Hey friends! I want to start by giving a shout out to all of the amazing Father’s out there in the world slaying dragons, killing it, and just being there for their children on a daily basis. For those of you who don’t know, my husband, whom I lovingly refer to as LC on the blog (you can read why here), is the father to our son-Mr. 8 Year Old, and the step father to my two oldest, Delaney and Mr. 16 Year Old. He stepped in and raised them when they were abandoned by their father (you can also read about that at the link above). So to all dad’s and step dad’s everywhere who are there for their children everyday showing them what a true father is, Happy Father’s Day! This post was meant to go live on Friday morning, but I got a new computer, a Macbook Pro, and it has been a learning curve to say the least. But I know once I am used to it, I’m going to love it! In the meantime, I am just trying to learn how to use it! But I am excited today to bring you the first part of my Summer Home Tour, the top tier of our back deck! I am still working on a few things on the lower level, but hope to share soon! And stay tuned for more of my Summer Home Tour inside as well! I really love the way our top deck turned out this year, and I hope you enjoy getting a look at it!
Three summers ago, I painted the checkerboard pattern on this top deck, and it was the best decision! All of our guests proclaim to love it, and I get compliments on it a lot when I post outfit pictures on Instagram standing on this deck. Last summer I gave the paint a refresh, and plan on doing that every couple of years to keep it fresh. Right now, it is looking a little distressed from the hard winter we had, but that is just fine with me, I like the way it looks this way too!
Striped pillow covers– not for outdoors// Blue solar powered lantern// Decorative solar bird similar// Citronella candle bucket)
Last summer, I tried to do a little herb garden out here, and it was a huge fail because it rained so much that everything drowned, and I just gave up. So this summer, I decided to try again. My husband snagged this black wrought iron tiered planter from a neighbor who had sat it out for the garbage, and I had big plans to do a different herb on each tier. Only after I had them all planted in pots did I realize that the pots would not fit through the metal posts, so I improvised by putting two of my planted herbs on the floor next to the tiered planter and getting some skinny pots that would fit and planting some flowers in them. I planted basil, oregano, and cilantro, and it has been fun to just clip some and use it for cooking. The Terra Cotta pots all came from Walmart, and I thought about aging them, but decided to just let them weather on their own.
A couple of years ago, I had painted the rim of this terra cotta pot yellow, and that color wasn’t working for me this year, so I painted over it with some white chalk paint. Easy peasy!
I love this rustic little corner of our top deck. The black tiered planter and the little wooden spool I am using as a side table were rummage and yard sale finds. You may have seen them both on my back deck last summer as well. The black tiered planter was rusted and falling apart, so I had LC tighten it up with some screws, and I cleaned it with a wire brush and spray painted it a flat black. Maybe not the best way to treat rusted metal, I don’t know, but it was a quick solution, and so far it is holding up.
Feather Pillow Cover– not for outdoors
Isn’t this metal bird bell the cutest? I found it at Cracker Barrel of all places, and just fell in love with it. It’s on clearance right now for just $9.99!
Blue Owl Candle Holder// “Grow” planters- Target
I’ve been searching for some outdoor pillows to liven up this space, but at the time I shot these photos, I hadn’t purchased any yet. So I brought some of my indoor pillows outside to make it look pretty. However, I have found some adorable zebra outdoor pillows on clearance at Target since, and I shared them on Instagram last week if you want to take a peek!
I purchased these two chairs from Kohls years ago, and they have held up perfectly for all of these years!
I painted our back door white a couple of summers ago, but honestly, it needs replaced. Next summer we plan to replace it, and the soffett and gutters on the back of the house.
This top tier of the deck was built in 1996, so it is pretty aged, and adding the painted checkerboard pattern really gave it some character and pizazz. It is one of my favorite painting projects to date. I haven’t regretted it once! You can see a hosta peeking at the bottom of the screen in this picture. I decided to plant hostas in these two large planters on either side of the deck. They have both already grown a lot. The windows you see here are to our master bedroom and bath, just to give you an idea of the layout of the place. This giant tree that is right behind the house is wonderful during summer, because it makes our bedroom and bathroom completely private. And it provides great shade on the deck for most of the day.
We bought this little bistro table a couple of years ago at Big Lots, and it came with two chairs, one of which is over in the corner next to the wooden spool side table. It’s the perfect size to use as a side table, but we also come out here and eat if it’s just the two of us. If the whole family wants to eat outdoors, we can go to the bottom deck for that.
I still have a DIY project to finish for the bottom deck, so it’s not quite ready for a reveal, but here are a couple of glimpses at the bottom deck. We got the wooden spool table last summer for free from a friend who worked at a local phone company. I haven’t treated it because I wanted it to weather, but I’m planning to treat it with something this summer so that I can wipe it down for dining. For my DIY project, I am going to use some pallets to make a rectangular shaped table that can be used as counter space when we are grilling out. We also bought a small fire pit that we haven’t put out here on the deck yet. So be looking for the reveal in a few weeks on the bottom deck!
I blogged about our plans for exterior home improvements recently, and one of the things we had planned was to have a new fence put in in the back yard. I plan to do a full reveal soon, but you can see a peek below. What a huge improvement this fence has made in our yard! The other one was literally falling over. I haven’t blogged about the changes that have been happening to our exterior yet, because we currently have a complete disaster in the front of our house. We hired someone to do everything we needed done out here, and he did a great job with the fence and fascia, but the front stoop and patio have been a huge fail, and it has been a large source of stress for us for over a month now. To put it nicely, the guy royally screwed us over, and we have to hire someone to come in and jackhammer the whole stoop and stairs out and start from scratch. Needless to say, I doubt I’m going to be having anything picture worthy out front of our house for quite some time. I plan to write an entire post about the problems we have had and the handyman who caused them, so if you are local to our area, you will want to read it! We feel it is our duty to let the public know about this person and the kind of service he provides. It’s sad, really.
I hope you enjoyed having a look at our top deck today! I love our back deck, it is pretty private, only our next door neighbors can see us and they never go outside much, so we really enjoy spending time out there. We sit out there most evenings. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! Have a fun day and I hope you will be spending it with a very special Father in your life!
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I too have a old deck that I painted two years ago, and is now peeling and flaking horribly. I love the way yours came out, and giving it some thought! I also like your use of found old items…..Great ideas, thanks!
Thank you. Mine has never peeled or flaked, and it has been 4 years. It does start wearing after two years, so I have given it another coat, and this summer it is time for another coat.
Hi, Nikki, loved your work. First time I found you. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Your deck is amazing.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that!
The deck looks fantastic. I love the tiered planter in the corner. The floor looks awesome. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty