deck re-do, parte 1

The weekend before last I got an itch to decorate! What else is new, huh? I've been looking for different pillows for the couch for ages and decided to try my beloved IKEA in West Chester once last time for these mothers. As soon as we got there, we spotted these lovies that we've probably seen 1,000,000 times before (no exaggeration) but for some reason fell in love with this time. They look super cute in the living room but this post is about the deck so enough about those.

Anywho- the deck! We have a deck off of the dining room that I've been wanting to make into more of a useable, outdoor living space. All we've had out there for the past three years that we've owned our condo are four chairs... yeah, not so inviting and comfy. Since IKEA is usually our answer for anything home related, we assumed we'd have no trouble finding fun stuff for the deck there... we were sadly disappointed. The only things that tickled our fancy there were these seat cushions-

Simple, natural colored cushions for the chairs at $12 a piece- SOLD.

After that, we headed to Target where I had had (had had?) my eye on a beautiful outdoor rug for a couple of weeks and where we also found some great tables too.

The larger one will be for eating dinner together outside and the smaller one for drinks.

On Sunday we woke up and decided to clean the winter gunk off the deck. So, I filled a bucket up with soapy water and we washed the banisters, walls, chairs and floor.

Here are some before pictures-

And here's where we ended with the deck on Sunday-

Where we'll eat dinner on warm nights.

The view from my favorite seat.

I love it! It's amazing how much better it feels better to be out there now that it's cozy with cushions and a great rug under my toes. And, don't you love the flowers in the pretty white pitcher? I got the idea of putting flowers in pitchers instead of vases from Thrifty Decor Chick (who's obsessed with IKEA too).

We've got more things on the list to add to the deck to make it our perfect outdoor living place, including:

• Hanging pots with beautimous flowers
• A leafy tree in the corner where the two walls meet (behind the chair in the picture just to the top of this)
• Two ottomans with fluffy cushions (I'll probably make them)
• Lanterns

I originally thought that I'd want tons of bright colors on the deck but as soon as I saw the natural colored pillows at IKEA and I remembered the rug I saw at Target, I knew that simple would be best. I REALLY like the way it turned out and if it didn't drop 30 degrees since we decorated, I'd be out there all the time. Or at least the 30 minutes I'm home each night. Seriously though, I cannot wait to have romantic dinners out there this summer with candles and lanterns and beautiful flowers. It'll be super relaxing. :)

What about you? Are you looking CRAZY forward to warmer weather like I am?!?! What are your plans for spending more time outdoors this year?