*This is a sponsored post on behalf of Lowes.

I LOVE being a Lowes Creative Blogger for a lot of different reasons.  One of those reasons is that I feel motivated to get some of the bigger projects off of my to do list!  The deadline helps motivate my husband and I to just do it instead of procrastinating.  As I have mentioned earlier, we are really pushing ourselves to get these last few projects done.  We want to be done so we can just enjoy things with the kids.

This Gazebo in our backyard needed some serious work and paint when we moved in 11 years ago.  But it was so low down on our list of important things to do, we just kept putting it off.  It was more of a “fort” for the boys to make mud pies in and store their stick collection when they were younger.  Then it became a “playhouse” for the girls.

When we were challenged to do an outdoor patio makeover, I knew that it was time to finally turn this into a nice area that we could enjoy.  The kids are getting older and are starting to host their friends at our home for get togethers.  We wanted it to be an area they (and the family) could sit in and enjoy.

So we scrapped off all the old paint with a wire brush and then painted it with some Stain Paint that we picked up from Lowes.  It is great for outdoor areas and lasts so much longer than an outdoor paint as it penetrates into the wood like a stain.  The roof needs new shingles and someone to get up there and fix that crooked weather vane…but that is going to have to be another day ;)!

The kids were great helpers and actually begged us to let them paint.  That lasted about 30 minutes…haha!  But the two older boys stayed and helped us finish almost to the end.  I tell you…painting lattice is not my favorite.  That is some tedious work!

We picked up some black patio chairs from Lowes (four of them) and this bench and added some green and gray striped pillows just like the ones we used on our Front Porch Makeover.  I LOVE them and was so happy when they still had some in stock.

We picked up this wood burning fire pit last year from Lowe’s and will now keep it in the Gazebo and out of the elements until we are ready to use it.  Then we can move it out onto the patio when we want to use it to make ‘smores!

We also picked up a couple of green flower pots and planted some colorful Petunia’s to bring so me color to the Gazebo and patio area!

I am loving how it has really improved that whole area.  Now I just need to keep it free of mud pies and sticks :)!  But who am I kidding…they will still happen and I am okay with that.  The kids are growing up way to fast.

Have you had a chance to sign up for Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine. It’s FREE and offers a bunch of DIY inspiration. Go ahead and connect with Lowes Creative Ideas to find a lot more fun and creative ideas.

*Disclosure–In accordance with the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I received compensation from Lowe’s for my time and participation in the Lowe’s Creative Ideas Influencer Network. However, all opinions and statements are mine and mine alone.