Outdoor entertaining area with built-in seating

[DJC]

A new outdoor entertaining area with built-in seating and paving. 

• The project
• Steps
• Tools and materials
• How to give your garden a makeover
• More inspiration for your garden makeover project

 

The project

We moved into our coastal home surrounded by the Royal National Park in 2018. The backyard is a perfect size for us but desperately needed updating plus the removal of an ugly pond which attracted Red-bellied black snakes. 

We’ve also been renovating the back of the house and wanted a cohesive coastal look and feel.

Steps

Step 1

Removed the original back garden and pond.

Step 2

Using French pattern travertine pavers, paved an area 7m x 3m and glued pavers on the wall of the garden bed. 

 

Step 3

I decided to increase the height of the garden bed to construct seating and a table, as we are exposed to 100km winds and the furniture we were looking at would blow away. 

Spray painted the Colorbond fence white.

 

Step 4

Using James Hardie Axon panelling, I cladded all the Besser blocks and painted it white using Dulux Weathershield. 

 

Step 5

Using travertine tiles in the French pattern, I glued them onto blueboard. 

 

Step 6

Constructed additional seating, hung doors, and planted murrayas in the garden beds. 

 

Step 7

I put it all together, bought a large umbrella, weatherproof cushions and beautiful gold lanterns. When the murrayas grow tall, we’ll put solar lights in the trees in summer. 

 

Tools and materials

Tools and materials used in the project:

• James Hardie 2450 x 1200 x 9mm smooth cladding
  
  
• Dulux Weathershield paint
  
  
• Travertine natural stone pavers
  
  
• Brighton masonry 390 x 190 x 190mm Besser block
  
  
• Adabri masonry 400 x 200 x 190mm Standard Versaloc
  
  
• Selleys Liquid Nails 20 pack.

How to give your garden a makeover

Experienced Workshop member Adam has outlined How to give your garden a makeover, covering everything to consider and how to avoid potential problems.

More inspiration for your garden makeover project

Community member TaylerMayd got rid of a muddy backyard area by installing travertine pavers and a gravel garden path.

Workshop member Ben replaced a sloping backyard with strategically placed sleepers to make level entertaining areas in his backyard makeover.

Get more ideas from Bunnings Workshop community members in our Top 10 most popular garden makeovers.