I consider myself an outdoors person – I grew up in Vermont, so it’s inevitable!  So tackling the deck for me was top priority this year. As you can see from the before picture, it had not been re-stained in numerous years.  We used to have the traditional table,chair,umbrella set, that quite frankly, we never used.  Overall, our deck wasn’t inviting and I wanted to create a space that was an extension of our home.

This is the Before Deck

I knew I didn’t want to do all one color.  I wanted it to be brighter so I chose a solid outdoor white stain for the rails and a darker semitransparent stain for the floor.  Those of you that know me, know that I love love love to paint, but I can honestly say, this was the most dreadful job ever.  I also chose 2 days to do it when it was in the 90′s- ugh.  I still have a few things to finish up on the other side (you can’t see:).  Anyway, the final result…

I’m pretty pleased with the result.  We purchased some new furniture with comfy cushions and a new rug and now we have a deck we enjoy.  I still need a few more flowers out here, but overall, I think a good start!