to be guest posting over here on the good ol’ TT&;J blog! Jen and I are really close friends, and to say that she has kept me “sane” through this crazy roller coaster known as “the blog world” would be a complete understatement. We’re a perfect compliment as friends. Jen’s the calm, cool, collected girl…and I’m the wound up crazy (get you into just a liiiiittle bit of trouble) party chick………believe me, it works. ha!
Anywho, today I’m going to be sharing just a few tips and tricks about outdoor decorating on a budget! If you know me, then you KNOW I love decorating, but when it comes to the outside I get a little hesitant. Not because I don’t LOVE the way the outside of a beautifully manicured home looks, but because I live in a place (Utah) where we go through all 4 season and Winter seems to be the loooongest!
This makes it hard for me to justify weekend after weekend of time spent on flower beds and lots of money put into expensive decor. Believe ME, those things are still on my wishlist, but until then… here are a few sure-fire, budget friendly ways to “spruce up” the exterior of your home, by bringing inspiration from the indoors, out!
First things first:
Get Cleaning.
You honestly don’t realize HOW dusty and dirty your lighting fixtures, shutters, and doors are, until you start cleaning them. Once you have everything wiped down you can even go back with a fresh coat of spray paint if needed, to really freshen things up for just a few dollars.
I’ll be honest, we only do this about twice a year, but it definitely gives ANY house (new or old) a quick face lift.
Because nobody wants caked on dust and cracked, half-peeled-off-by-a-kid vinyl, greeting their guests.
🙁
Next:
Gussy up the yard.

A quick, simple, and inexpensive way to really liven up ANY yard is to add some contrasting color, and greenery. For us, this meant some cheap black bark, on sale flower boxes and decorative shrubs. We picked ours up at our local Walmart, and about $150 bucks later, we had a beautifully rich looking flower bed and some cute full planter boxes to boot! 
NOTE: before putting down ANY kind of bark, rock, or other flower bed covering, make sure that you line your planter bed with some sort of weed barrier. You will thank me later
🙂
My last tip is probably my most favorite:
Make your porch inviting for
visitors, using decor!
We don’t have a very large porch on our home, so I knew I couldn’t go crazy, but I still wanted to bring the elements of a “comfy” welcoming atmosphere into my small space. So we purchased a discounted floor model IKEA bench, some pillows from Home Goods, a second hand Target wreath from Salvation Army, and a $14.00 rug from Walmart into our porch area, to make for a more “homey” feel for our guests!
All of the decor was about $75.00.
So the grand total on our “Outdoor Spruce-Up” was about… $225.00 smack-a-roos!
Not bad!
If you’re looking to doll-up the outside of YOUR home but not break the bank while doing it, then start with these few tips and you’ll definitely be on your way to a more beautifully inviting home exterior, too!
🙂
Happy Summer!
Shelley!! Your house looks so good. 
I love how you make things look so expensive on a tight budget. 
Shelley is one of my best friends in real life. We have so much fun together! 
She is the queen of the one-armed photo shot (I don’t know how she does it)…
 
She has so much style!! 
{yes, her house is gorgeous IRL!!}
 {Gallery Picture Wall}
{We had a great time painting Chevron Rugs together}
{She has an adorable family}
{Check out her new Tutorial Page — you will be amazed at all of her awesome projects!!!}
If you don’t know House of Smiths — run over there and be inspired!!! 
xoxo
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!!!
PS — We are in the car right now on our way to BlogHer. Shelley is driving and she’s made a playlist for your trip – ha!


Posted By: Jen · In: tutorial

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Comments

  1. SweetSugarBelle says

    August 5, 2011 at 10:03 PM

    Jen, I absolutely loved loved this post! It made me oooooh, awe, AND smile all at once! Tanks for introducing me to Shelley!

  2. Kelli @ RTSM says

    August 5, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    I love the window boxes and that bench on her front porch is adorable!

  3. Kim M. says

    August 4, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    Love what Shelley did with the porch. Thanks for the inspiration–going to spice mine up a bit!

  4. Annabelle says

    August 4, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    I love Shelley and her family!

  5. The Blonde Duck says

    August 4, 2011 at 11:49 AM

    Jen, where have you been? I miss you!

  6. Diana says

    August 4, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    Wowza that outdoor spruce up was great!! I just love Shelly's blog & I'll have to start following yours now!!

  7. MiMi says

    August 3, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    Yep, I need to get my pressure washer out and spruce up my porch!

  8. Lil Mama Stuart says

    August 3, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    I already had Shelley's yard pinned before this post 😉

    Would LOVE to meet both of you in SD! I'm a newbie and dont' really know anyone (out of 3500, ha!) going! Hope we can arrange something!

    ~Mindy

  9. Carrie says

    August 3, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Adorable! Both Shelley and the outdoor spruce-up! This makes me miss my BFF so much, she lives 12 hours away. Maybe someday I can rope her into guest blogging, and real blogging, and then conferences…

  10. Forsythe says

    August 3, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Love you and Shelly. I wish I was in the car with you driving to San Diego. So much creativity in one place!

  11. Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com says

    August 3, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    LOVE both your sites and I hope you have a great time at BlogHER!! The flower box is wonderful! I have a large brick flower box and it is sadly empty…I just never got around to filling it!

  12. Sallie says

    August 3, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    Great tips! I want to head outside and get to work, but I'll wait until the temps are below 100. Maybe September!

  13. Kadbury says

    August 3, 2011 at 3:22 PM

    My house just caught a glimpse of the beautiful pictures of Shelly's house, and now my house is all jealous and sad 😉 I'm going to head over and check out Shelly's blog, it looks fabulous!

    ~Kristin

  14. kristincita says

    August 3, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    As a fire captain's wife I have to make a cautionary comment about mulch. Every year there are hundreds of mulch fires and the proximity to homes make them a real hazard. If not caught early the fire spreads from the mulch to the shrubs and to the home. High temperatures, lack of rainfall, bright sun exposure and wind can all contribute. It is recommended that you leave 18 inches between mulch beds and homes. This area could have crushed stone or another material that encourages drainage and discourages fire from spreading. Look at your mulch daily and if it looks dry, wet it down. Another alternative is cocoa beans which as a non-wood material, does not have the same burn hazard as wood bark mulch. Something to consider.

  15. { L } says

    August 3, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    I'm a Shelley fan too. 😉

    Excellent tips Shelley! I feel like going outside and getting to work lol. You're right…simple changes make a big difference. Thank you.

  16. House of Smiths says

    August 3, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    I LOVE YOU JEN!!!! 🙂
    ~Shell

  17. Two Shades of Pink says

    August 3, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    I totally stalk her blog! She is absolutely adorable and always makes me laugh! And her style amazes me always…everything turns out stunning! Loved this post!

Hi! I'm Jen Hadfield. I'm a mom of 5 restoring an 1891 home in the heart of Salt Lake City. I love being creative and sharing simple ideas to make your life easier and more beautiful!

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