DIY Backyard Solutions That Will Bring New Life To It Home Decoration Home Garden Home Improvement by James Burbank - February 5, 2015 DIY Backyard Solutions That Will Bring New Life To It Hanging out in the backyard and doing little DIY projects on your own or with the help of your family is a healthy, exciting and creative way to spend your free time. On top of all that, you end up with details that will truly transform your backyard from a simple patch of dirt into something special, a space that you will be proud of and where everyone will love spending their time. Here are just a few ideas anyone can do. Image – Flickr Creative Commons Painting the patio Most of us have at least an area in our backyard with a patio and in most cases, these are weather-worn and time-worn areas that look like concrete slabs more than anything else. So, why not bring a little color to them. You don’t even have to buy new paint. Look around your garage, you are bound to have some paint left from your painting jobs. Ask your friends. If you have a patio with designs, for instance squares, just do a few of them in different colors. You won’t believe how great it will look. Build a massive backyard xylophone This is another truly easy backyard project that anyone can sink their teeth into and that will knock everyone off their feet. Especially the kids, yours and your friends’. All you need are two pieces of rope, some wooden boards that you can get by recycling packaging wooden pallets and some paint. String the ropes between two poles of some kind and then staple the wooden boards to them, making them look and sound like a xylophone. Kids go literally bonkers for these. Image – cozymadethings.blogspot.com Glowing orbs all around you You know those opaque glass shades that used to be so popular in bathrooms? You may have a few lying somewhere or you can buy a half a dozen at any garage sale without spending more than a few bucks. You then run the electricity through the ground and install them all over the backyard. When you turn them on in the evenings and during the night, you will get an effect that will turn your backyard into a land of magic. Using cinderblocks as flower boxes Every house-owner has a bunch of cinderblocks somewhere on their property, unused, ugly things that you just do not get rid of for some reason. Well, the good news is that you can put these to good use by painting them in crazy colors, filling them with soil and using them as flower boxes. You will not believe how great these look. Image – http://www.juxtapost.com DIY concrete stepping stones with leaf design All you need for these is a large, hard leaf of some plant, e.g. rhubarb and some concrete mix. You simply pour the concrete mix onto the leaf and leave it to set. Once it is hard, you simply take off the leaf and the extra concrete around it and you are left with stepping stones that will have the unique look and that will have cost you pennies. More detailed instructions can be found here.