Backyard Deck Remodel

I am so excited to share our backyard deck remodel with you that we partnered with Raymour and Flanigan on. I shared last week my inspiration photos you can see HERE.  My husband actually flew out and looked at homes…alone when we were looking to move from Utah to Connecticut. We had looked at houses online and I knew the ones that I liked from the pictures, but it was still hard to tell exactly what the area was like or even the house. He did a great job of keeping me involved and looking for the best for our families needs and budget. I was working full time as a store buyer and manager and he sent us a video of the house. All of the designers gathered around to see the house and we were quickly disappointed that he spent the majority of the time showing us the backyard and quickly walked through the house (what we were waiting to see) and then showed us the backyard yet again from a different view, looking out the window upstairs. So needless to say he liked the backyard and the deck. But it did need some work. Last summer my daughters and I went to Utah for a month and he stayed back for work and of course he had some projects to tackle. Painting the deck was one of them.

The deck did get painted last summer and we had not fully furnished it. Our home is a small 1200 square foot cape in Connecticut. We do well in this size of home but we rarely have parties or people over to eat and we do love to entertain. So we really look forward to this time to open up our home and invite friends over and pay them back for hosting us so often in the winter. Our back yard and deck becomes an extension of our home.

The deck before was an orange stain that did not really flow with our interiors color scheme and the previous owners just had a small iron pub table on it. I saw an image on THIS Instagram account where she had painted stripes to resemble a rug. I loved that idea and the fact that with an uncovered porch it wouldn’t get ruined so quickly. So painting the strips was the perfect option. I shared how we painted the strips and deck HERE.

I measured the deck and drafted it to scale making sure everything would fit that we wanted. You could also tape off the furniture on the deck to make sure it all fits. I knew I wanted a nice size dining table and a comfortable spot to sit. As soon as it is close to being warm enough we start to eat every meal we can outside. My girls love it and I love how easy it is to clean up and the casualness of it all. Normally right after we eat the girls run off and jump on the tramp or do gymnastics or dance.

I love the navy and the nautical beach feel. I used THIS table runner and THESE gorgeous cotton napkins from Fashionable an amazing company that is creating jobs for women to get them out of poverty. I still like to set the table nice when we sit outside. I don’t have separate dishes for outside, I don’t have the room to store things like that but the napkins and runner are extra things I have for outdoors.

THIS table comes with the two benches. I have always liked benches, you can squeeze so many more people at the table and it creates a fun casual feel. I added THESE red and white chairs to anchor the table and add some color. We also cut a hole in the top to add the umbrella, I will be sharing how we did that in a later post too.

We have vinyl siding that I really don’t care for it. We want to eventually change that to wood or faux shake shingles. So for now I wanted to hide that big spans of unattractive vinyl. I had this custom sign made by Queen B Home. It is 4’x4′ and I love every inch of it! I wanted it to be a lot of white to brighten up the vinyl. I had her paint BEACH and [800 M] our distance to the beach. I thought of a lot of options but ultimately I think that less is more. I told her I was hanging it outside and she made sure to apply a protective polyurethane coat over the top.

I love to keep plants on the deck. But I sometimes forget about them. I picked boxwoods and other hearty plants that can handle the heat. I put them in these fun metal planters from Olde Farm Creek.

This section has another set of steps that lead to the grass and backyard. It is the perfect spot to lounge and watch kids run around.

We had talked about adding a pergola over the deck. But decided against it. I really did not want to block any of the wonderful natural light we have coming into our house. Or close this area off at all. It isn’t the largest space and I think it would have felt smaller. Instead we opted for umbrellas. I love this blue one on the stand. It provides great shade.

Raymour and Flanigan has this perfect sized sectional. It is not bulky at all. But still very comfortable. It came with two large cushions and three back cushions and three accent pillows. The sectional included the ottoman that was all very affordable. I added some outdoor pillows from Target and a few others that are from Target that are not outdoor that I don’t leave out there all the time.

THESE chairs from Raymour and Flanigan were my starting off point. I fell in love with them when I saw them, it helped when starting our back yard project to have something that kicked off my inspiration. I don’t have any red in my house but for some reason red just seemed fitting for outside and that nautical beach feel I was going for. I have two of THESE little blue garden stools that we can use for extra seating and just pull up to the ottoman if we need more places to eat. They also make great end tables.

I knew I needed to have a bench that we could sit on to take sandy shoes off. I put it right by our back door, this is the door everyone uses instead of the front so it is kind of like a nice little entry space. I added the hanging basket under the light. There is actually a plastic cup sitting inside with water and fresh clippings of flowers from our yard.

We switched out the light on the back deck. I love this new one from Lighting Design. It really finishes off the space. It did take some time for me to decide on the right one. I worked with Lighting Design and they were so helpful. I sent them a picture of one I saw that I liked, and they suggested some companies that have something similar. I measured and compared the size to the ugly one we had ended up deciding on THIS one.

The greatest thing about THIS bench is that it has storage! It is not solid on the bottom, just slates so it doesn’t get all musty in there. This is where I store extra pillows on windy or rainy days. The girls keep soccer balls, chalk and outdoor games in there.

I hope this inspired you to get the backyard ready for some lovely weather. We can’t wait until it warms up to actually use it some more! Remember to check out THIS post for all the DIY tricks we did to this space.

Sponsored source list from Raymour and Flanigan–

Patio Table with Two Benches

Blue Outdoor Umbrella

Blue Garden Stools

Sectional and Cocktail Table

Storage Bench

Red and White Chairs

Other Sources or similar items with affiliate links

Custom Beach Sign (use code qbhome 20 to save 20% off your order)

Metal Planters

Blue and White Rug Option

Gold Tea Cart

I have partnered with Raymour & Flanigan and received product that I hand picked in exchange for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own.

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