A Backyard Makeover in Brooklyn

Filed under: Your Home, Projects

How two Brooklyn residents made the best of their weathered, wooden patio space.

It doesn't happen for many apartment hunters, let alone apartment hunters in New York City, but Molly Berta and Jarrod Gorbel lucked out: They stumbled upon a clean, roomy living space in a great neighborhood that doesn't cost a fortune. But the real draw -- it has an outdoor space that is bigger than a postage stamp. A lot bigger.

The large, outdoor patio has made Molly, a fashion marketing manager, and her boyfriend Jarrod, a musician, both the envy and most celebrated barbecue hosts among their friends. Their apartment, located in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, had a slightly rundown outdoor space when they moved in, but it was full of outdoor entertaining potential. Molly quickly devised an inexpensive design strategy, planning a day trip upstate to visit a few thrift stores.

"I didn't want it to look new and fancy, full of matching clay pots, because the patio itself is bit weathered," Molly says. She decided to work with its worn wooden planks, picket fence and pattern block walls, "instead of against it."

The end result is a warm, inviting, yet clean and minimal, decidedly rustic space. Molly used vintage canisters, crates and even an old-timey cooler as planters, alongside larger functional pieces, like a chaise lounge and picnic table, that she bought new from West Elm.

"(The vintage pieces) looked like they had already survived 10 winters in New York, so I thought they could handle a few more," she says.

Here's the patio before she began the makeover. It didn't look like an obvious place to hang out, but Molly had a vision.

And here's a view of the new patio. Now that's a transformation! It's easy to see why Molly and Jarrod are the envy of all of their friends. Molly let the rustic charm of the patio work for her, adding lights and lanterns along the aging fence and arranging lots of fresh greenery around the perimeter.

"I wanted it to look and feel inviting, relaxing and BBQ ready," she says. But she had to do it on a budget, so she incorporated many things she already owned. Take the vintage tricycle she found a few years ago in Austin, TX; it's now a decorative prop on the patio, adding some depth and character to one of the deck's corners.

No need to buy new chairs. These yellow and green, heavy-duty plastic chairs were left behind by the previous tenant. Molly cleaned them up and mixed them with the other colorful furnishings.

She also strung Christmas lights around the deck's perimeter for easy, day-to-night transitions. It wouldn't be an outdoor space without greenery, so Molly added lots of it. "I get all of my plants from this store called Graceful Gardens in Williamsburg," she says. "They always have plants I've never seen before and original floral designs." Figuring out which plants will survive year-round outdoors is tricky, she says. Right now, there are lots of succulents and tomato plants.

After a summer of outdoor parties, Molly isn't retiring inside anytime soon. Time for a fire pit and some marshmellow roasting!

 

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