Autumn Deck Reveal with New Seating and Updates!

Autumn Deck Reveal with updates and lots of new seating and additions! OMG Where on earth did this summer go!? I can’t believe its so far into November already and I still have so many fun things Lodi and I finished this summer and fall to share with you guys. I decided after so many changes to the deck (Check out the old reveal here) that I definitely needed to share a new deck reveal with you before 2020 was over and I missed the lovely fall colors! The biggest changes are all the seating we removed and replaced with new!

Several years ago, right after I finished this deck, I built a few pieces of furniture we’re still using to this day that you’ll see in the new deck reveal pics below. The sun loungers (use them daily all summer long!), built in wrap around bench, end tables with built in planters and the base I built for our picnic table are still going strong for us!

The first big changes I made to the deck were actually over a year ago in July of 2019. I removed my indoor to outdoor seating and sent it out to my garage.

I did that for two reasons.

ONE: The paint wasn’t holding up and I didn’t feel like repainting it every year and TWO: Outdoor cushions are always just GROSS and the cushions that came with the sofa and chair were awesome and not being used because I certainly couldn’t leave them outside.

That left my deck pretty barren with a mishmash of very old, odd ball furniture doing its best to at least offer something to perch on.

Lodi and I started out this spring with the first big change for the deck: Wire cable rails which WE LOVE.

It was Lodi’s idea one night to fire up the chimenea which, up until that point, had been little more than a very heavy decoration. Turns out though the little guy makes a great fire that puts out quite a bit of heat!

So, first purchase (and maybe my favorite buy) was of the blue vinyl Adirondack chairs. They were only $23 each, they’ll never need to be repainted and I’m confident they’ll last us awhile. They’re also REALLY comfortable and just perfect for toasting on a cool night in front of the chimenea.

Several projects went into this deck reveal over the last summer!

Ice falling off the house this spring broke our barn door table so I replaced it with a new table top. Plans for next spring: we’ll be sending my grandpa’s old workshop benches to the garage for seating (and safe keeping) then purchasing new chairs for our table after that. (Love that the new chairs will match the new deck stools too. Crossing my fingers, hint hint, that a sweet family member might even get them for us for Xmas!)

The little stools I built a few years ago I replaced with just a couple of chairs at the ends of the table. I moved the stools to either side of the sun loungers and they look like they were made for just that purpose! And, basically, they were lol I built them at the same height, at the same time, so they’re perfect as sun lounger extensions/end tables.

I had grown to hate the spool in the corner (it was totally rotting the deck out, you can still even see the round stain it left behind) so I also built a slightly-taller-than-average coffee table as a replacement.

The best addition though was the new bar!

Basically its just a shelf, but because of its location and the awesome view of the yard, it is absolutely where everyone wants to sit. (All summer I had my morning coffee here when the weather was nice and it was just lovely!)

It was that fact (that everyone wants to sit there) that we ended up doing some furniture adjusting for the whole deck to open up the bar to accommodate four stools instead of two. These are the wicker high top bar stools we purchased and are REALLY happy with. They’re big, comfortable and wipe dry easily if they get wet.

When we combined our households Lodi brought his awesome grill so my little portable camping grill headed to storage for when we actually go camping. This opened up the grill station/buffet I built out here years ago to actually (finally) be used as a buffet for outdoor dining.

If you check out the first reveal post about this deck it included some old chairs I gave a little makeover to. At first they worked as extra seating but eventually they were downgraded to plant stands and end tables. They saw their last summer on the deck though and I found another use for them elsewhere on the farm.

My two old rocking chairs were perfect to take their place as plant stands.

The rockers were ancient when I refinished them back in 2013 and by 2017 I was no longer confident they would support anyone much bigger than me. But, of course, I didn’t want to get rid of them as they were one of my first refinishing projects and inherited from my grandparents.

Eventually I’ll cut out their seats and make them TRUE flower planters with the pots built right in but, for now, I think they’re quite charming just as they are!

I can’t bring up the deck in any way without mentioning one of the most popular projects I’ve done here on the blog. I love my hanging solar lanterns made out of dollar store plant hangers and glass bowls from an old chandelier. I also put a couple on top of either post beside the back gate.

In this deck reveal I have to mention one of my all time favorite buys.

The magnetic screen doors!

I’m so happy with them! This was their fourth summer with me (I take them down and store them in the winter) so they’re looking a bit scruffy at this point but they’re inexpensive enough that having to replace them every few years is totally acceptable to me!

The big double screen I purchased here for $30
The two standard size screens I purchased here for $20

I finally got the outside of the exterior doors painted black lol that’s only been on my list for the five years I’ve lived here. I even painted out the trim in white like three years ago and still hadn’t gotten the doors done!

One day I had just absolutely had it with myself! It was a GLORIOUS fall day and it was actually HOT outside (not unlike the day I took these photos) and I just painted them out quick in less than an hour! Why is it some projects just take us so long to complete?! ITS JUST WEIRD!

Our doggo Annie is really enjoying the deck now more than ever. The new cable rails made it possible for her dog kennel to open up to this space all of the time so she can come up here now whenever she feels like it. (Which is why she’s in the majority of the pictures lol)

Every morning after her breakfast she heads out back, through her doggie door and around up on the deck to do her morning chipmunk and squirrel patrol.

The deck remains such a wonderful space to me. Its over 700 square feet and Lodi and I have spent hundreds of hours here lounging, dancing, listening to music, having a fire, cooking, dining and just enjoying each other and the outdoors.

Like with all of the house my future plans are far reaching. I want to add a little screened in porch out here, a lower pea gravel deck with a large stone fire pit, an outdoor speaker system and cafe string lights all around.

Next year perhaps? Absolutely! At least for some of it 🙂

One step at a time, keeping the broader goals always in mind, every step brings us closer to our future plans and everything gets a little bit better!