stencil | playhouse- Amazon | doormat- Target | chair (similar)- Home Depot | lanterns- IKEA | planters- IKEA | pillow (similar)- Target
Back in August when we moved into our new home I was on the hunt for creating a patio space that was cozy, comfortable, stylish, and beautiful! I wanted the kids to be able to run outside and love the space they had while Andrew and I being able to welcome guests and entertain, because we love doing so.
I started scrolling Pinterest for ideas when we were planning out our backyard design and landscape and after all that was done, I knew I needed to snag all the goodies to just bite the bullet and paint our covered patio concrete slab to really make the space unique and inviting. Bringing a little bit of the inside, out.
I came across this tutorial from Zevy Joy and snagged the stencil in September. Then it sat for 9 months. So Spring comes around and I keep telling Andrew I need to do it and then it hits 105 and I'm like... NOW. It's happening now. So with a fire up my behind because we are planning to get all our patio furniture from At Home in the next couple months, I knew I needed to get this accomplished before I got all those homey pieces to actually style the space and make it ours.
When I purchased all the supplies, I reached out to an epoxy company, read tutorials and asked a few painters we knew and they said as long as I had a good sealer, I was A-Okay using interior paint for the coverage. We shall see in time if that's going to work or not... ;)
Here's what we purchased
Behr interior flat paint in White, 2 gallons
Behr interior flat paint in Carbon, 1 gallon
9in roller paint brush + 5 foot attachment
Painter tray + liners
2in paint brush for edging
Slim 3in roller paint brush for stenciling
Blue painters tape for stenciling
STEP ONE
I started will taking everything off the porch and power washing the area. Get all the built up dirt and grim from the space and make sure you have a clean slate. This is essentially brand new concrete so we didn't have imperfections or cracking so we didn't need to patch or add extra steps making sure the concrete itself was in good shape.
STEP TWO
I jumped right in and started with a white coat. I trimmed the edges first and then rolled the interior of the space and did two coats this way.
STEP THREE
Stenciling! I opted for the largest sizing available in the stencil and it was perfect. I taped 3 of the four sides when lining it up and roller the black paint with the smaller roller brush then. I didn't wait for each section to dry - I just continually went in a horizontal row all the way across then bumped back over to the next row on the bottom left, where I originally started the upper row.
Whew! I hope that makes sense.
STEP FOUR
Dry time. Let it dry about 24 hours to ensure it's good to go before adding your sealant. While I need to get back to y'all on that part, all we have applied up to this point is a spray can Outdoor Paint sealant recommended to us from an employee at Home Depot.
Again though, I'll be going back and sealing this heavily with an epoxy type clear finish.
Overall, the project took me about 4 hours on a 12' x 6' space and was so easy to do. The stencil is laid out to line up everything evenly so applying it was so simple. I didn't care for little smudges or imperfections because it's a space I'd like to have character. The whole idea of this "tile" look is rustic and very old world to me, so it's second nature to have those little areas adding character.
I looooove how it all came together and can't wait to actually get the furniture we envision in July. It's on our list to get around Andrew's birthday as a splurge!
So what do ya think? Was the DIY worth it? Or would you opt for just tiling the space and calling it good. I'm personally all into house projects lately to put our touch on the home and give it good appeal for resale so it stands out!
the outcome
