I like pretty places and pretty spaces…but I won’t spend a fortune to create them. You don’t have to either. Why spend $1000 on outdoor furniture, when you can put together a pretty space inexpensively?

I enjoy creating outdoor rooms, so that there are many places to sit and enjoy nature and the company of others, whether it be a large gathering or just a cozy spot for two. The most I have spent on one area is just $80. With a bit of resourcefulness and bargain hunting, it can be done for even less.

Bistro sets are a wonderful way to create an outdoor space without breaking the bank. They also don’t take up much room and can be folded for storage during the winter months. This set was bought on clearance for $40 at the end of the season. It was red and faded into the bricks, so I sprayed it blue. My hubby had some leftover Mopar blue engine paint from his 1973 Dodge restoration. He likes the color too! Now it really pops, which I love.

This bistro set was my first piece of outdoor furniture bought for our current home, Comfy Lane Cottage. I found it at Ross for a bargain price of about $78. It worked well with the red railings and brown trim of the house.

A couple of years later, I moved the bistro set into a special nook beside one of our gardens. It’s the perfect place for two!

While my kids were younger, this was one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy the gardens. My youngest and I would eat ice cream here during the summer months. This was home for 23 years, where I learned many tips and tricks to being frugal and still having a nice cozy home. The photo is old and the image quality poor, but hopefully this cozy cottage look makes up for it! One tip: inexpensive plastic furniture can go from boring to beautiful with the help of a $3 vinyl tablecloth.

I brought the plastic table to my current home and am still using it after all these years. Wooden chairs can be found at thrift stores for $5 to $10. A little spray paint helps to protect them from the rain. Again, an inexpensive tablecloth works magic on a simple plastic table. Flowers and homemade bunting add a little more color and festivity to the outdoor space, perfect for parties.

By changing the chairs from white to yellow ones, this outdoor room is given a fresh new look. These chairs are from ReStore, found on clearance for just $1. The old wooden window was free, found curbside, or as I fondly call it Curb to Cottage. The GATHER sign, painted on scrap wood, adds a bit of charm.

I like to decorate with the seasons and holidays, including outside. Here is another view of our plastic table that has been such a blessing. My husband had a stack of old ugly folding chairs in the garage. I borrowed some and gave them a bit of color for our backyard, using spray paint.

When my babe and I were married, the only piece of outdoor furniture that he owned was one of these tan reclining chairs on the deck. I came across a matching one at the grocery store on clearance for just $10! Now we have his and her chairs. Can you tell which one of us really likes bright colors?!!! If not, you’ll soon know!

Adirondack chairs are popular again, which makes them reasonably priced. These are wood, purchased unfinished for about $40 each and spray painted. They are also sold at a growing number of stores already painted. Plastic ones (resin) are also available and can add a pop of color to an outdoor area. I just saw resin Adirondack chairs in a variety of colors at Lowe’s for about $18. I bought these for my front yard landscaping, since I don’t have a big front porch. I moved them to the front last week, and replaced them with some really fun chairs, which you’ll see shortly. Now, they make our front area more friendly, in hopes that neighbors will take the hint!

Just one Adirondack tucked away in a cozy spot makes for a wonderful place to read and enjoy nature. It took me forever to paint my second chair, so I made good use of this one in our backyard! I like to read outside early in the mornings surrounded by birds, bees, flowers, and trees.

Metal chairs gathered together create a cozy space. These chairs were found curbside by a friend….FREE. They were green at the time, and we kept them green for years. After moving I painted them brown to match our home’s trim. That lasted for a few years, but my color loving heart yearned for red. Rustoleum’s Colonial Red was the perfect color. The little tables are from Five and Below…just $5. I’m looking forward to crisp fall evenings, when family will gather to roast marshmallows and celebrate October birthdays.

This whole area was an ugly space for several years. We had a burn barrel where the fire pit is located and a brush pile where our greenhouse now stands. We can still burn all those fallen limbs, but now we get to gather with family and friends as well. I like that the area is surrounded by little gardens. I added some pea gravel to cover the dirt; my hubby says it needs about 35 more bags. My frugality will try to get away with just 10 more! This has become my favorite place in our backyard….a summer sanctuary of sorts!

This metal framed bench has faux resin wicker. It was also bought on clearance. Its neutral color allows me to use a variety of pillows to celebrate the changing seasons. However, I’m thinking about painting it too! Speaking of summer sanctuaries, my daughter likes to sit out here and read in the summer afternoons. The wooden chair was found at the ReStore for just $1! I sprayed it red with some leftover paint. This is a covered area, so wooden furniture is protected. The brown metal chair is now red, which you just saw in our cool firepit area. I have the perfect old thrift store rocker to replace that chair!

I finally did it; I painted the resin bench Spa Blue! We already had the wicker table in a back room, just waiting for the right spot to be used. I think this is the place for it! It’s perfect for a backyard haven! Wouldn’t you agree?!

Our yard is a work in progress, so there is potential for a few more outdoor rooms. The one thing that I miss most from our last home is a red swing that hung from our front country porch. That is the next item on my list! I hope to hang one from the large old oak tree in our front yard. It will be a wonderful place to swing. There’s a cute little home across town that has one hanging out front. It has inspired me to do the same. Hopefully, you too have found some inspiration here for creating a cozy outdoor space that won’t cost a fortune.