CED 2008 ~ Ideas for decorating our rear deck

The majority of time that I've had available to me this week has been spent online researching options for ideas to incorporate out onto our rear deck. I created the mosaic below using some of the images that I saved from a Google search using the word "beach" and "beach themed" I unfortunately didn't note the sources of where I found them, other than the fabric.


The first photograph is the truest representation of the color scheme I want to achieve. The turquoise blue, the softness of the granny smith apple green that isn't so in-your-face neon green, the white, and the small touches of sunshine yellow. The siding on our home is a softer shade of yellow which would incorporate better into the space more by seeing a bit more of it used around the space. I so love the use of colors in this photograph! It is a great reminder to me that one color can be used in various tones and shades and that by applying the colors to actual items that we'll use in our decor will also assist in creating visual texture!

I didn't realize that I'd come to love the painted deck boards and the impact that adding a softer, lighter color could warm up the space so much! Currently our deck has a golden tone that was created from the use of Behr's waterproofing. When we purchased the five gallon bucket of it, the label stated it was clear, but from using it last year, I can vouch for it containing a stain that is actually golden in tone. Since we still have approximately four gallons of it remaining to be used this is something that I'll have to talk to Don about before actually doing. Anyways, it is something that is a major consideration and something about our deck that I'd love to change as I feel it would make probably the biggest impact about as inexpensively as you could get.

However, I'm thinking more of a white-washed appearance. Added to the fencing around the jacuzzi {inside and out} and the actual deck railings, and lattice trim around the raised deck. The lattice is something we've been discussing for a year or so now anyways, so adding it in a painted white-washed appearance is only one more step. I do love the idea of adding a softer, more subtle color to the actual deck boards. I wonder if I could mix the waterproofing to actual exterior paint? Perhaps that is a possibility. I'll have to ask our friend, Terry, who works in Home Depot's paint department as that would certainly save us both time and money being able to do a one-step application vs. layers of one then the the other. And who knows what that end result would actually look like! I am also smart enough to realize that our deck requires waterproofing to protect it from the elements of sun, wind, water, and such especially if I'm putting this much effort into creating the outdoor space of my dreams!

The next photograph is a beach mural painted on a wall. I could so see this painted on the inside of the fence area surrounding our jacuzzi! Perhaps, not covering the fence entirely but leaving a white-white appearance of the actual fence that the sky sort of blends into. I believe I'd do away with the actually palm tree... just include the sand, the surf, and the sky. I'm thinking I'd soften the hard scape of the actually fence by actually adding pots of palms and tropical plants for a more three dimensional appearance and assist with bringing our rear yard right up onto the deck! Of course, I'd have to paint some of our existing pots for planting in the same color scheme. {Krylon, here I come!}

The third photograph is a swatch of outdoor fabric that I discovered online. Wouldn't it be perfect for using to create some outdoor pillows? Of course, I love the pillows featured in the first photograph as well, with their stripes and circles, and perhaps even a few in solid colors of this color scheme. I can envision them mixed and matched up, scattered here and there in our chairs, along with perhaps a few simply as floor cushions to invite you to just curl up and relax wherever. They'd certainly come in handy for additional seating if we entertained a large group of family and friends!

The last photograph is a close up shot that someone {sorry, I don't remember who...} took of a close-up of a painted wall mural. I just so loved this image... it reminds me so much of carefree days spent on the beach and it has that soft, dreamy appearance of being water colored. I can envision a grouping of these created on canvas perhaps hanging from of a piece of bamboo and hung from the overhang of our home's soffit to assist in mellowing out the siding that runs along one side of our deck. Another option would be to actually paint a mural onto a bamboo style blind to hang over a window that is directly behind where our dining table is placed.

I'm still keen to the idea of painting floor cloths right onto the deck boards, and I think I'd like to add at least three of them. One under the patio table, and another in front of the two chairs and the centered table, and the third one in front of the bar area. Putting the third one over there seems like it would bring a more cohesive look to the entire area of the deck vs. having it right in front of the jacuzzi which is already adjacent to the largest portion of our deck.

With some of these thoughts in my mind, on Tuesday of this week, I watercolored some of what I'm envisioning. The colors are exact, but the "idea" is there.




Other than the use of color/paint being added to the deck, railings, and fences themselves, my mind immediately began seeing color and textures being used in beach towels, tied up with jute strings, adorned by seashells, and placed within a seagrass basket. On the table with the tablecloth and placemats we recently purchased. Wouldn't napkins rings adorned with shells and vases filled with seaglass, be perfect? Along with some polished stones, candles, and tropical plants?

As you can see, when I dream, I dream BIG!