Home Tour: Back Deck

When we originally went through this house, the back deck was one of the biggest selling points for us.

It’d been painted an unfortunate brown color, so we had the whole thing sanded and re-stained a natural color and the broken railing slats repaired and repainted.

The ceiling of the deck was also basically just sheets of plywood which was very ugly and we’d considered doing cedar planking but wood prices were sky high and it was going to cost around $100 per foot just for materials (no labor!) and with a 70ish foot deck, that didn’t seem at all like a place we wanted to spend thousands and thousands of dollars.

I saw a photo of a coffered ceiling somewhere around this time and it occurred to me that we could do a faux coffered ceiling that would cover the seams and make it look finished. Our wonderful neighbor who did a lot of the woodwork and trim in both this house and our previous house did it and it turned out beautifully for a fraction of the cost.

The deck ended up being one of the very last parts of our remodel to get finished and caused so much headache, but once it was done, it was like getting an extra living space for our house and we use it as much as we can from about March to October.

We eat lunch out there most weekdays during the summer, we host our annual Pi Day party there (heat lamps to the rescue if it’s a cold March!), and on fall afternoons, I love to read there before I start on dinner.

Our main goal was to make it as useable as possible and there are two main areas.

One is the eating area. We knew we love to entertain and with so much of Bart’s family nearby, we wanted enough tables and chairs to seat 24 people. We found these round tables with eight chairs each and ordered three of them. For much of the year, we keep them all folded up and put away at the corner of the deck (there’s a perfect spot for all three too nestle into the wall) but in the summer we keep one up for our daily lunches and then pull out the others as needed for our Mother’s Day brunch or other events.

It’s been such a delight to be able to comfortably seat a big group and although I knew we’d use them, even I’m surprised by how often it comes in handy! (Sometimes, during the winter, we set up 1-2 of the tables in the living room if it’s too cold to sit outside and we need more seating than our kitchen and dining tables provide).

On the end of the deck is the seating area. We ordered two sets of this outdoor seating, which gave us four chairs and two love seats, plus two coffee tables (we only used one of them here and then used the other elsewhere). They’ve been great, holding up well during the winter. This spring, I took off all the white cushion covers and ran them through the washing machine and then put them back on damp (they dried within an hour) and they looked brand new.

It’s one of my favorite places to read, visit with friends or family, or set out snacks for the girls. A few weeks ago, my sister came to our house on Sunday around lunchtime before we’d gotten home and texted me to say “this is so nice out here!” They’d set out their picnic lunch and eaten it while they waited for us and I was delighted it was such a comfortable welcoming space.

We added an outdoor rug we’ve had for ages (it was originally in my office in our Arizona house!) which still looks basically brand new. We’d had a natural woven rug from our Arizona playroom and it was just rolled up on the back porch for more than a year as I considered whether to donate it or use it and then one day in early summer, I realized I could layer it with blue rug for better coverage and a more lux look and I’ve LOVED it – it’s so gratifying to use things you already have to make something work better.

In the corner, we have our hanging chair (we bought this frame for it in our last house) and all summer long, you can almost always find one of the girls out there reading or just hanging out – that was a good purchase all those years ago!

We also have a narrow and long folding table that we use as a serving table for parties or works for summer puzzle doing when I want to be outside rather than in the dining room. Under it, we store our spikeball set (which has been in constant use this summer) and our giant Jenga set, plus our small recycling bin.

On the opposite end of the deck, we have a little table for my gardening supplies, including soil, plastic pots and decorative pots and it’s nice to have a place to repot my house plants or do garden starts in the spring.

I also have a few pots that I use in the summer for growing basil and tomatoes – it’s fun to have a little greenery out there and it’s easy to remember to water them because I’m out there so much anyway.

On the day of our first outdoor party on the back deck (Pi Day of 2022!), we hung bistro lights (that’s the only lighting on the deck and we worried it would be too dim, but it’s actually perfect for a warm, cozy glow that isn’t too overwhelmingly bright or super dim) and added two patio heaters, which work like a charm.

There are stairs that lead down to the backyard and this summer, I added these solar powered lights to each step so as the sun goes down, you can see where you’re going, plus it adds a nice glow to the back deck.

Any questions about the back deck? Leave them in the comments and I’m happy to answer!

SOURCES:

Table and Chairs: WebstaurantStore
Patio Furniture: Overstock
Blue Rug: Annie Selke
Woven Rug: Target
Basket Chair: Walmart
Hanging Chair Frame: Amazon Bistro Lights: Amazon Solar Powered Deck Lights: Amazon
Patio Heaters: Amazon
Folding Table: Walmart
Potting Table: Amazon
Wood Pots: Home Depot