The Deck gets a new look...

A few years back (ok more than a few) one of the Executives of the company I work for had a party at his home to benefit a charity. During that party, the back deck collapsed. Whether it was from excessive weight, or just posts rotting isn't really important, but what is was the impression it left in my mind. You can call it a crazy phobia but it's a huge phobia none the less. Since that experience I have been extremely conscious of the deck on my house and the safety of my friends and family. Some might say obsessive about it. You know what? I can live with that "criticism". Every house I have owned since that experience has gotten a deck inspection, and new footers either added or replaced the old ones.

Last month I decided that it was not a project we were going to tackle ourselves at this house. The deck had a serious settling problem in one corner and really needed to be lifted, and new poles installed. A person needs to know their DIY limits and this was one we thought better left to the professionals. We hired a highly recommended company, and the deck got new shoes...er feet...er legs...er new deck posts were put in!

What a difference it made too. It's possible that it's all in my head, but the deck feels sturdier, safer and yes prettier!  Eleven new holes were dug, cement went in, and the 6 x 6 poles were installed to hold up the deck. I also had him redo the footers under the steps. 

Once the deck was secured, it was time to think about freshening up the deck itself. 

This is what the deck looked like when I purchased the house last year. 


The first thing I wanted to do was to paint. The walls were a tired yellow, the trim was not quite white and the ceiling had a wash over the plywood. (we never did figure out what color it was supposed to be)

The room has 3 ceiling fans and they all looked terrible. 

After spending some time thinking about color, off we went to our favorite paint store (Sherwin Williams). The ceiling got a nice blue to make it feel like the sky, the trim got a bright white, and I color matched the inside walls to the outside walls with a pretty light grey.

We checked out the ceiling fans and rather than replace them, we just bought new blades to replace the drooping originals, gave everything a good scrub and bought some new pulls. They look fabulous and saved us a few bucks until they need replacement. 

Next up was to put up curtains to make it actually feel more like a living room than a deck. Ikea to the rescue, these panels are basically tulle (fish net) and are extremely inexpensive. We love the look, and didn't have to spend a fortune to get it. 

The fire-pit is a Home Depot special. It is just wonderful at night and gives off the perfect ambiance to let us relax after a long hard day. I love staring at the flame, it has the perfect amount of light and keeps us mesmerized just staring at it. 


We use the deck as an extension of our living room. More a part of the house than just a deck. We spend most of our time sitting in this room, enjoying the view of the lake, and just chillin.

And finally, a bonus of redoing the deck is we started thinking about tie-backs for the curtains. I knew I wanted something nautical, so while playing with different knots for the deck curtains, we made this monkey-fist for the living room. They are really easy to make, and there are plenty of videos on youtube that made it all fun and easy. This particular one used a billiards cue-ball as the center. We've done quite a few since then and have used basic ball bearings for the center. They are a lot of fun to make, and if you have kids, I highly recommend this activity. It will keep them entertained for hours. (an added bonus)