It all started with a stressful day, one fed up dog “mama” and a shovel…

What should’ve been a quick project, or rather a band aid, for our lawn destroyed by two huge pups…Turned into a week long project of; a few broken toes, half dozen trips to the Home Depot, two bottles of wine and several expletives.

However the end result has been amazing! We now have a  beautiful, water wise, (nearly) dog proof backyard…That we will never have to mow again!

Before we reveal some final pics, we have another great Ikea hack and our new pergola to share.

We originally wanted to build a pergola from redwood, but reigned our DIY dreams in and realized this project was big enough. We then started hunting for a prefab steel pergola (that was budget friendly). Sears seemed to have the best option for our dimensions…It was also free delivery and on sale! SCORE! (FYI-Last time I looked these pergolas are still available at the same price)

It comes in a box and was super easy to assemble with 3-4 people…We had only 2, a ladder, and several bungee cords. Without going into the gory details, just take our advice and bribe a few friends with beer and pizza before you attempt to assemble one of these on your own.

However we managed to get the steel beast up with only minor injuries…

The next part of the project was to “sew” a custom pergola canopy…And when I mean “sew” that’s code for hacking something from Ikea. In this case we found the Ikea Dyning balcony wind barriers. These are meant to line your balcony or deck railing, but because of their dimensions, and crisp white outdoor fabric they were perfect as a draped canopy. Also at only $12 each on summer clearance, they are cost effective compared to other ready made pergola canopies.

Super easy to install and drape, we will probably take them down at the end of each summer.

Now we finally have a cabana-esque, pergola ready for cocktails and summer BBQs… Our before and after pics…

BEFORE…

AFTER…

There are still several more backyard projects to do and little plants to grow, before we have those  “perfect” After pictures. However we couldn’t be happier with the progress we’ve made and money saved by putting in the labor now. We’re so excited to finally enjoy our low maintenance, dog proof yard. We also hope we inspired a few people to consider a lawn-free, water wise backyard. Cheers! 

To a Happy Summer and Happy Sunday everyone!