Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Monday, March 31, 2014

How to Turn an Ugly Concrete Slab into a Faux Stone Patio

Turning and ugly concrete slab into a faux stone patio

From Drab to Fab
How I turned an ugly concrete slab into a faux stone patio

Hi everyone, today I am reposting one of my very first blog posts from 4 years ago. (Wow, where did the time go?!)
I've had a major case of bloggers block this past week, and since I couldn't come up with any ideas for new things to write about, I thought I'd share with you one of my most visited entries, since most of you probably have not seen it.
Still waiting on spring here, but it does help to look back at photos of our yard and my gardens!
So, here is my faux stone patio, hope you enjoy!!

Today I thought I would share with you how I transformed an ugly, cracked concrete slab into a pretty, faux cobblestone patio.  My hubby & I take great pride in our yard and flower gardens, but there was this one problem.  A very ugly problem!  On the side of our house was a really nasty, cracked and uneven concrete slab that was a real eye sore, not to mention an embarrassment.  One day last summer I had a brainstorm.  Why not paint it to look like cobblestones?  Now, I had never done any faux painting before, but I figured anything would be an improvement over its' sad, sorry state!




First off, hubby gave it a good power washing, then leveled it up & repaired the crack.  I am so thankful that I married a handyman!!  I went to Lowe's, and the man in the paint department recommended a concrete stain.  I picked up two different colors.  I would have chosen more, but they only came by the gallon, and that would have broken my budget!  I also picked up the concrete sealer that he suggested.  The concrete stain directions said to damped the concrete before using.  I should have followed my gut instinct and applied it dry, but I thought I better follow the directions.  Well, when I put the base coat down, the wet concrete just absorbed all of the stain!  You could hardly see it!  Frustrating!  Keep in mind that I did all of this on my hands & knees!  Anyway, after a day of so of letting it thoroughly dry out, I reapplied the base stain.  Then I outlined my "stones" with chalk, working in one small area at a time.  Since I wanted more than two colors of "cobblestones", I took several colors of exterior latex paint that we already had and mixed them with the concrete stain, so I had an entire palette of colors.  Then the fun started!  Over the course of a few days, I painted all of the stones, followed by two coats of concrete sealer.  I was so happy with the result!  It turned out alot better than I thought it would.

I wish that I had a before picture of the bench.  It was unpainted, weathered and very tired looking!  I mixed up a few colors of paint we had on hand til I came up with a shade that I liked.  Isn't it amazing what paint can do!  I then "accessorized" with a few plants and garage sale finds.  I can hardly believe that this is the same piece of concrete!  Now I can't wait to faux finish something else!

13 comments:

The Bear's Blog said...

What an amazing and beautiful job you did. If I didn't see the picture of the old slab I never would have imagined what faux finishing could do. You did an amazing job. You should be very pleased with your creativity.

Hugs

Trisha said...

Amazing Donna! I am sure it is still just as beautiful and welcoming. Your yard looks so pretty and perfect too!

~Trisha

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Clever girl!! This looks amazing!

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

WOW, that looks great. You did a terrific job on the patio and it looks so real.
Hope you get Spring soon. We are having so many after shocks here, very un-nerving. The big quake scared the pie right out of me. Had a lot of breakage - dishes, etc. You would have though 'i had a bunch of monkey's swinging on my chant's they were really swinging back and forth.
Have a great week.
Mary

Musings from Kim K. said...

I bet you can't wait to get outside and enjoy that wonderful patio again after such a long long winter. I'd gladly join you with a glass of wine!! I just checked the weather app and it's 62 degrees. I think our ice rink is officially done.

Bente said...

Oh my, this is so pretty. Donna. Fantastic job you did here.

Big hug from here

Susie said...

Donna, Kudos to you and your husband. That looks very nice. way better than plain concrete. I like painting new colors and finishes when it time for spring and summer. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

Tete said...

Now that's awesome!

Tete said...

Now that's awesome!

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Donna, I've been trying to get here all day!! What a great transformation you did on your patio. It is stunning. Are you sure you never did a faux painting before?? I've done faux finishes and taught classes and you did an amazing job. Love the cobblestone and the color mix. Darling bench you painted in that pretty color and you accented the whole area so charming. What an inviting place to sit on a pretty spring day.
Thanks for sharing this great post again.
Happy Creating!
Hugs

The Polka Dot Closet said...

I'm so glad you re posted this! I love it, it looks so fresh and French! Love the color of your bench, you were way ahead of the color trends with that gorgeous blue! I am just now getting into blue...Opps, maybe I am just way behind!

Carol

Debbie said...

I'm so glad you reposted this, Donna!
I've been struggling with our patio slab for years. This gives me something to really think about once the weather warms up.
I can only hope ours would turn out half as pretty as yours!!
xo

NanaDiana said...

Donna- That is a really fantastic makeover and I remember seeing that before. Four years? Can you believe it? You have done so many wonderful projects in those four years, Donna. Crazy, huh? xo Diana