In our Style Challenge series, we ask some of our favorite bloggers from around the web to surprise us with their ideas for creating a stylish and functional space using Home Depot products as a starting point.

As a talented designer, we knew Hannah Maple would come up with some terrific small backyard ideas for this year’s Patio Style Challenge, so we were delighted when she agreed to join in on the fun! Little did we know she would be moving to a new home in downtown Lexington, Kentucky just weeks before tackling this project! She lets us in on exactly how she turned her long neglected little urban courtyard into a bright and beautiful space for relaxing and entertaining. 

Being that revamping spaces is very much my passion (and also my career), I was beyond ecstatic when the amazing staffers at Home Depot asked me to partake in their 2013 Patio Style Challenge. After all, I pretty much live for the outdoors (yes, even work there at times), and to say our newly acquired, city-centered courtyard had been well-ignored is a bit of an understatement. But, the Mister and I aren’t afraid of a bit of hard work, and were confident that a little elbow grease would more than spruce up this potential-laden patio space.

So, here’s a glimpse at the before:

Eeek–it’s bad, right? Like I said, the previous owners didn’t quite see its potential. And…there were a few challenges.

See those heinous, splinter-ridden boards on the old windows? They were challenge #1. So, handy hubby and I doused them with paint and built a simple trellis out of inexpensive lumber, which I painted the most gorgeous blue/gray (Winter’s Day by Martha Stewart for Glidden, at The Home Depot).

Challenge #2 came in the form of red paint. It had LOTS of red paint. Everything seemed so dull and lifeless. I immediately knew I wanted to add more contrast into the outdoor space to make that gorgeous brick wall stand out and to make our little walled-in backyard feel so much lighter, brighter…and airier.

See the result?

Remember those dreary, boarded windows that once dominated the brick wall? Just look at what a coat of paint and a little ingenuity can do. Someday those trellises will be draped in vines, but patience is most definitely a virtue!