Grape Arbor Gazebo Makeover

The grape arbor gazebo has been a work in progress for years. DIY takes patience sometimes, my friends. Especially when you’re working as time and money allow. I can’t tell you how GOOD it feels to have it complete!Grape Arbor Gazebo Makeover

Let’s start at the beginning. When we purchased our home, we loved the grape arbor’s size and maturity.

 grape arbor before

See those poles? Very, very rustic and home to some critters even…hello!chipmunk

As much as I love rustic and as cute as it looks in the picture below, it felt like a tetanus shot just waiting to happen not to mention, 6’2″ Mr. DIY had to duck to walk beneath it. 

So the rebuilding process took place. Most of the roots to the vines are on the one side. We sort of ‘peeled’ those back one section at a time while a gazebo was installed in the center and more study wooden frame was built on each side. 
 
Mr. DIY and family {thanks, Butch!} built up the new wood structure around the old rusty iron skeleton, lifting and shifting the grapes in the process before removing the old iron poles. 
 
Rebuilding can be stressful but the grapes survived! Maybe they were even a little grapeful (haha!) for the home makeover. 
 
 
Beautiful! But then all that gorgeous-ness didn’t go with the overgrown messy underneath. 
grape arbor gazebo
And that’s where this summer’s DIY project of installing a recycled brick patio and path came into play. 
grape arbor path before
 
See the recycled brick patio and walkway tutorial for more details about the transformation and steps Mr. DIY took to install it with his own two hands. Great job, honey! xoxo
DIY brick patio
 
Once he finished the brick patio and walkways, it was time for some landscaping. I didn’t know where to start. I was so overwhelmed with the size, the work that it would involve. Plants intimidate me. So, the decision was made to hire professionals for weed clean up, planting, edging and mulching. 
 
The view from our kitchen French doors: 
recycled brick walkway
Worth every penny. 
recycled brick walkway
Wow! It was a treat to watch what a team of 5-6 landscaping professionals with the right tools can accomplish in 3 hours. Yes. I said ‘three hours’. This would have taken me months of backbreaking labor. My back hurts just thinking about it. 
recycled brick walkway
Now I feel like I can maintain this area, plant more, decorate. And just enjoy every square inch. 
recycled brick patio
Isn’t it pretty? So romantic. So quiet and peaceful. 
recycled brick walkway and patio
 
I’ve been window-shopping for furniture and ideas but will likely wait until spring. I’ve had the sheer drapes for years but this year, they look the best they ever have. 
DIYShowOff gazebo
 
grape arbor gazebo reveal
And scary… {ghost tutorial}
DIY ghost tutorial
haha!
 
The back yard before…
backyard before
The back yard now…
backyard after
Grape arbor now.  
grape arbor
I can’t wait for the plants to fill in. I’ll be adding a few here and there this week too. Maybe something that will come up in the spring.
 
Now when you visit, we have a place to talk and catch up. Weather permitting. DIY brick patio
 
Do you have a special outdoor area at your home?
 

DIY Show Off – DIY Grape Arbor and Gazebo

The Grape Arbor Transformation in Progress.

I fixed up the bistro set I scored for $15 at a yard sale. It’s painted to match our existing patio furniture for extra seating under the grape arbor.
The cushions we have are brown for the most part except for the swing which has sage/tan and gold stripes so I felt limited by that.  🙁  But, I was able to find a fabric that looks good with everything!
I wanted round extra-poofy cushions for the chairs.  Goal achieved and then some. Oops! It’s cushion overkill.  But, it is what it is.  No pattern and my first attempt at round, 3D cushions with piping.  Not too bad but definitely  Poofy. Tall. Unique.  🙂
First, here was the grape arbor when we bought the house.  Quite a rustic eyesore but potential beauty in those old vines regardless and a 50 foot mostly shaded area not to mention tons of grapes!
Before Pictures – Here is what it looked like the day we closed on the house.
Yikes!
 Here’s a close up.  “Hello Chippy!”
Even at it’s ugliest, it was a beautiful space for my brother’s small wedding in 2008.
And a great space for shaded seating for my sister’s baby shower last year.
Mr. DIY (and talented stepdad, Butch) built up the new wood structure around the old rusty iron skeleton, lifting and shifting the grapes in the process before removing the old iron poles.  It’s about 7’x7’x50′ (except for the gazebo area).  The grapes survived the stress!
Here are the after pictures with the new bistro set and sheers.
I sewed ribbon to sheers that I got here (very cheap + no fading from being outside for two summers) to tie to the grape arbor to disguise the imperfections…I mean create a romantic atmosphere.
Too windy for candles in the candelier but we do have white lights at night that follow the lines of the gazebo.
And the grape arbor now ‘in progress’
Still a little work with the pavers or flagstone path underneath.  It’ll look so much better after staining the wood structure, but what do you think so far?   Care to join me for a glass of wine and relaxing under the rotunda?  Perhaps with Keanu Reeves from a Walk in the Clouds?  🙂
And some new pillow covers for the existing patio furniture (and the swing fabric that I had to consider with the new fabric).
And my window boxes:

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Grape Arbor Under Construction

We’re sprucing up the grape arbor!  Rain is interfering with completion but it’s under way.

This was our grape arbor when we bought our home…
This guy seemed to like it but we felt it was a tetanus shot waiting to happen. 
Rusty posts were replaced with wood beams…(thanks to the help of my stepdad, Butch, and Mr. DIY).
I  had hoped to finish staining it this year before the leaves and vines sprouted but the weather hasn’t been cooperative.  However, yesterday was a pretty sunny day and we were able to get started.
Krylon Wood Stain makes the task so much easier!  Using a brush to apply stain in hard to reach areas can be so tedious.  Krylon Spray Stain is much more time efficient with the same results. 
The nozzle can be rotated to provide a vertical or horizontal spray.
Before…

Shake and apply according to instructions on the can (just like spray paint).

A beautiful finish.  We’re using the color “Earthen Brown”.  It’s the darkest stain Krylon offers. 

Have you ever stained the railing and spindles on a wood deck?  Hard work!  Think about how much easier spraying it on would be.  
Reveal coming soon at 
The DIY Show Off