Nesting With Grace

by Brooke Christen

11 Backyard Gems in My Sister’s Backyard-Most are DIY’s!

July 1, 2025

My sister has a great backyard! Lots of trees, comfortable places to sit and a fun play area. She loves hosting and we love being there! Sharing all the things that we enjoy in her backyard. I love how the majority of items are DIY’d, fun to show how you can create a beautiful space on a budget!

Pergola

Everyone’s favorite part of the backyard…the pergola! They planted a purple clematis and grapevine grew with it, basically taking over. For sure grew a lot faster and more full than her flowering vine would have. The shade is so nice and the green is so pretty, it also helps with a little rain protection. For that full ambiance effect, we hung Edison outdoor light bulbs. We think it’s really lovely!

Her husband built the pergola about 15 years ago. They said they wished they would have used better wood and stained another color, but at the time this was what they could make happen. Overall happy with how long it has held up.

Backyard Finds-

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Lots Of Seating

So nice to have plenty of places for friends and family to get comfortable and hang out. We just replaced her old sectional with this wicker back large sectional. Really cute and comfortable! You can move around the armless chair to whatever side you want longer.

I also placed 2 of the same chairs (HERE is another option) on the other end of the patio to connect both spaces. And peep the little shaded sitting area by the garden. Adirondack chairs are really so comfortable and hold up so well. They can sit and watch the kids play or just relax in a nice cool spot.

Curtains and Umbrellas for Shade

For the most part her pergola is shaded nicely, but afternoons can get pretty hot with the sun shining through. Decided curtains (we used these on my sister’s porch) would be the perfect solution. Plus, with how tall her pergola is it really made the space feel so cozy and connected. We used this curtain rod and added this metal plate under the bracket to hold the weight of the curtains.

They can also close the curtains and watch outdoor movies from the comfort of the outdoor sectional and chairs.

We love these vintage style pagoda umbrellas. There are two, on both ends of her patio.

Hosting Favorites

Brittany has this permanent spot to serve items from. It’s actually a potting table but the perfect spot to display food! Like her yummy Biscoff cookie butter cake in this cake stand.

Great place to store pots and flowers when not using to entertain.

A nice drink station. I have a rolling cooler too and they are really nice and functional to have. Whether to store drinks so kids don’t have to keep coming inside during the summer for water or a nice designated spot for parties. They look so cute too!

Garden

Like us, they basically have a salsa garden. They also DIY’d these planter boxes. They also have a drip system set up stop water the garden boxes, that helps a lot! Another potting table to help keep garden things organized, like her garden markers. Love the dish rack for pot saucers.

Fire Pit

They built their fire pit a few years ago, it is a gas fire pit and is the perfect place to gather! They hired someone to run the gas line then her husband built it very simply with large outdoor pavers and fill with white lava rocks.

Our favorite s’more recipes here. My sister loves the lemon custard s’more most too!

Playhouse

We just gave this darling playhouse a makeover. They built it over 15 years ago! It’s fun that the playhouse is raised, and feels like a fort or treehouse.

It has a slide off the side and a door in the back that latches from the outside (so littles don’t fall out) that opens to monkey bars and climbing wall. A favorite place for the kids to play! Get the playhouse details here.

Kids Play Area

They wanted to keep all the play toys in one area. They didn’t want to move stuff around every time they mowed. In her play area is a trampoline, swings, monkey bars, climbing wall, and a new addition of a rock creek. Her boys were constantly making muddy rivers and so they decided to make a big permanent one they had more control over (no mud). There is a switch on the hose that turns the creek on, the water runs under the bridge (by way of pvc pipe) and to the other side. Flowers and larger rocks border the creek.

They have an above ground trampoline with enclosure. The kids love that in the summer they can put a sprinkler under it to cool off.

Big Swing Set // Wiffle Ball and Bat // Wffle Ball Strike Zone // Adirondack Chairs // Bucket Golf // 14 ft. Trampoline

Grass for Yard Games

Their summer night games consist of playing wiffle ball or bucket golf. Bucket Golf is pretty awesome, you can use the clubs it comes with or your own golf clubs. But basically it’s really fun to set up a course in your backyard!

With competitive boys, they insist there needs to be a wiffle ball target so there is no confusion if the batter strikes out or not, ha! Of course her husband made one, but you can also buy them.

Wiffle ball is great for small backyards, the ball doesn’t travel too far! If they do hit some home runs, their neighbors are really good about throwing the balls back when they find them.

We hope this gave you ideas on how to customize and enjoy your space!

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