i’m a huge fan of karen at the art of doing stuff. she runs a wonderful blog, has trained with MMA fighters (so jealous!), and recently she made over her entire backyard by herself. after hiring some help that only made matters worse, karen decided to tackle the project by herself and now that the entire process is finished, she’s sharing the entire makeover saga (laughs, frustrations and all) on her blog. when i saw the before images she sent and the sinking pond, i immediately said to myself “oh man, i would have hired someone to fix that”, but i was so impressed to see the final product and how amazingly handy and resourceful karen was. let’s just say i’d be beyond proud to sip a glass of tea in that backyard, let alone look around and know i’d done it myself. two huge thumbs up, karen. well done!
[have a before & after you'd like to share? just shoot me an email with your images right here! (low res, under 500k per image, please)]
CLICK HERE for more pictures of karen’s backyard makeover (including a close up of that gorgeous new pond) after the jump!
[pond at night photos by joey reynolds]
50 Comments
this is a really inspiring project. i plan on doing something similar with my backyard, but with help from my hubby. i am blown away by karen’s skills and impeccable taste. well done karen!!!
Amazing. I am blown away, and still struggle with what to do with my overgrown back yard (tiny strip of land) in Baltimore City. Thanks for the demonstration that it is possible.
I love it! What kind of stone or tile did you use for the patio and for the garden boxes?
Absolutely FANTASTIC! The koi pond is amazing.
That is an insanely beautiful backyard! Major wow factor.
This is totally stunning. I love seeing her use of plants that take to shady parts of the yard, too, since sun can be a little hard to come by in beautiful Portland.
Absolutely fantastic!!!!!
Incredible!
Holy cow, that’s incredible! I love her choice of plants and materials. What a talented gal.
Hi all. Thank you so much for the compliments. Kindda makes the back breaking work worthwhile! In answer to your questions, the “floor” is square-cut flagstone from India. The planter beds are made out of plain old pressure treated lumber stained grey.
Gorgeous!
We have five acres, but I’d love to have a cozy area around the house just like this one. I’ve got plans, they just haven’t been implemented yet.
Where is that furniture from? I’m on the hunt, and I love the lounger pictured!
omg… i’ve been there…. i know how much hard work and body aches goes into such a beautiful backyard! amazing job :o)
all of the today’s before and after’s are amazing. and what karen did here is so inspirational, even though i don’t have a backyard.
wow! I’m in love.
WOW!! Can you please come to my house in Denver and do that?
Wow, Girl Power Rocks!! I love it when people especially women get are handy and not afraid to tackle hard projects. You have wonderful taste, just beautiful design!!
AMAZING! My dream back yard. Can I come visit sometime?
Good golly! I had to do 10 double takes to make sure it was the same place. SOO impressed. Gotta look up this chickadee.
With all the outdoor living we are doing this summer, this is just what are patio needs. This is one awesome project. So inspiring!
Me again! Thanks again everyone. I’m blown away by all the nice comments. Truly. The furniture was REALLY cheap from a grocery store. Loblaws/Fortinos if you’re from Canada. The black lounge chairs were $99 each from Canadian Tire. Again … in Canada. As the title would suggest. :)
What a stylish transformation…I especially love the pond with fishies!
Wow, how many years did that take that pine tree grew a few inches around.
I like the pavers very much!
Ooooh…such a heavenly transformation… I looove koi pond!
I’m speechless. That is AMAZING! Please tell me you’re sipping margaritas out there after all that hard work.
oh my gosh- thats soo awesome! bravo… hands clapping :) beautiful <3
wow….great compliment—>it looks unique, lovely and cool all at the same time! I´m jealous because my plants going bonkers—come to my garden in italy and do the same=)
Wow! I am impressed. Gorgeous and such a fantastic accomplishment.
Gorgeous!! Great job and so inspiring!
wow! Just WOW!
what material did you use to make the walls for your raised bed – looks like you have grey flagstone on the ground but the taised beds are maybe a composite material painted? i need to find something inexpensive to do the same thing and the stone really adds up. thanks! great yard
gorgeous!
Holy remodel, Batman! What an amazing transformation with gorgeous results. I am gobsmacked she did that all herself–manages to be both intimidating and inspiring.
I concur with the other cudos on your project. It is a masterpiece! What is the black base on the glass-topped side table? Looks like painted concrete.
woah, i LOVE a bad ass chick not afraid of a big project. mad props!
She is my hero. What a beautiful job. Girl power!
The results look really nice, bu the first thing I noticed was that it looks like she was photoshopped in to the work photos – she is too small for her surroundings.
This is fantastic! Props for doing this DIY all the way!
dianne
she’s not photoshopped, that’s really her ;) she’s standing in a hole in both pictures so maybe that’s why she looks small to you?
grace
That is absolutely amazing! Just gorgeous. What an accomplishment.
Yes, um … no … I have the therapeutic massage bill to prove I was not Photoshopped into my work surroundings. LOL. Plus I’m all of 5’3″ and 105 pounds. I’m not Photoshopped to look little … I am little!
Who are you?A goddess of garden miracles?
Well done, you.
Wow! Fantastic job! After we get the bedroom done, the backyard is the next big project! This went straight into the bookmarks folder with for inspiration.
Thanks for sharing this, Karen is amazing and hysterical :)
WOAH! How pretty and calming and I could spend all day and night there!!! *jealous* :)
What a freaking legend!! I love it!!!
We’re in the process of redoing our back yard (and building a garage, and retaining wall!) and this article provided some wonderful inspiration, I love that your raised beds are made out of such a simple material, great idea!
these before and afters are amazing!!! Love it!
how did she get all the pond water into the kiddy pool?
this is a great blog, thank you so much!
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