What are some no budget ways to get some use out of a back yard with no patio?

Dig a fire pit?

I like that idea because you can dig one for almost nothing, I love to cook and would have an excuse to roast things in the pit, and it would mark out a future place for a really nice fire pit when we have the money.

The only hitch is—I have a soon to be toddler. Without going the expensive route, I don’t think a fire pit would be a very good idea for us.

But man, that’s a very good answer for someone who doesn’t have very little kids.

There are multiple offers of free patio furniture on Freecycle.com now. Perhaps you can find something there.

We bought an indoor/outdoor carpet for our side yard for the kids to play on, and it works real well. Perhaps you could find something at the second hand store.

CARPET. That’s a great idea. it’s temporary but able to withstand the elements. AND it will kill the grass. That’s wonderful.

I had an area that was really muddy and the dogs had to walk through it. I found old fence panels and put them stringer side down so the smooth side was up. Extended my livable space quite well on a temporary basis.

How big is your backyard?

@lillycoyote I’d almost say it was too big. I don’t know the square footage, but it’s large enough that I want to break it up into smaller sections and do a lot of landscaping when I have time and money for that.

The downside is that it back onto a busy road (really bad feng shui, i’ve discovered btw) And sometime really soon we’re going to need to block off the road from the yard so my daughter can play out there. I’d also like to block it because it’s physically unappealing.

You do not need a sterile lifeless patio space in order to enjoy it. In fact, I submit that a well tended xeroscape is a heck of a lot more pleasing to hang out in that a concrete slab and really doesn’t need to cost anything other than the effort to direct the magic that nature so graciously provides. I have seen absolutely fabulous outdoor spaces created with nothing more than found materials and a bit of work play. Further, I suggest that taking an active part in such a transformation is the enjoyable part.

Need a patio table? I’m sure you can find one of these without too much trouble. Want it to look a bit more exciting , keep an eye out at garage sales for old broken china or tiles that you can pick up for nothing to do a mosaic or better yet, dumpster dive and you can find appropriate materials for literally nothing (OK, you might have to shell out a dollar or so for some glue or a dab of paint, but still pretty darned cost effective)

How about making some creative planters ? You can turn darned near anything that will hold dirt into a whimsical piece of garden art. You can even use native wild flowers and grasses to put in them.

Garden arbors are great to sit under and can create a great focal point for any garden, and once again the materials don’t really need to cost anything. Keep an eye out for a neighbor trimming a tree. More often than not they will jump for joy when you offer to haul away the smaller branches for them. Here are a couple of examples

The same goes for garden furniture. Here is an article about a couple of guys who do just that.

You mentioned cooking. You can build a wonderful earth oven for next to nothing and the sky is the limit on the design. Here is a link to a book on the subject and here is an image that will give an idea of just how far you can take this as a design element.

Revel in your outdoor space!

We moved into a house that had a firepit. My son was 8 mos old. we added 2 more kids and had lots of fire and campfires. Kids loved it.

Thanks for the answers all. ESPECIALLY @YoBob ! You have totally inspired me and given me very very very good ideas.

@keobooks I meant to get back to you. I you are handy you might do some areas with pavers set in sand rather than a full-fledged masonry patio. If you go with plain, cheap pavers you could do a good sized area pretty inexpensively, maybe some walkways and area for chairs and the barbeque.