The crafty lady behind the blog Handmade by Alissa is a pretty sweet sister. When her sib Cate moved into a new house with a very unfinished cement blocked patio, she decided to give it a much-needed facelift by sewing some cheerful cushions and pillows. She sewed one long cushion to run along the cement block bench, two arm rests, and a handful of throw pillows.
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The CasaSugar Summer Style Contest continues, and I've got handfuls of wonderful submissions from you readers, revealing what your Summer style at home is. Of her Summer style, TeamSugar member CocoChic said that her apartment is very modern and her patio is gray stucco with a gray-painted cement floor, so her focus was "to bring the patio lots of color and make it feel warmer." She called upon her catch-as-catch-can attitude to do so, using an old bath towel as a rug, covering her Ikea table with a fringed vintage wrap, and setting a bouquet of hot-pink hydrangeas in an orange basket as tabletop décor.
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In the process of putting some pizzazz in her backyard, one woman found this old, iron demilune patio table peeling with black and white paint that had clearly seen better days. A little elbow work, sanding, priming, and painting transformed it into a pretty, pink patio table. To see the magnificent results, and which lovely gal is this table's proud owner, .
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Su Casa member Haze, who's proven herself again and again to be a most creative and talented lady, has wowed me yet again with the patio that she and her husband DC renovated. This photo shows what they started with. To see the fabulous results, read more!
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Ikea's new Ange Chair ($129) may look like it's made of rattan, but it's actually made of twisted paper. And lest you doubt the strength of paper, I should note that I used to have a bench made from twisted paper, and it was pretty darn strong (at least, it held up under the weight of a couple of ladies lounging on it on a Spring afternoon). I think a few of these would look great on a patio or deck.
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As part of its new Spring line of products, Ikea is offering some great-looking (and perfectly priced) galvanized products for the garden. I love the look of galvanized steel — it adds an instant sleekness and modernity to a patio garden, something that sometimes is hard to achieve with ceramic. Even better, galvanized steel is rust resistant, so it won't get funky after Spring showers.
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As outdoor dining goes more and more upscale, patio umbrellas are also getting a high-design upgrade. Forget the floral-patterned parasols of your youth. Now, it's easy to find sophisticated sun shades that will make any patio look sleeker and chicer. 
