deck | megdanielle

Deck update…

Posted on June 26, 2013 by megdanielle

Today on my lunch break I stopped at Home Depot to pick up the paint for my soon-to-be outdoor bar. I introduce to you “Dark Cobalt Blue”:

Then I ran to the Dollar Store to pick up some knickknacks for cheap! The pillows and candle holder are new but they came from Pier1 after a quick stop yesterday. I got the white pillow on sale for $16 and got tricked into the non-sale striped pillow for $20. I love that it ties in my colors though, so I’m stuck with it. The woman did say that I could check back for a price adjustment within 14 days if the sales switch over. The candle holder not part of my plan (SHOOT) and it was just short of $9 on the sale rack. I do like it but I kicked myself once I made the trip to the Dollar Store today and saw how much more I could’ve gotten for less.

The little watering can was, of course, $1. I also picked up 2 sets of 2 $1 baskets to add to the bar, a $1 cutting board that I won’t mind leaving outside, and a $1 towel to clean up any bar spills.

And last but most importantly, I remembered that I already had in my possession the biggest budget saver for our deck! I have been pricing out garden stools everywhere but could NOT justify purchasing the $80-$120 ones I was finding everywhere (and thereby destroy my budget). My $1 watering can got me fixated on that orange-red color and it dawned on me: I already have a perfect garden stool! I climbed to the back of the garage and dug under shovels, brooms, and salvaged wood to uncover my one-of-a-kind garden stool. It was covered in cobwebs, flaking paint, and dead bugs (EW!) but I absolutely fell in love with after a good strong hosing down!

I always thought those bloggers were lying when they said they found their great budget saver among their own things while redecorating an area of their house. But as luck would have it, it can even happen to you and me! Remind me to show you the old metal push mower we found in the attic too one of these days!

Happy Heart.

Starting the Deck Makeover

Posted on June 24, 2013 by megdanielle

Freddy is awesome at setting project budgets. When we bought our house, he budgeted out every single one of the rooms and I scoffed at his detail down to the nails he’d needed to purchase. Of course I was amazed when we were able to accomplish what we set out to do at our budgeted amounts; that’s when he really became the project master of the house – not just with his handy skills but with his planning know-how.

When Freddy approached me with a budgeted number and a challenge to makeover our deck area, I gladly took him up on his offer! Our deck is accessed through my favorite room of the house, which hosts a fireplace and (currently) the patio table and chair set passed down from my parents; the room is functioning as our dining room today but it’s in preparation to become our future relaxation room.

The deck is big enough for a few chairs and harbors an awfully dilapidated grill that was left over from its previous owner. The grill, in turn, harbors an awfully mean looking family hornets. The space is definitely in need of a little summer TLC! In all honesty, we’ll probably tear the deck down sooner or later and replace it – which means the updates need to be mobile.

With all of that in mind, I began scouring magazines for ideas (Thank you HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens magazines!) and drawing up some sketches on my sketch pad. I clipped out examples or ideas from my magazines and pasted them into my drawings. Then I started adding up the costs… Let me tell you, this project budgeting comes a lot easier to my husband!

I knew I wanted an outdoor rug, first and foremost, to highlight our existing seating area. (We purchased the green Adirondack chairs back in our apartment days and got a great little side table thrown in on a Craigslist deal for some patio chairs and a table late last fall.) I read a suggestion for a potting bench turned outdoor bar that would go perfectly to the right of the doorway and I could have Freddy build me a corner bench to save some of my budget. With a few more odds, ends, and color – I started seeing how I could have my deck under budget after all!

I found the picture seen above in the top right corner of my sketch pad that used a table and lattice instead of purchasing or building a potting bench and it dawned on me – we have a rickety old table downstairs holding our laundry detergent that is the PERFECT size for this! It was a leftover when we moved in. I could paint the table with some outdoor paint and add a lower shelf and have my own version! Here’s a picture of the before:

Then I got on www.rugsusa.com at the prompting of some magazine suggestions and found the cutest outdoor rug for $40 (flat rate – no shipping charges added!). Wouldn’t you believe it, that rug arrived today and it is EXACTLY what I had in mind! That’s not always a sure bet off a computer screen!

Don’t you love it?! I have scouted a few more odds and ends that I haven’t picked up yet but I was so excited today that I couldn’t wait to share the beginning planning stages!