Woman Creates TV Garden For Under £250 With £7 Hula Hoop Hack
- Dianne, 56, created her ‘piece of heaven’ for under £250
- Bargain decor buys include a £7 hula hoop chandelier and a £12.99 rug
Sometimes our gardens can become messy or disorganized without us realising until it’s too late. However, one savvy DIYer managed to turn her chaotic backyard into a chic outdoor space for sitting back, relaxing and watching TV.
Dianne Francis, a 56 year old activities coordinator from Llanelli, Wales, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I had the idea to transform my garden after browsing a Facebook page called Gardens On A Budget, where people were sharing pictures of their lovely gardens.
‘I liked the idea of getting a gazebo but thought it might be too big for my garden. I was happy to find a 2.5 metre one on Amazon which came with net curtains and only cost £200.’
Once Dianne had bought the main component for her project, she had a task on her hands to clear the garden. It had become a place to keep rubbish and scrap such as old doors, wooden planks, bicycles, various rubble and larger items such as a canoe and an abandoned sofa.
The space which was left after clearing the area comprised a patio with a gravel border and a path leading down from the back door. The walls are all white so Dianne ensured her pergola would match the existing colour scheme by buying it in cream.
One of Dianne’s challenges was that she lives by the sea, so the weather is consistently windy - not ideal conditions for a pergola. However, she had a solution. ‘My husband clamped three poles to the walls and screwed the fourth pole to a paving slab to secure it. Fortunately he is quite handy at DIY so we didn’t need any professionals in.
‘Overall it was pretty easy to do. The next step was for him to put brackets on the wall so the TV could be slotted in. If it rains we can just lift the TV out of the brackets and store it in the shed, which is where it was living before we found it a home. We already had an outdoor plug for our hot tub so it’s waterproof in that respect.
‘When we were completing this project I was mixing together inspiration from the Facebook page and my own ideas. I wanted somewhere to sit in the shade and put my old outside furniture in, but I didn’t want to put the spa in there.’
Dianne explained that the aim was to have the garden contain different areas depending on what people want to do. For example, on sunny days she can sit in the pergola and watch TV, or the family can sit out on the table and chairs behind it. Alternatively, they will be able to sit in the hot tub which is not covered by the pergola, making it a nice place to relax during the evening.
Dianne made use of some creative money-saving hacks to decorate the space once the pergola had been erected. ‘I made the light fitting from black tape, ribbon and a child’s hula hoop. I found the idea online and it was simple to create - I entwined fairy lights through them which I already had and hung it on the ceiling of the pergola. All in all the supplies only cost me about £7.
‘My other supplies were also sourced cheaply. I got some small Moroccan lamps from Amazon for £10 and put plastic tea lights in. The rug came from Home Bargains and cost £12.99.
‘My piece of heaven cost me under £250 and I still have space for the other garden elements I love such as my hot tub, small table and chairs out back.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Dianne’s transformation is fantastic - the garden looks so different now and it’s clearly a great place to relax.
‘This makeover proves that pergolas don’t have to fill a garden. It can be tempting to get a massive one in case bad weather renders sitting outside impractical, but having different areas to choose from can make a space feel much bigger.
‘The hula hoop hack for making chandeliers is rapidly becoming a popular choice for gardens. All you need is a small hula hoop, a few strings of fairy lights and some tape. If you get the lights from a bargain store then they only need to set you back a couple of pounds.
‘Simply wrap the fairy lights around the hoop and secure with tape in the colour of your choice. Let some of them dangle down in a chandelier style and fix it to the ceiling of your gazebo or pergola. It’s much cheaper - and sturdier - than the light fixtures you can get elsewhere!’
Save More With These Discount Codes
Read More Money Saving Guides