Backyard Reveal!

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, our deck is set for premium outdoor enjoyment.  We’ve been piecing this baby together over the last few months – bought a grill this winter, patio furniture a few months ago, and now she is stained and ready for some good old fashioned backyard fun.  Now let’s get to the pictures already!

Before (aka Desperately Seeking Stain):

And After!

I will confess right off the bat - the stain was only about 1/2 DIY.  We hired someone to help us with it, which worked out really nicely.  Mason was still out there sweatin’ to the oldies, but it was so worth it to have an extra pair of hands on the project while I worked away on my regular job!  We used Olympic Maximum oil based stain (just say no to acrylic) in Dark Mahogany.

Patio Table and Chairs (and my boy Denny)!  Table is a tile top table that we purchased on Craigslist for $100.  Love that we can change out the tiles to freshen up the color whenever we want!  Chairs are from JCPenney.

Found these great little oil lanterns at Costco for $19.  Love the design.  Three to a box.

 

Flowers flowers everywhere make for a very happy Leslie!  Love how lush these look on my plant stand.

 

The look of flowers spilling over the top of a planter gets me every time.  Snagged this urn at Lowe’s on clearance for $19.  They also sell these great drop in baskets that you just switch out year after year in your planters.  I think the basket was $12 bucks.

 

Here is my herb garden and all of its herbaceousness.  This year we have basil, Italian parsley, rosemary, thyme and oregano.

Planter boxes filled with dianthus.  I love these plants – long flowering and very hardy.  In some climates they can be perennials if the winter is fairly mild.  Several years ago at my first house, these lasted through the winter no problem.

   

Not quite sure what we’ll be doing with this space yet.  I’d like to grow a wisteria vine around the pergola.  Maybe a set of cherry red Adirondack chairs here with some fun patterned outdoor pillows will fit the bill.

 

Primed for dining on lots of fresh veggies and herbs this summer!

Home sweet home.