House Tour: Our Deck {Summer 2012}

This summer, I decided to make a few changes to our deck. Nothing big. Just a few tweaks. But the space feels much more finished now, and we’ve been loving spending time out there!

It all started with setting things up a little differently than we did last year, and flipping the lounge and dining areas so that we could place our outdoor table immediately outside the patio door and thus a few steps closer to our kitchen.

We then moved the lounge furniture to the other end of the deck, and laid it out to take advantage of the view and overlook the back yard (as opposed to having the arrangement face the house.)

For both color and comfort, I layered on some pillows that I picked up at Pottery Barn. (The throw was from West Elm.) Since the seats of our lounge furniture are fairly deep, the pillows make it a lot more inviting to plop down and get comfortable. Particularly for a shorty like me. And the hits of color add some fun and make for a much more relaxed feel to the space.

We also added two new planter boxes, which we installed on the interior of our deck railings and filled with herbs. I love how their black frames related to our lounge furniture and their silver liners relate to our dining chairs, making the variation in finish amongst our deck furniture actually make a bit of aesthetic sense. How’s that for a great find?

I filled them herbs that I knew we would use, or that I really liked how they looked, and then planted them according to what I thought looked best together. Everything seems to be thriving and it’s been amazing to just walkout the patio door and grab whatever herb I need!

Besides the planter boxes, there are a few new potted containers in addition to the large container I had out on the deck last summer. It’s made for more work when it comes to watering. But I absolutely love having all the flowers and foliage filling out the space and providing that extra layer of color and texture.

What has proven to do better with a good dose of neglect has been my succulent arrangement, which is still looking great as our table’s centerpiece. I almost killed it by over-watering it at the beginning of the summer. But since I added drainage holes to the bottom of the container and allowed mother nature take over its water needs, it’s been recovering nicely.

I’d still like to add an outdoor rug, an umbrella for shade, or even a few more plants at some point down the line. But I really do love how the space has evolved this season. It’s more comfortable. More colorful. More functional. And we’ve been taking full advantage of it.

So tell me, what do you think? Have you been working on any of your outdoor areas this summer?