Back Deck Project

I've been wanting to re-do our back deck for about a year. Well, we finally did it.

Here's the BEFORE shot:

And here's the after shot (before Wes drilled a hole in the center for the umbrella):

And here's the after after shot (i.e. what it looks like now with the umbrella):

I'm in love. I decided on a picnic table instead of a traditional dining set because I wanted to be able to fit more than 6 people at dinner (and I didn't want to spend $600! Seriously, have you seen how expensive a nice dining set is these days?!!!). We've only eaten outside with one other family so far (for a total of four adults, three 5-yr-olds, a two-yr-old, and a baby) and there was more than enough room for more people. Love it!

We bought the picnic table from Lowes for $88 (already put together). Then, I bought a gallon of dark grey wood decking stain (for about $28, but I still have a TON of it left over for another project). It took three coats of stain to get this look. I found the rug on HomeDepot.com for only $80! It's an indoor/outdoor rug and seems super durable and easy to clean (we've just sprayed it with the hose). I also found the two chairs on HomeDepot.com for $120 (for the pair). The navy blue umbrella is from Ollie's and was only $40 (it's metal, cranks up, and can tilt). The potted plant was moved from the front porch. So, in total, the entire deck re-do (which probably isn't done- I'm thinking about getting a few brightly colored hanging lanterns and making a big outdoor chalkboard to hang on the brick wall for the kiddos) was only $356. Not too bad for a rug, umbrella, AND a dining set that sits upwards of 8-10 children and adults!

I even had enough dough left over (from our $400 budget) to get new dishes ($1/piece at Ross), tumblers ($5/ four piece at Walmart), and serve ware ($14 for four white serving bowls).

C'mon over!