4.27.2009

My Weekend Outdoor Project

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I hope you all had a great weekend! It was sunny and hot here in Philadelphia, which gave me the incentive I needed to start on the patio and deck. Most of my time was spent painting the patio fence, which went from a drab untreated wood finish to a bright white. But more on that later, once I can get some good photographs.

A much easier project involved sprucing up our third floor deck. It's a small space, but a perfect one for my fella and I to sit, have a cocktail, and enjoy the city skyline. We purchased the Ikea andirondack chairs last summer, along with the colorful striped cushions, though they do have similar styles this year too.

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I started out by painting the Ikea planter that I've had for years and years. I blended the leftover white paint from the patio fence with a touch of turquoise paint (Valspar "Bayside") that was used on the new laundry room walls to create a dreamy aqua. The little iron plant stand was found on the street in a set of three (the other two are downstairs) - I quickly coated it with white gloss spray paint to freshen it up. Then I filled the pots with white begonias and pink petunias!

Because the deck can be viewed through a French glass door at the top of our staircase, I wanted to add some playful touches that would be fun to look at all summer. So I dragged out some fun accessories to give the space life - the chrome lanterns are from West Elm and the ceramic owl planter is from Anthropologie.

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And so, with a cool drink in a pear-print Orla Kiely tumbler (they finally re-stocked my local Target with all the Orla kitchenware!) and Sammy the greyhound by my side, the deck is finally ready for summer living!

So, were any of you lucky enough to spend time in the sun this weekend? If so, what did you do?

10 comments:

Diva Style said...

This is so fabulous! Do you think you can provide some tips on painting?? I'm always afraid to paint stuff for fear of messing it up, or using the wrong type of paint, but your stuff always looks so fantastic! Keep up the good work! :-)

bopbopdesigns said...

Sammy looks great! Love the space and the planters.
My weekend involved a lot of mulch but it was wonderful to be outdoors. :)

Waxy said...

Looks great! I vote for painting tips too! I have all sorts of stuff I want to paint but don't know how or if I can...MDF? Plastic? Garden type decor (stone, maybe?) If you know of a site that has all this let me know, I would be in your debt forever!

Brittney said...

Oh and you painted the grayhound! I love it, and the little owl too.

Unknown said...

Looks great, I can't wait to see the painted fence. I too love to mix my left over paints. This post has inspired my to shoot my turquiose back yard patio cover for a thursday post. We sit under it for many months out of the year here in so cal.

jamieofalltrades said...

Wow! Very impressive, what a nice place to relax.

renee anne said...

I absolutely love everything about this outdoor setting.
off to explore the rest of your blog!!!

renee x

jess@thehomebound said...

This looks so great! I love the way you use color and really make your spaces pop.

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Such a fun space! Makes me want to take a load off and have a cocktail out there!

Elizabeth said...

Thanks, everyone, for the great comments!

And to DivaStyle and Amy, I hope you like the painting tips I posted today. Thanks for the suggestion!