Decorating The Deck

Once the work was done on the deck, I started looking around for some seaside accents.  The budget for deck decor was zero.  That actually made the whole thing more fun!

The wharf theme was started with the blocks of wood that became pier posts. ~

That was as simple as staining them a light shade of grey to cover the Wolmanized green and twisting a few strands of hay bale twine to look like rope.  Now, I need to find a Pelican to sit on a one of them!

A little fountain, bought for $2 at the Salvation Army, leaked like a sieve and was turned into a planter.  It sits on a $2 plant stand.  I had both kicking around so we're still within the zero budget. ~

My sister bought the patio table years ago for $3 and had left it with me.  Years of being out in the weather left it in sorry shape! ~

A coat of deck stain, in Great Lakes Blue, made it a little more presentable.  I was tossing around ideas of hand painting a compass on the top when my sister showed up with this print. ~

The spaces between the boards presented a problem but she figured I could just cut strips of the print to fit.  I glued it to the top with exterior Modpodge and gave it another coat on top.  I think I'll spray it with exterior Varathane to give it a little more durability. ~

Here she is done and everyone who has seen it in person, loves it! ~

This deck area is private except for one line of sight through to a neighbour's fire pit.  I was looking around for something to use as a screen and remembered an old wooden door I had pulled out of the dumpster at my rental reno.  See, it pays to dive in your own dumpster! This door has seen better days, to be sure, but it reminded me of the the old doors on bait shacks at fishing camps.

It got screwed onto the side of the upper deck. ~

Some donated dragonfly hooks are added. ~

Man, I love the patina on that door!  In the antique trade, it's called alligatoring. Actually, after a week of staining outbuildings at my rental and using Var sol for hand cream, that's what my hands look like.  They have nice patina!

It's now a great place to hang beach towels and bags! ~

This project, start to finish, took three days and under $200!  It was done just in time for my nephew to arrive with his kids for a day of fun in the river. ~

Now I can sit back and relax!


I'm sharing this with:
Open House Thursday, Sunday's Best Par.tay, Hot Fun In The Summertime Blog Party, Inspire Me Monday, It Pays To Be Cheap Contest, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Creative Things Thursday, Potpourri Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, Fantabulous Friday, Rustic Restorations, Saturday Nite Special