A couple of weekends ago when we had a flurry of nice hot weather (where it has gone now is beyond me), we decided to finally say goodbye to our little garden bench we’d rescued from the tangled mess of ivy at the back of the garden when we moved in. It was starting to fall apart and despite lasting us for 3+ years, it was literally on it’s last legs.
I decided to order this cute white bench because we were expecting company that weekend, needed it in a hurry and we really didn’t want our guests falling through the old bench!
I potted up a few little blooms, cleaned up our bamboo chairs, hung up a hanging basket and called it done…
Well, done for NOW at least…
See how shit our deck is? It’s small, looking a little worse for wear and is desperately in need of a clean and refresh.
So we’ve decided we’re going to be giving it a little makeover this summer. We’ve talked about extending the deck every year for the past 3 YEARS. Yes, we move quickly around these parts *ahem*.
But it’s getting to the stage now where no matter how hard we try to dress it up, the expression “rolled in glitter” springs to mind.
Wayne has a couple of weeks off in July (lucky sod) so he’s going to spend a couple of those days making a much bigger platform that extends to the side border and out a few feet as well, making it large enough to fit some proper furniture out there. Then it’ll be a matter of refreshing the existing boards, adding on to it with new boards, adding some panels around the perimeter (like a proper deck, rather than just a platform) and staining everything so that it looks like it was always there.
I’ve said it before but this isn’t our ‘forever’ house so while we could spend a lot of money ripping the whole thing down and starting again, just extending it is still going to cost us around £500 for everything including new deck panels… so yeah, working with what we’ve got here to save a few pennies for other pretties required indoors! ;)
Oh and I thought I’d share the back of the garden which is just crazy overgrown but kind of pretty at the same time as that tree is in full bloom right now and raining white petals everywhere.
So that’s our temporary refresh and the plans for July – all this while working on the guest bedroom and finishing off the bathroom! You may call it crazy, I call it ‘multi-tasking’ ;)
Where did you get the pillows and table cloth? I absolutely love them!
I bought them last year from Very.co.uk but I don't see them on the website anymore :( So sorry!! xxx
So pretty and charming. I love that you just painted part of the brick white.
Aw thank you! I did that a couple of years ago out of necessity ;) http://www.swoonworthy.co.uk/2012/05/power-of-paint-outside-brickwork.html
That pops of color against the white brick and wood are brilliant Kimberly :) So fun!
Another LOVE for that fabric! <br />Denise
It is amazing what a difference a few touches can make. I'm in the midst of a back breaking garden makeover myself, it is finally taking shape now.
'Tis looking pretty. Now we just need some decent (prolonged) weather.<br /><br />And there ain't nothing wrong with some crazy multi-tasking!! We're the idiots who did the whole house in the same year!
It looks lovely, but I can see why you want to extend the decking. Love the colour accents in your garden. It's so cheerful!<br /><br />Katie <3
What a lovely, happy space! Quite 'cutesy' for you, no?!! Prints on Cushions…etc are super cool xx
Haha! Yeah, it's totally more 'cutesy' than what I would normally do but I don't want to spend more money on it until we extend the deck and we have the cash. So for now, cute and colourful is what we're going with ;) xxx
Ugh, this is adorable Kimberly! I am full of jealousness at your backyard escape. And that little escape by your shed? That looks insane. Such a pretty retreat. And an ideal place to have a BBQ and get hammed on pretty drinks in the sun ;)<br /><br />xx A
The decking looks really good for a quick job, so bright and fresh! I think I'll be stealing away that bench to put in my garden as well, it looks perfect.<br /><br />Mel<br />♥<br />http://blog.meljwills.com
Wait a minute- this isn't your forever home?! Can I please buy it when you move? I want to live in your bathroom. xxx