The deck makeover is done!
The deck makeover is finished!! In the first episode you saw me build an outdoor table and last week I painted the wall, today you can see how everything comes together.
Our little garden had quite the makeover over the last 5 years. On the estate agency website it looked like a big concrete slab with a few borders but when we went to view the house it was a proper overgrown jungle. Ian’s family helped us clear all the scrubs, build the deck and my dad and I build the bench on the deck. Last year I put artificial grass down to cover up the concrete. It is a lot nicer for Kiki to play on now.
The deck stayed pretty much the same, I changed up the coffee tables but that was it. The L shaped bench worked perfectly in the small space. The large piece even has storage for spare plant pots, chairs and more. I used to keep my cushions in there too, in waterproof bags, but rodents got to it a few winters ago and I had to bin all the half eaten, pee stinking, cushions.
Have a look at the deck area just after we had the whole garden cleared and when the deck and bench were just build. The timber was a complete different colour but Kermit still has the same favourite spot :) The big image is a few years later when the garden got featured by Ikea.
The garden as featured in Ikea family live magazine, photographed by Christina Bull, styled by Ashlyn Gibson
This summer I wanted to add a bit more fun to the deck area, I got rid of the smaller bench keeping just the longer one. I also removed the coffee tables in favour for a small dining table to make the space suitable for al fresco dining. All that was left was to add a bit more colour, have a look and see how I got on.
What do you think? I’m loving the new look!! I had some messages on my Instagram asking if the Chalk Paint will wash off in the rain but I can assure you that after some torrential rain this week the wall and the bench still look perfect. On the wall (vertical area’s) make sure the paint can cure for 3 days before it gets wet and on furniture make sure you apply the Chalk Paint Lacquer to make the paint suitable for outdoor use. All the paint used in my makeover was kindly gifted by Annie Sloan, I used the colour Antoinette on the bench and the table and Paloma and Old White on the wall.
The table legs were gifted by the Hairpinleg company and I made the fly curtain from Hoooked Zpagetti yarn I had left over another project. The divider was also made from left over pieces, old planks, drawers and even a bit of Kiki’s old play kitchen and the bowling track I build Ian are incorporated, making it a lovely separation between the deck and the stairs. I just started layering the timber, screwing and nailing it in place. I did all this of camera as sometimes it is really nice to just build something and not turning it into a tutorial :) If you do want more details on how to build this let me know and I will write up a blog post.
The plants in the divider are mostly faux plants. Kiki, being only 2, has the tendency to pull plant out of their pots so having some fake plants on toddler height and real ones a bit higher make it child friendly spot.
The plants hanging on the fence are a mix of faux and real too. The fence is also a great spot for hanging LED lights and solar lanterns, perfect for reading a book after the sun has set. Curious if this will happen though as most evenings I’m so chattered I fall asleep on the sofa :D But the idea I can do that is a nice one.
What a difference a painted wall can make!! I’m loving the shapes they are such an injection of fun in my small deck space. Or like a friend said, I made myself a selfie wall :D
The grey chair was a birthday present from my parents and is from Ikea, the blue stool is an old one from Hema. The blue back rest cushions are from Ikea too, they are just normal outdoor seating pads I hung from a rod in between the fence posts. The other cushions are a mix I have in my lounge, I just bring them out when we go into the garden (this saves a lot of storage!)
I am so pleased we can eat at the dining table now, Ian isn’t a big fan of eating al fresco but Kiki and I love it so we force him out every now and then :) We had my birthday diner out there too and with some candles and music playing it was like sitting in your own little restaurant. Kiki loved watching all the birds while we tucked into our food, perfect toddler entertainment.
Remember the high chair hack I did? The chair looks great outside too! And looking at the plate shot I think I might have build myself a new photo backdrop, love how the faded pink table top looks against the white plate.
I was thinking of painting the deck but with Kiki playing on it with her mud table I thought the sand might take the paint off in a matter of weeks. Instead we gave it a good clean (as you can see in the video Kiki helped) and I put an old rug on it. It isn’t an outdoor rug so I will take it in after the summer but as I’m still shopping from my shed I didn’t want to buy anything new and this old rug was just gathering dust. I think the beige colour looks great with the pink and blue of the bench.
The mud table is being played with every single day, it definitely helped getting Kiki through lockdown. if you missed the tutorial you can find it here.
Are you tempted giving your garden a little makeover now the summer is probably mostly spend at home? I sure am pleased I gave my deck an update! Hasn’t the garden come a long way from what it looked like 5 years ago when we moved in? What has been your favourite change? For me it’s the wall and the artificial grass, both are big game changers.
