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Our Outdoor Paradise

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July 11, 2012 By Jackie

The deck we had built last fall is coming along.  It was great to have it waiting for us this spring and we were able to take advantage of some spring sales to finish furnishing the deck.  The last time you saw the deck, it looked like this…

Deck Conversation Area

Late in the fall, we scored a great deal on these outdoor lounge chairs.  Then we found the white table at the Room & Board Outlet.  Altogether, all the new furniture for this lounge area was under $500!  Here is what this same space looks like today…

Deck Lounge seating

The deck floor has weathered to a silver grey.  We are planning to oil it to get back a nice warm wood tone.  Unfortunately, it rained all spring and then became blazing hot, so we have not found the good weather to do the oiling.  Late, late, last fall, we did add one coat of white acrylic stain on the railings.  We still have another coat to go, weather permitting.  We are taking it slow and doing the staining and oiling ourselves, instead of paying over $1700 for a painter.

When we chose the deck design, we decided to go with the biggest deck option.  The main reason was I wanted to have both a lounge area and a nice sized dining area.  This truly is a deck sized for entertaining.  In the summer in Minnesota, you have to soak up all the outdoor time you can get and a nice deck is the perfect way to enjoy outdoor living.

Deck dining area

This spring we took advantage of an early outdoor furniture sale at Crate & Barrel to get a dining table.  The Alfresco dining table (from the same set as the lounge chairs) was on sale for $479.  Since we were saving $119 on the table, I decided to splurge and get the matching bench, which was on sale for $319.  The way I looked at it , the bench was only $200 more than I originally planned to pay for the dining table alone, the bench can sit 3 people, and I can hardly buy 3 nice outdoor dining chairs for $200.  Oh, I forgot to mention, benches are awesome for little kids…and I have two of those.

I love this furniture.  The “wood slats” are actually no maintenance, fade-resistant polystyrene.  The faux wood looks so real.  The frames are silver-grey powder-coated aluminum.  It is nice to know with all the deck maintenance we have overdue, we don’t have any furniture maintenance to be concerned with.

Once the dining table and bench finally arrived, all four of us dined alfresco in a row on the bench for a few weeks, until I found the perfect dining chairs.  Because the table is so long, I knew I wanted to have 5 chairs in addition to the bench.  I wanted to be able to seat 10 comfortably.  Outdoor dining chairs are pricey and I just did not want to spend $500+ more on outdoor furniture.  So, I turned to the best source I know for cool, but inexpensive stuff…Ikea.

white ikea reidar chairs

These white Reidar dining chairs are perfect.  I love the modern take on an old bistro classic.  They are powder-coated aluminum and can be out year-round.  They are also stackable, in case we want to bring them in from the cold in the winter.  The best part…they are only $49.99 each.  So, I was able to get 5 dining chairs for $250 to complete my 10-person seating plan.  The picture above only shows four, because I have one more of these guys to assemble.  (We have to prioritize around here and since we have not had 10 people over for alfresco dining yet, we have not been motivated to assemble that last chair.)

TRU-Infrared grill

The most recent addition to the deck, and arguably the best, is the grill.  My hubby’s birthday is around Memorial Day, so I surprised him with a trip to Lowe’s to buy a grill and take advantage of their free assembly and free delivery.  We decided on the Char-Broil TRU-Infrared 3-Burner Natural Gas Grill.  We have been very happy with it!  Since Memorial Day we have grilled out practically every night.  We have replaced dinners out with frequent trips to the butcher for new things to try on the grill.

The deck feels like the full package now.  The total cost for all the furniture and grill was around $1700 (coincidentally, the same amount we are saving by staining the deck ourselves).  Not bad, considering there is seating for 14 people, maybe more if people want to get cozy on the extra wide lounge chairs.  We love to hang out in the lounge area while dinner is grilling.  When the food is ready we move to the dining table and enjoy a nice alfresco dinner.  Our deck is on the east side of the house, so we have great evening shade from the house and no need for any other shade cover. Here is the long view of our outdoor paradise…

Deck for entertaining

I thought you would like to know what goes on in the background while I am taking pictures.  In this case, the boys were in the background swabbing the deck…literally, with water and tiny paint brushes.  The larger brushes were reserved for cleaning the windows, per my oldest’s directions to his brother :)

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Comments

  1. Noel says

    July 11, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Love your deck and all that seating! I love eating outside all summer too, but in Virginia it’s a little hot in July and August to do it regularly.
    My husband and I bought that same table on sale at Crate and Barrel, but with the grey-er slats. Our deck is pretty narrow, so it was one of the best fits that we could find as most were too wide once you had chairs pulled the whole way out.
    I tried to talk him into the bench but he put up a comfort argument, and I let him have his way. It’s not often he feels strongly about decor things! So we have chairs for 6.
    Hopefully by fall we will have a patio off the deck where we can seat more!

    • Jackie says

      July 13, 2012 at 8:44 pm

      Noel,
      I love the grey version of this furniture too! Ha, he might be right on the comfort argument…for adults…kids love a bench! Thanks for sharing :)

  2. Megan @ Two Live Colorfully says

    July 11, 2012 at 11:00 am

    I love that long table. I totally agree with wood-slated furniture. It looks so great!

  3. CATHY says

    July 12, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    I have BBQ envy. That’s the grill I wanted to buy but it was priceier than the one I ended up getting. Oh well…
    LOVE your table and bench. I did the bench route for our regular kitchen table because we already had four upholstered dining chairs that we LOVED! I’m planning on creating an “upholstered” bench look like yours for it.
    GREAT JOB

    • Jackie says

      July 13, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      Thanks Cathy. Please let me know how the bench project goes!

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