The playground canopy makeover is complete! I wish the whole process happened like magic as depicted in these photos, but it took a little bit longer in real life to go from the before to the after. Notice the smaller green vinyl flags during the in progress photo? Those had to go too, which was a project in and of itself. They were glued and bolted in. Had we known we would have requested they not be installed in the first place. Eventually my wonderful hubby got them out and was a trooper working in 95+ degree heat. (And yes, our lawn got more lush over the course of this project…lots of thunderstorms this summer)
A few weeks ago I shared a super long post on my thought process for picking a new canopy fabric for the makeover. I gave a sneak peak of the chosen fabric on Instagram and Facebook. The winner was Parterre Indigo Outdoor Fabric. There was no wrong choice, because anything would have been better than the forest green vinyl tarp that came with the play system. (Have I mentioned I hate forest green?)
Since we opted for most of the accessories on the play set to be yellow, I found myself drawn to navy and white outdoor fabrics. I envisioned this whole nautical vibe that I would later be able to tie into the styling on our future deck. My color selection was spot on. The yellow looks awesome with the blue and white.
I love this pattern so much. When you lay on the deck floor of the play set and look up it is so dreamy. The fabric still provides adequate shade cover, but it is so much lighter and airier than the heavy vinyl cover. You can also see where I seamed the fabric. I lucked out getting the pattern to line up perfectly. From above you can hardly tell it is even seamed.
The part that made me most nervous about the whole makeover were the snaps. I was unsure if I could find the right snaps and get them on my fabric. Turns out it was the easiest part of the whole project. I found the snaps and the tool to attach them in a handy little kit at Joann Fabrics.
I am so glad I went for a big, bold pattern. Anything in a smaller scale would have looked way too busy. It took nearly 6 yards of fabric to create this canopy. I needed a print that could hold up to that scale and still look striking.
This is the view from our living room. Remember I am crazy and think the play set in the backyard needs to look great from within the living room? Well, when you look out on it like this it must look great. Otherwise it would have been a huge eyesore out the living room windows.
Check out the full tutorial to make your own! (Just in case you are crazy like me and have a playground canopy that could use a facelift)
Sharing this project here:
Looks Great!!
How has this canopy held up over the past year?
Jill, the canopy held up perfectly through the summer and fall. We did take it down for the winter (we live in Minnesota and most people remove playground canopies to avoid snow build up). We are just about to put it back on the playground…if these april showers would let up :)
Hi there. I am getting ready to attempt to make one for our new swing set. But, the indoor/outdoor fabric I’ve been looking at don’t say they are Teflon coated. Just that they are water, mildew and stain resistant and 500 hours of sunlight. Do you think those would be ok? I kind of thought all outdoor fabrics are the same, except for the vinyl stuff??