Four words I love to hear every spring: The pool is open!
Our annual spring cleaning weekend is always a job I dread around here, but the reward is a huge pool party. So it’s impossible to hate our chores for long knowing that’s at the finish line.
After a few years of salvaging some of our outdoor decor and patio furniture with a deep cleaning, we decided to replace some of it this year with a few lower maintenance, luxury-for-less Amazon outdoor decor finds.
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Backyard Pool Before & After
Aside from adding super functional patio furniture, this backyard pool area has been through a LOT over the years:
But finding great patio furniture and decor that actually lasts and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg is the cherry on top of all those backyard projects. So I’ll share a few of our favorites in this post.
Our Favorite Budget-Friendly Patio Furniture
I’ve mentioned before our favorite patio furniture from Walmart and how well our Better Homes & Gardens outdoor furniture sets have held up over the years.
But our old wood lounge chairs were a maintenance nightmare. After working through our backyard cleaning checklist this year, I officially gave up on them. I found the BEST replacements on Amazon instead.
Outdoor Lounge Chairs
We’ve been so happy with how beautifully our Polywood Adirondack chairs have held up around our backyard fire pit, but they are pricey. These polypropylene outdoor lounge chairs I found on Amazon are the perfect less expensive alternative!
They look and feel exactly like our high end Polywood chairs, so I have no doubt they’ll stand up to all kinds of weather year-round.
Patio Umbrellas
Our backyard pool area has very little shade, and our summers here in the Charlotte area are brutal. These striped umbrellas are a total God-send in mid-July.
How to Prevent Outdoor Fabrics from Fading
Tip: Spray the patio umbrella fabric with some Scotchgard Sun and Water Shield to prevent fading and staining.
We’ve been very impressed with these scalloped striped patio umbrellas over our outdoor dining tables too.
We found these French bistro style outdoor dining chairs and bistro stools at Walmart, but Amazon carries them too and sometimes on sale for less.
Even though they look like rattan, they’re made of metal and resin so they’re able to last for years in all kinds of harsh weather. Ours have been out here for about 4 years now and still look good as new.
They’re also stackable, so we can transport them for friends and family to use at their gatherings or to get them out of the way for backyard clean-up.
Outdoor Curtains
We’ve had these outdoor curtains on our pergola for 3 years and love them! The pergola is west-facing, so in the late afternoons we can pull them closed to get some much-needed shade. I swear these curtains make us feel 10 degrees cooler.
We take them down in the winter, and they clean up in the washing machine with a little bleach looking like they’re brand new. We hang them up on this outdoor rust resistant curtain rod and secure them with these rope tiebacks and screw hooks.
I love the breezy, ethereal look they give to our backyard.
Outdoor Pillows
Amazon is one of my favorite places to buy outdoor pillows, especially since you can save lots of storage space and budget by getting just the outdoor pillow covers!
This cabana stripe pillow cover, Greek key pillow cover, and floral block print pillow cover look like they’re from a luxury grandmillennial style designer. These water resistant outdoor pillow inserts are my favorite to use with them.
Tip: Look for damaged outdoor pillows on the clearance aisle or at thrift stores just to use the inserts. A lot of times you can get them for $5-$10 that way versus buying new.
Our Favorite Outdoor Decor and Furniture from Amazon
It’s amazing what some pretty patio furniture finds can do to a backyard, right?
Well, that plus paint, landscaping, fence replacement, and a bajillion other things. We’ve lost count at this point. But the end result has been totally worth it.
This home improvement gig is never cheap, so being able to invest in outdoor furnishings that last a long time and are within a Walmart/Amazon budget helps a whole lot.
Have you discovered any great backyard finds from Amazon lately? Let me know in the comments because we’re always on the lookout for more to try out and recommend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, furniture made of resin, wrought iron, aluminum or galvanized steel are the longest lasting. Teak wood is the longest lasting outdoor wood furniture material, but it does require yearly conditioning with cleaning and teak oil. Here’s how to restore outdoor wood furniture with oil.
We like to spray our outdoor fabrics like umbrellas and pillows with Scotchgard Outdoor Sun & Water Shield to protect them from staining and fading. Apply Thompson’s Water Seal to outdoor wooden furniture each spring and fall to protect it from sun and water. Cover outdoor furniture with these waterproof UV resistant furniture covers when not in use.
More Backyard Decorating Ideas
41 DIY Backyard Ideas on a Budget for Easy Outdoor Living
How to Hang Outdoor String Lights Anywhere in a Backyard
Our Walmart Patio Furniture Review Over 2 Years Later
