The Deck, Phase 2.

The deck on the back of our home was a huge highlight for us.  In our old home, we had nice french doors that led to nothing short of three stairs that took you straight to the grass.  While I’d trade our mud for that grass again any day, having a deck to walk out on and enjoy is a perk!

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that a month ago Dan took me to Ikea for my birthday present.  Forget going out to dinner, or him stressing about what to get me.  All I wanted was a day with the hubs at Ikea to finally pick out deck furniture.  We had done our research prior to going (we look at their website all the time) and nearly ordered a table and had it delivered.  Delivery charge is $130 bucks – and without seeing the product with our own eyes and our bums to test it out, we figured we would save a lot of money and disappointment if we just drove there to look at the pieces and compare.

Kid-less thanks to the grandparents, we were off.

The list started to grow as we were driving out, thinking of little things we could pick up while we were out that way.  Then the realization that we no longer had my tank of a minivan to bring the items home in settled in, brought us to the simple fact that we would still be getting our pieces delivered! Oh well!

This was our deck prior to building our new furniture.  We had to tear our the surrounding half-alive landscaping

We ripped out the existing ivy (our never-ending battle at this house) – the tilting tree (not sure if I regret that yet) and small bushes that were struggling.

I know, I know, it looks naked now doesn’t it? We have SO much to do to this backyard, so we are learning to love the process and try to get over the fact that it just looks torn up.  We have ground to level out, more trees to cut down and then we can actually talk about what ideas we have for landscaping.  So far, I am winning on wrapping the deck in hydrangea eventually 🙂 Happy happy happy.

Putting together the new deck chairs were a bit tricky, requiring a bit more muscle than I had available.  The table and bench we chose to go with it were easy to put together, so the stress factor was all balanced out in the end!

We chose 5 white chairs, and a white bench, and mixed it up a bit with a wood table.  We were the only people at Ikea pulling chairs and tables across the aisle trying to find our perfect “match” So glad we did though, because they go together SO well.

The set fills our out deck nicely, providing plenty of seating without feeling overwhelming.  Since our backyard is a jungle, we planted citronella plants thanks to advice from Dan’s parents.  Not only do they smell lovely but they fill out quite nicely over time! Seeing as Brody is currently covered in bug bites, these were a must!

The planters are also from Ikea, the we had the same ones at our old house and left two of them there with the new homeowners.  So we made sure to snatch 4 more up this trip. For only $20 a pot, you just can’t beat it.  Dan drilled small holes in the bottom for draining to aid in our lack of green thumbs.

The addition of a little basil and lavender on the deck helps bring a bit more green, since we took most of it out in the landscaping.

We are loving our new hang out spot!  We’ve already had family over for a cookout and squeezed a ton of people on the deck.  So, a big thank you to the hubs for taking me to Ikea – letting me talk your ear off about every piece we walked by.

By the way – we also fell head over heels for a kitchen they had set up there.  We found ourselves literally “hanging out” and chatting for a while in it.  We were smitten. Hopefully, within the next few years a kitchen like the one we saw will replace our current Brady Bunch kitchen!

Before the summer is up (let’s try not to think about it) we plan on leveling out the ground, creating actually garden beds, painting the lattice trim under the deck and planting grass seed.  I am sure the list will keep growing –