Garden Renovation & Makeovers | Before and After in Kildare, Ireland
Introduction
If there’s one thing we Irish know and love, it’s that time spent outside is precious, and an outdoor space all to ourselves is to be cherished.
Especially when the weather can be as unpredictable as it is over here, we know that there are few greater luxuries than having a beautiful garden of our own, in which we, our friends and our loved ones can relax.
Which is why when our gardens are looking tired, it’s time for a garden renovation!
Creating an attractive and thoughtfully designed outdoor space does more than just add value to your property, too. It provides you with a sanctuary; a welcoming space you can escape to when the world gets a little crazy.
It extends the liveable space of your home into nature; brightening your day-to-day with all of the benefits of the outdoors: natural sunlight, birdsong, the smell of fresh air, summer breezes, the soporific patter of falling rain.

Before and After: Garden Renovation in County Kildare
Gardens, like homes, require makeovers from time to time – whether it’s in preparation for a summer of barbeques and parties, or as a project to inject some natural beauty into the darker months. And if you’re looking for garden renovations inspiration, well… look no further!
Michael, a customer of ours from County Kildare, recently carried out an extensive yet budget-friendly garden remodel.
Garden Renovation Before and After
Michael conducted his DIY garden makeover during the lockdown years of the Covid-19 pandemic, from 2020-23. As such, he wanted an outdoor space where his family could escape to—a place where they could relax and enjoy some much-needed time outside during the madness of various lockdowns.
Looking to the future, our customer understood the special place a garden holds in a family’s life. He saw that a place to escape to outside would benefit his family not only during the strange upheaval of the Covid years, but indefinitely in future as well. After all, we could all benefit from a garden sanctuary in our lives, couldn’t we?
Now that the world has finally returned to normality, we wonder if there ever been a better time to create the perfect garden space—a place for gatherings and parties with friends and family?
Here we shall take a look at some inspiring before and after pictures of Michael’s garden renovation, exploring the materials Michael used and discussing how he was able to keep his costs so low.
Before: a dilapidated garden crying out for a revamp
Have you recently moved into a new home only to find the garden a mess? Has modern life simply got in the way of your garden maintenance? The truth is, it’s really quite easy to find ourselves looking out of our backroom windows at gardens like Michael’s.
Michael and his family are lucky enough to have a mid-sized back garden, but pre-renovation the space simply lacked any energy. All there was were grey walls, grey concrete, and a weed-strewn lawn. Additionally, there was hardly any colour or life which might have felt inviting and encouraged the family to spend more time outside. Abandoned and left to overgrow, the space soon became nigh-on unusable.
But Michael had a plan: to renovate his garden.
Tile Merchant learned that our customer Michael was inspired to take on this project for two main reasons.
Firstly, he knew that a well-maintained, attractively designed, and practical outdoor space can greatly increase the current and long-term value of your property—in fact, a carefully landscaped garden can increase a house’s value by as much as 77%!
Secondly, and most importantly, Michael knew of the positive effects that spending time gardening in a well-kept garden can have not just on physical health, but on mental health, too.
These effects have been well-documented, and it has been proven that spending time in nature – even just viewinga nice green space from indoors – can greatly improve your mood. Moreover, relaxing in a peaceful, aesthetically-pleasing garden helps to reduce stress, and enhances one’s overall wellbeing.
See below for a few pictures of Micheal’s garden

After: an unbelievable transformation from dereliction to delight!
If Michael hadn’t sent us these photos himself, we’d hardly have believed that this was the same garden as before.
With a little ingenuity, some careful planning, and an eye for aesthetic, he has managed to completely and utterly transform his backyard.
No more grey walls, overgrown grass and unsightly weeds with nowhere to sit and nothing to do.
Now, Michael’s back garden is truly stunning, with a clean, modern, Mediterranean feel.
It has been white-washed so as to stay bright and welcoming year-round, with the addition of low-maintenance artificial grass, a water feature, plenty of plush comfy seating, feature plants to add a touch of elegance, a shed for storage and recreation, and even a barbeque area so that Michael can cook up a storm for guests whenever the occasion arises.
Alongside a host of other top-notch Irish manufacturers and suppliers, we at Tile Merchant are proud to have provided Michael the base materials he required to carry out his renovation, and you can bet we’re over the moon to see the results.
Let’s take a look at the products Michael used in the renovation of his new garden.

Materials used for the garden renovation
The overall look, feel, and cost of your garden renovation will depend mostly on the materials you choose to use—especially if you’re labouring yourself.
Finding the right materials to suit your taste, requirements and budget can be a challenge, but here at Tile Merchant we’re here to help you make the right choices for you.
So that you can get some inspiration for your own garden renovation, let’s take a look at the materials Michael chose to use to create this Grecian-inspired oasis right in the heart of Ireland!
Paving Slabs: Grey Outdoor Porcelain Tiles
Tile Merchant supplied Michael with Grey porcelain slabs: the stand-out feature in his renovation, framing the entire garden and chosen to bring the bright, rustic warmth of Grecian architecture to his home.
These outdoor paving slabs, which come in a wide range of colours and textures, are the perfect choice for a garden renovation, standing against the stark green of the grass and rich blue-greys of Michael’s shed and raised beds.
Our 20mm outdoor porcelain tiles are not only attractive, they’re also easy to maintain and just as easy to install – we even wrote a blog piece designed to walk you through the process!
Even better, all of our outdoor porcelain paving slabs and tiles are 100% waterproof and slip-resistant, making them safe for the whole family (pets and the elderly included) all year round!
Instead of outdoor porcelain tiles, however, Michael could have also opted for the very highest quality natural stone paving slabs, of which we have a widely varied selection (in colour, texture, material and size).
Artificial Grass: Powerscourt Grass
The other main feature of Michael’s garden is the grass, which he has laid in an eye-catching square of lawn in the very centre of the yard—creating for himself and his family the ideal spot to sunbathe, host guests, kick a ball about, or even set up a home putting green!
Of course, what’s key about this grass is that it’s artificial.
Michael decided to do away completely with the need to frequently and laboriously maintain the health and height of his garden’s grass (which, you can see from the before pictures, had become a problem).
In its stead is a zero-maintenance alternative which not only looks like real grass, but feels like it too. You’ll be happy to learn that it’s also pet friendly, hard-wearing, and affordable.
Artificial grass laying is not difficult, but is made even easier with our friendly customer service and helpful online advice.
With the combination of Powerscourt grass and porcelain tiles from Tile Merchant, Michael had the aesthetic foundations of his renovation laid.
To shop our range of artificial grass, click here. To shop our range of outdoor tiles, click here
Fencing: Glanboard Wooden Fencing
One of the first things you’ll likely notice between the before and after photos of Michael’s garden is the sudden change to the height of the walls.
Michael really transformed not only the shape and feel, but the levels of privacy he and his family could enjoy in his garden, too, when he installed Glanboard wooden fencing atop the white-washed walls.
The gentle, muted grey garden fence panels work perfectly here, bringing our outdoor tilesinto harmony with those blue-grey raised beds and shed roof.
Michael sourced his fencing from Abwood, in County Wicklow, who supply all manner of fences for gardens, as well as sheds, trellising, gazebos and more.
Taking a leaf from their book, here at Tile Merchant we now also stock a carefully-curated range of outdoor wood-effect wall panelling to help our customers create private, peaceful, and attractive outdoor spaces!
Raised Beds, Seating & BBQ Area: Precast Concrete
Disguised by a lick of paint, the gorgeous raised flower beds, seating areas, and even the barbeque set-up were created with 280 blocks of precast concrete from Painstown Precast, located near Kilcock in County Kildare.
Lighting - Fence, Pond, Under-seat Strip, and Solar
No modern renovation would be complete without subtle, integrated mood lighting. As such, Michael was sure to source the perfect lighting to ensure that, come nightfall, he could continue to get the most out of his garden.
Have a look at the pictures and you’ll be hard-pressed to spot the bulbs, lamps, and LEDs. This is because Michael chose to integrate the lighting into the design of the garden, ensuring it was kept as minimalist and attractive as possible.
Solar-powered lighting – ever more available and reliable – is a great way of concealing lighting, since there’s no need for ugly and obtrusive wiring, getting in the way of your renovation’s aesthetic.
The water feature and fence outdoor solar garden lights were sourced from Amazon (the only non-local supplier on this list!)
The BBQ area’s solar power lights were sourced from Dunnes Stores. And the under-seat strip lighting and all of the required wiring and connection boxes were purchased from MEW Electrical Wholesalers in Leixlip, County Kildare

Water Features and Plants
Blink and you might miss it, but take another look and you’ll see that Michael has installed a sleek, attractive water feature on the wall between his four neat trees. In a garden which might as well sit nestled among the islands of the Mediterranean, what better way to enjoy the outdoors than with the calming sound of trickling water as a backdrop to your relaxation?
The outdoor wall fountain was sourced from Moyvalley Garden Centre, and the plants and shrubs were purchased from Rentes Plants/Nursery, also in Moyvalley.
Steel Shed
Doubtlessly one of the most transformative aspects of this Irish garden renovation was the inclusion of the impressive steel shed: set at one end of the garden and yet, thanks to the clever use of Tile Merchant tiles and grass, doesn’t feel like it takes up too much space at all.
The inclusion of a good quality shed in a garden not only gives you and your family space to be creative – to tackle those lifelong hobby prospects and projects – but also provides some much-needed extra storage space. On top of this, it won’t hurt when it comes to property value estimations, either!
Michael’s steel garden shed was procured from Clane Sheds in Clane, County Kildare.
Additional Materials: Timber and Paint
Make sure to remember the little things like sourcing additional timber and high-quality, weather-resistant paints, and your garden renovation is sure to stand a notch above the rest.
Michael sourced his timber from Mulligan Saw Mills in Kilcock, County Kildare; his paints from Woodies DIY, B&Q, and Cleary’s Hardware in Kilcock; and finally his barbeque and additional tiling from B&Q.








How much does garden renovation cost?
You might be thinking that any garden renovation—especially one of the magnitude of Michael’s—would be pricey, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, Michael knew that renovating his garden wasn’t something which had to break the bank.
Whilst many people worry about the cost of a project this size, money doesn’t have to be an issue. With a little help from DIY tutorials online (such as ours on how to install composite decking), Michael carried out the entire garden renovation on his own, keeping his costs down to just the materials he required.
When you limit garden renovation costs by doing the labour yourself, you don’t have to have a big budget. Moreover, the value a garden redesign adds to your property means that, when it comes time to sell, you’ll make back far more than you ever invested in the makeover.
It’s hard to estimate exactly how much a garden renovation costs, because this figure will naturally vary from person to person, garden-size to garden-size, material preferences, design features and more. In reality, you can achieve a positive garden transformation for less than €1,000 provided you plan carefully and do the work yourself, DIY.
It is estimated, however, that a full transformation of a garden in Ireland will on average require an investment of €3,000-€6,000 for 50m2 plots, and twice that for 100m2 gardens.
If you’re also looking to renovate your garden on the cheap, then here are a few top tips:
- You can dramatically decrease the overall cost of a garden renovation by carrying out the work yourself; only spending your money on the materials you need. Consult with us here at Tile Merchant and—from patios, decking, and artificial grass to plants and even trees—we’ll make sure you equip yourself with all of the materials you need in order to create a beautiful, practical, affordable garden.
- The best time of year to begin your backyard makeover runs from late spring to early autumn—the dry(er) months, in other words! This gives you more time to carry out the work. Many homeowners tend to opt for a springtime renovation so as to have their project ready for summer.
Conclusion: Achieving Your Own Garden Renovation
Renovating gardens—just like any other type of redesign or home remodel—can feel like a mammoth undertaking. You might think you don’t have the time, know-how, or money to achieve what you want to, nor to build a dream garden.
But our man in Kildare, Michael, has proved that no garden is too far gone for saving, and that with just a little research and careful planning, even the most amateur DIY designer can transform their Irish outdoor spaces for the better!
What’s more, Michael’s garden remodelling didn’t require much money at all! For under a couple thousand Euros, Michael was able to completely reinvent his space, creating a family-friendly garden which can be enjoyed year round.
Check out the photos below to see for yourself the full dramatic, surprising, and creative garden transformation and let these images fuel ideas for your own space!
Shop the Tile Merchant outdoor range today to discover the perfect materials for your own dream garden transformation, or get in touch with our team to learn more.
Why Tile Merchant?
We offer extremely competitive pricing on our entire range of tiles and likewise. We stock a huge range of wall and floor tiles and our prices are competitive for retail and trade. Our stock is widely available in our tile stores in Dublin and Ashbourne (Co. Meath) which are open 7 days a week.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer to shop our tiles online, we can supply you with samples delivered for free.

Article written by Tile Merchant