8 Fantastic Ways To Make Your Grand Junction House The Coolest Place to Hang This Summer

Whether you have hundreds to spend, or you're nearly broke, here are some great Do-It-Yourself ideas to make your backyard a little more awesome this summer.

Outdoor Movie Theater

I know I've covered this one in previous articles, but it really is quite simple. Get your hands on a projector, from somewhere like Best Buy, or Wal Mart, or any local electronic store. Find a way to hang a bed sheet to project the movie against. I've seen some people bring couches or mattresses outside for seating. I've also seen people use pallets with pillows as chairs.

Beer Cooler Patio Table

There are several blueprints and walkthroughs online to convert your patio table into a beer cooler. Some are as advances as removing parts of the table to create a pit for ice and beer. Some are as simple as making space for a styrofoam cooler. Either way, this is a great idea, and we should all have one!

Giant Back Yard Board Games

Back Yard Jenga and Scrabble are two of the most popular backyard games that I've seen. And I've seen plenty of online tutorials on how to create these backyard games. Jenga is very simple, you'll just need to make sure you cut the wood into equal sized parts (and in 3s, Jenga is always 3 stacked each direction). Scrabble requires a bit more planning, as you'll need to create even-sized squares, and paint the letters on them.

Add A Fire Pit

You can look up a build it yourself fire pit plan online, or simply buy one from somewhere like Wal Mart. Either way, this is a great way to keep warm at night, and is great for roasting marshmallows or hot dogs.

Lawn Twister

This one is stupid simple, grab cans of Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green spray paint and recreate the twister board on your lawn.

Create an Outdoor Chalkboard

Find an old board, or table, and spray it down with Chalk Board Paint, and buy some sidewalk chalk. This will provide hours of creative fun for your kids.

Buy a Yard Game Set

Bacci Ball, Washers, Corn Hole, Volleyball, Croquet...these are the classics, and they never get old.

Slip'N'Slide Kickball

This one is super fun! Set up slip and slides so that the kiddy pools at the end of each work as a base. Buy a kickball, hook up the hoses and you've got yourself a rad game of Slip'N'Slide Kickball!

Whether you have kids, or you're just wanting to make your house a cooler place to hang out this summer, these are all easy ideas. If you end up using any of these, let us know!